Observations: Kentucky bounces back, completes sweep over Oklahoma
The Wildcats have their first sweep in conference play, and might've locked in a spot in the NCAA Tournament with their 13th SEC win of the season.
This article is courtesy of Jonathon Bruner. Jonathon is the Sports Editor for the Kentucky Kernel and has been the lead Kentucky baseball writer for the Kernel since 2024.
Kentucky baseball swept No. 17 Oklahoma in its final home series of the 2025 season. The sweep, which was the first for Kentucky in conference play this year, was massive for Kentucky as it was running out of chances to bolster its resume for the NCAA Tournament.
Before the weekend started, the Wildcats were among the first four out in most NCAA Tournament projections after being swept on the road against Mississippi State, which made the two remaining series make-or-break.
Sitting at 13-14 in the SEC with one week of play, Kentucky is in a solid spot going into the Vanderbilt series as one more victory will likely lock the Wildcats into the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.
Game one against the Sooners was won by a slim 4-3 margin as senior closer Simon Gregrsen stranded the tying and go-ahead runs at first and second in the ninth inning. In game two, Kentucky took the lead in the first and did not look back in an 8-5 win.
The series finale started as a back-and-forth contest as Kentucky jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Sooners tied it in the fourth. However, the Bat Cats retook the lead in the fourth inning and did not look back in a 7-2 win.
Here are some key takeaways from the weekend:
Big innings guide the offense
This weekend’s offense was defined by big innings at the plate. The Wildcats scored in eight innings total in the series, but four of those innings resulted in three runs or more. Another key aspect of these rallies is that three came after Oklahoma either took the lead or tied the game. Furthermore, the other big inning boosted a lead after the Sooners drew a run closer.
In game one, a four-run third was the only scoring of the entire game from the Bat Cats. Freshman shortstop Tyler Bell kicked off the inning with a triple and scored on the next at-bat when second baseman Luke Lawrence doubled. Senior left fielder Cole Hage made it a quick three-spot for Kentucky with a two-run home run. Junior outfielder Carson Hansen singled following Hage’s homer and scored on a James McCoy RBI single.
The offense wasted no time in game three as the bases were loaded with one out in the first. Kyuss Gargett opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly before a Partick Herrera triple and Ryan Schwartz single finished the four-run frame.
After the Sooners put a run in the fifth, the bases were loaded once again and Schwartz unloaded them with a double. Schwartz went 3-3 with four RBI in game two, making it the best performance of his freshman season so far.
Kentucky put up a pair of runs in the first two innings of game three, but Oklahoma tied the game in the fourth. However, Bell hit a two-run home run, which was followed by Lawrence hitting a homer to cap off the three-run inning.
“Our guys’ ability to answer back and just punch back was awesome,” Kentucky coach Nick Mingione said after game three. “Give the guys credit, they are just fighting and executing.”
Ethan Walker emerging as bullpen stopper
One of the most important factors to making a run in the postseason is depth on the mound. While Kentucky has solidified its starting rotation, the bullpen has not been as automatic, especially in the middle to late innings. The Wildcats may have filled this gap with junior lefthander Ethan Walker.
Walker has seen many roles in his first season as a Wildcat. He began the season in the weekend rotation before being moved to the midweek starting role. Walker debuted out of the bullpen in the series finale at Mississippi State and threw two no-hit innings that included four strikeouts. His first outing was relatively stress-free as he was just trying to keep the score where it stood to try and give his team a chance to rally. However, that changed when he took the hill for game two against the Sooners in the seventh inning with a three-run lead.
While the pressure was higher for this outing, the results remained the same. Walker threw the final three innings of the game and only gave up one hit while striking out five.
The lefty earned his first save of the season and could be a major asset out of the bullpen for Kentucky in the home stretch of the 2025 season.
“All he has done is just be ready for his moment, just like the rest of the guys,” Mingione said after game two. “He’s embraced it. He easily could have pouted, whined, complained, made excuses, which we don’t allow, he’s just done everything and i’m just thrilled for him to be in that moment with the game on the line and to do what he did.”
McCoy has his best weekend of the season
McCoy, a redshirt junior, is one of the few players on Kentucky’s roster who has been a part of the program's rise the past two seasons, and he had his best weekend of the season at the plate when Kentucky needed it the most.
McCoy has been the definition of a utility man for the Wildcats as he’s played all over the field and seen his role expand this season as a relief pitcher, but he has seemingly found a home at first recently. He started all three games at first base this weekend.
In Friday’s win, McCoy had what turned out to be the game-winning RBI single to cap off a four-run inning for Kentucky. McCoy notched another hit later in the series opener.
McCoy finished Saturday’s game 0-2 but reached base on two hit-by-pitches and scored both times. He finished the weekend strong in game three with an RBI-double in the first inning and a single to pair with two walks. Overall, McCoy finished 4-8, along with two walks, two hit-by-pitches and two RBI.
“He was phenomenal from the right and left side,” Mingione said. “He hit balls hard all weekend, had great at-bats, took the HBPs and had the extra base hits. Not only the at-bats, what a job defensively. He made plays to his left and to his right, he was all over the field and played with a ton of confidence which was big.”
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