Scrimmage observations (9/24): Campbell steals the show to open the fall

The 2025-26 Kentucky baseball team played four innings through on-and-off rain at Kentucky Proud Park on Wednesday morning. The Cats featured four arms on the bump who each threw two innings, led by Nate Harris, who looked like a grown man in his first live action of the fall. The rising sophomore touched 94 and punched out four, showing a presence you could feel on the mound, which was great to see.

A trio of freshmen – Lucas Hail, Toby Peterson and Jack Sams – rounded out the quartet for Wednesday’s pitchers, and all three showed promising flashes for the future. They all did 'freshman things' and were a bit shaky in terms of free bases and holding runners, which is standard for most freshmen – the SEC isn't just 'another' level, it's multiple levels from high school. I'll be looking for each of them to get sharper as the fall carries on. 

The offense as a whole commanded the strike zone well and hammered the fastball in advantage counts, which is all you want to see coming out of the gate. The baserunners were also uber-aggressive. As is standard with some other teams that make it a priority, baserunners were permitted to return to their original base if they got picked off or thrown out trying to steal during fall intrasquads.