UK baseball notes: Kentucky's pitching staff has a tough go of it at Louisville
A look at Kentucky's loss to Louisville, plus notes on award watchlists, a top-ranked signee and a new podcast episode.
Two weeks after Kentucky won a 4-2 pitchers' duel in the first meeting of the Battle of the Bluegrass, the Wildcats were outslugged in a 14-10 loss at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The good news: Kentucky's offense had the kind of night you would hope for against a struggling pitching staff. Led by three hits from senior second baseman Luke Lawrence and home runs from Ethan Hindle, Braxton Van Cleave and Ryan Schwartz, Kentucky posted 12 hits and 10 runs as a team. The Wildcats rallied from a three-run deficit to tie the game 8-8 in the sixth inning and tacked on two more runs in the eighth to stay within range.
The bad news: pretty much everything else. This post from our friend Jeff Drummond at KSR+ sums it up:
Kentucky's pitching and defense had a night to forget against its in-state rival. The Cardinals plated runs in each of the first four innings and then pieced together a five-run seventh to create some distance in the late innings.
Of the nine pitchers used by the Wildcats, only sophomore right-hander Tommy Skelding did not issue a walk. Six pitchers issued two walks, and six pitchers also allowed earned runs. Three runs came around to score on senior left-hander Jackson Soucie after an error from shortstop Tyler Bell prolonged the inning, meaning all were unearned.
But it was another tough night for a pitching staff that has lacked reliable options in 2026. Days after his removal from the weekend rotation, junior Ben Cleaver took the hill but lasted just one inning. He threw 18 strikes to 15 balls and walked in a run with the bases loaded after a fielding error by Lawrence. Cleaver kept the damage at two runs, but was replaced by redshirt freshman Cameron Owens at the start of the second inning. Unfortunately for Kentucky, Owens and Cleaver set a rough tone for the game. Owens threw just as many strikes (8) as balls. Chase Alderman threw more balls (9) than strikes (5), as did freshman Toby Peterson (6 strikes to 12 balls). Ira Austin, a mainstay in the weekend bullpen, threw nine balls compared to six strikes. He entered the game and promptly gave up a homer to the first batter he faced, then followed that with consecutive walks before getting the hook.
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Skelding had the best night of any of the pitchers, allowing just one hit and no runs in the four batters he faced. The Ohio native was expected to be a big piece of the bullpen coming into the year but had struggled to throw enough strikes to be a reliable option. His most recent outing prior to Tuesday was at Auburn, where he walked two batters and allowed three hits and two earned runs.
Kentucky will head to Columbia, South Carolina, hoping for improvement from some of the key arms on the roster. Senior Jack Bennett started on Saturday against Vanderbilt but only threw an inning before being removed. He came in out of the bullpen last night and threw 36 pitches over 2.1 innings. Will he remain in the rotation this weekend? Nate Harris didn't make his start last week while dealing with a shoulder injury. With Cleaver already out of the rotation, it seems likely that Bennett and junior Connor Mattison will once again make starts if Harris is unable to make it back.
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Wildcats on award watchlists
Speaking of Bennett, he was named to the Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Although he's served a few different roles already for the pitching staff, he leads the team with six saves. He collected two saves in the series sweep over Alabama to begin SEC play, and he also earned the save in the first meeting against Louisville. The Paducah native has 20 strikeouts in 23 innings this season.
Lawrence, who's having a standout senior season, was also recognized on Wednesday. He was named a Brooks Wallace Semifinalist, which looks at the top 50 shortstops in the country. Though Bell has returned and is playing shortstop, Lawrence filled in during his absence and logged 24 starts at the position. The following is from a UK press release: "Lawrence is batting .352 overall with a .951 OPS. He is second on the team in runs scored (36) and hits (51), third in doubles (9) and RBI (26), has 21 walks and leads the team with 14 hit by pitch. He's also stolen 13 bases in 17 attempts. He is batting nearly .400 in Southeastern Conference games, which ranks fifth in the league."
Draft or college? Spectrum News highlights Matt Ponatoski
The top-rated signee in Kentucky's baseball class is Matt Ponatoski. He is also signed to the football program and is ranked a four-star quarterback and in the top 250 nationally. Whether he arrives on campus is still in the air since he's considered as one of the best prep players in the country.
Derek Terry
Spectrum News recently featured Ponatoski in one of its segments. He discussed his tough decision ahead and why it would be cool to be drafted by his hometown Cincinnati Reds.
"Trying to navigate, you know, is it school? Is it the draft?” Ponatoski told Spectrum News. “And it’s, you know, it’s my decision. But at the same time, I’m basically going through the recruiting process again with these teams, and I’m trying to show I have it, day in and day out. So, it’s not stressful. But at the same time, I’m going to have my bags packed and I’m not going to really know where I’m going.
"...I’m going to be fully prepared to go to school and go be at Kentucky and enroll and go compete for a quarterback battle when I get there,” he said. “But at the same time, like going and putting my best foot forward to these MLB teams and showing them like I have what it takes for you to draft me.”
Ponatoski's decision will be a big storyline during a relatively quiet time for UK athletics. The MLB draft begins on July 11.
Pump It Up is live tonight at 8 p.m. ET
Tune in tonight at 8 p.m. ET as I join KSR's Adam Luckett for another episode of Pump It Up. We'll discuss what happened over the past week and preview the series against South Carolina. Check it out:
