After taking the series opener 9-2 on Friday night, No. 18 Kentucky split a doubleheader against Evansville on Saturday by taking game one 5-3 before falling 1-0 in the series finale. The Bat Cats moved to 5-2 on the season after the series win.
Game one was a gritty win for the Cats as it did not come easy on the mound or at the plate, but they got it done when it counted. Game two was a pitchers' duel that Kentucky came out on the wrong end of.
Below are some things that stuck out during the 18 innings of play.
Offense struggles with runners on in game one before going dormant in game two
Kentucky's 12 hits in the first game of the doubleheader equaled the total from the series opener on Friday, but not in the run production stats. Similar to this past Tuesday’s loss against Morehead State, Kentucky had plenty of chances to score, but could not get the big swing.
The Bat Cats stranded a pair of runners in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings of play. Evansville took a 3-1 lead into the sixth, where shortstop Luke Lawrence hit a one-out double, but was stranded. Kentucky was gifted a run thanks to an error by the Purple Aces in the seventh to avoid squandering another opportunity.
The Wildcats loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth and second baseman Ethan Hindle delivered a two-run double that gave the Cats their first lead of the game at 4-3. Lawrence tacked on an insurance run in the ninth to seal the 5-3 win.
Overall, Kentucky finished 3-20 (.150) with runners in scoring position and 5-23 (.217) with runners on in game one.
Neither hits nor runs came for the Wildcats in game two as they were shut out and collected just four hits. The Wildcats were 4-31 (.129) in game two, 1-15 (.067) with runners on, and 0-8 with runners in scoring position.
Hindle led off the game with a double, but was stranded. The Wildcats left two runners on in the second before going hitless for the next three innings. Lawrence broke that streak in the sixth with a single before the offense went hitless again until the ninth.
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Nate Harris shines in game two
Harris made his second start of the season in the series finale after tossing four innings of one-run ball in his first start last weekend against UNC Greensboro. The sophomore continues to take the next step in the rotation for Kentucky.
Harris rolled a double play to work around an error and a hit-by-pitch in the first. He struck out the first two batters of the second before running into trouble. The righty walked the next two batters and gave up a single that gave Evansville the decisive 1-0 lead.
Following the rocky second, Harris dialed in and retired the next nine batters in order over the next three innings to end his outing. Harris tied his career-high in strikeouts (7) during the long streak of outs.
He finished with a final line of five innings pitched, one hit, one run, two walks and seven strikeouts.
Jayce Tharnish and Hudson Brown put together strong performances at the plate
Tharnish and Brown hit second and third in the lineup again in game two after strong performances in the series opener. Tharnish finished 2-3 with a homer and two RBIs while Brown finished 3-4 with an RBI and two doubles to start the series.
The duo singled in the first before being left on base to end the frame. Tharnish singled in the third and stole a bag, but Brown struck out. The pair repeated that effort in the fifth with back-to-back singles, but neither came around to score.
Tharnish flew out in the seventh, but Brown hit a double and came around to score on an error. Tharnish struck out and Brown was intentionally walked in their final at-bats of game one of the doubleheader. Both were hitless in the series finale but drew walks.
Bullpen shines in both games
Lefty Ben Cleaver got the nod and gutted through four innings of work in game one of the day. He gave up two runs (one earned and one unearned) and was relieved by Connor Mattison, who also gave up a run in an inning of work.
Loyola Marymount transfer right-hander Ryan Mullan took over in the seventh and hit the first batter he faced before getting a flyout, pickoff and strikeout to face the minimum.
WKU transfer senior righty Jack Bennett took the mound after Kentucky took the lead in the eighth and worked around two singles to keep the lead intact. He got an insurance run in the ninth and surrendered a single, but secured the victory.
Mullan earned his first win of the season and Bennett got his first save of the year in the win.
Redshirt sophomore righty Tommy Skelding relieved Harris in game two and worked around an error to toss a scoreless sixth. The right-hander gave up a walk and single in the seventh, but got a double play and a flyout to work out of the jam.
Freshman righty Burkley Bounds came on in the eighth and tossed a three-up, three-down frame with two strikeouts to keep the deficit a run before the offense came up short in the ninth.
Kentucky will look to rebound on Tuesday at 4 p.m. when it welcomes WKU into Kentucky Proud Park.
Jonathon Bruner is an intern for Bat Cats Central, primarily serving as the 2026 team beat writer. He's chronicled the UK baseball program for the Kentucky Kernel for the past two seasons, including a trip to Omaha to cover the College World Series.
