Weekend observations: Kentucky vs. Lipscomb

With Sunday's game canceled, Kentucky leaves Nashville with a 1-1 record.

Photo by Caleb Bowlin of UK Athletics

Kentucky opened the season with a doubleheader split against Lipscomb in Nashville. The Wildcats run-ruled the Bisons 11-0 in game one but lost 3-1 in game two. The rubber match was canceled, with Kentucky’s X account stating it was “due to inclement weather and with the health and safety of players and fans in mind.”

Kentucky’s next game is scheduled for Tuesday against in-state foe Morehead State. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Kentucky Proud Park, but it’s going to be a cold one. The forecasted high temperature in Lexington on Tuesday is 26 degrees.

But with two games in the books, let’s look at some observations from Friday’s games.

Hage opens the season with a bang

Columbia transfer Cole Hage was the offensive MVP for the Wildcats to open the season. Hage led Kentucky with four hits in the opener, including a three-run homer in the top of the third that made the score 4-0. It was the only home run for the Wildcats through two games, though there were a few well-hit balls from other players that wound up being caught either on or near the warning track. With warmer weather, perhaps those balls would’ve cleared the wall.

But Hage led the team with three runs scored and tied both second baseman Luke Lawrence and third baseman Patrick Herrera with three RBIs each. DH Shaun Montoya and shortstop Tyler Bell drove in the other runs in the 11-0 victory in game one.

McCay strong in debut

South Dakota State transfer Nic McCay earned the opening day start for the Wildcats and tossed five scoreless innings before turning it over to Radford transfer Scott Rouse. It took McCay just 10 pitches — nine of those 10 were strikes — to retire the Bisons lineup in the bottom of the first. He finished the day with two hits allowed, two walks and four strikeouts against 21 batters faced. Fifty of his 71 pitches were strikes, so it was a solid debut for the righthander. He certainly could’ve gone another inning, if not more, had the coaching staff chosen to, but with a big lead and his first start of the season, there was no reason to stretch McCay out more than needed.

Rouse following him could be a sign of how Kentucky will operate in series openers, at least early in the season. Credit to Rouse for coming in and putting zeroes on the board for his two innings. The run rule prevented Kentucky from needing more pitchers, but it would’ve been interesting to see who might have been used after Rouse.

Offense quiet in game two

Despite constant traffic on the base paths in game one — Kentucky scored 11 runs on 13 hits and left 12 runners on base — the Wildcats’ offense was shut down in game two. Lipscomb lefthander Rigo Ramos allowed just two hits and struck out four batters over five scoreless innings. Kentucky’s first base runner of the game came off a bunt single by first baseman Dylan Koontz, but he was picked off immediately. Ramos then retired the next three hitters.

Lawrence drew a walk to open the fourth inning, but the 2-4 hitters in the order for Kentucky each flew out to end the inning. Lipscomb put three runs on the board in the bottom of the frame to put Kentucky behind for the first time in the series.

Kentucky’s first real shot at a rally came in the top of the fifth. Hage singled to open the inning and reached second base on a passed ball, and Bell drew a walk to put two on with nobody out. Koontz struck out, but Ethan Hindle walked to load the bases. However, Ramos struck out both Kyuss Gargett and Lawrence to keep the Wildcats off the board. It was a big missed opportunity to cut into the lead.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the last missed opportunity. Still trailing 3-0 in the eighth, Kentucky had runners at second and third with one out for center fielder Will Marcy. Marcy struck out looking for the second out and catcher Devin Burkes lined out to shortstop to end the threat. Koontz came through with a two-out RBI in the top of the ninth to plate Kentucky’s first run, but Raphael Pelletier — representing the tying run — flew out to right field to end the game.

Quick hitters

• Sophomore lefty Ben Cleaver earned the start in game two and had five strikeouts through the first three innings, but he ran into some trouble in the fourth. Following a leadoff walk, Lipscomb’s David Coppedge laid down a bunt for a single. The Bisons then dropped down another bunt that led to a bit of a wild play. Burkes fielded the bunt and fired it to first, but Koontz appeared to miss the ball. Keaton Mahan, who laid down the bunt, made an attempt to run to second but tried to get back to first base, leading to Lawrence throwing him out at the first base bag. However, Lipscomb scored a run on the play and Coppedge wound up at third during the sequence. He scored when the next batter singled into left field. Cleaver retired the next hitter before turning it over to senior Robert Hogan.

• It was a disappointing season debut from Hogan, who will be counted on to play a significant role this year. He threw a wild pitch on his first pitch to advance the runner to third, and finished that at-bat with a walk. After getting ahead 0-2 to Aaron Stelogeannis, Hogan threw a wild pitch that allowed the third run of the game to score. He wound up losing Stelogeannis to a walk, ending his day after just two batters. Four of his 12 pitches were ruled as wild pitches. He’ll have better days, but his command wasn’t there on Friday. Byers came in and struck out the lone batter he faced to end the inning.

• However, it was a good day out of the bullpen from senior lefty Jackson Nove. He was dominant over three innings, striking out five of the 11 batters he faced while allowing just one hit and one walk. He kept Kentucky within striking range before turning it over to Indiana State transfer Simon Gregersen in the eighth. Gregersen tossed a scoreless inning as well. Overall, the numbers ended up pretty good for the pitching staff on Friday. There was certainly more good than bad.

• I was surprised to see James McCoy get the start in right field in game one, though he had a pretty good game. He reached base three times and finished 2-4 with an RBI. There was a thought coming into the year that he’d primarily help the team on the mound this season, but he’s still one of the more experienced hitters on the roster and has always been a good defender in right field. Reaching base three times is a good way to keep getting opportunities moving forward.

• As expected, Kentucky went with Herrera at third base in game one. But in game two, head coach Nick Mingione gave sophomores Ethan Hindle and Kyuss Gargett opportunities. Hindle played third base while Gargett was the DH. Hindle drew a walk and popped out in the infield, while Gargett grounded out and struck out. Both players were substituted for offensively late in the game. Herrera pinch-hit for Gargett and drew a walk in the eighth inning, and Pelletier came to the plate for Hindle with two outs in the ninth.

• Bell was robbed of his first career hit and RBI on a fantastic play in the left-center field gap by Stelogeannis. It momentarily kept the score at 1-0, but Hage delivered his three-run shot on the next at-bat. Bell is still searching for his first hit, but he gave some solid at-bats in his first two collegiate games. He drew a walk in both games and had a sacrifice fly in game one.