Kentucky baseball opens NCAA Tournament with 10-8 win over Western Michigan

jon hale

Fri, May 31, 2024, 3:35 p.m.·3 min read

No. 2 overall seed Kentucky baseball opened NCAA Tournament play Friday with a 10-8 win over Western Michigan to stay on the winner’s bracket side of the double-elimination Lexington Regional.

The Wildcats set the tone early, plating a run in the first inning without a hit. Nick Mingione’s team pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of three walks, three hit-by-pitches and three Western Michigan errors to take a commanding early lead then used a strong showing from relief ace Robert Hogan to hold on for the win.

KEY MOMENT

Kentucky was cruising with an 8-0 lead through four innings when Western Michigan made things interesting in the top of the fifth. The Broncos plated five runs with just one ball leaving the infield thanks to three infield singles, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. That rally chased UK starter Dominic Niman from the game.

Reliever Cameron O’Brien entered with the bases loaded and no outs. He allowed one of the inherited runners to score on the final infield single of the inning before inducing an RBI-groundout to first base. O’Brien then struck out the next two batters with the tying run at the plate to escape the jam and preserve Kentucky’s lead.

AT THE PLATE

Right fielder James McCoy snapped an 0-for-21 stretch with a two-run home run that clanked off the right field foul pole in the second inning. He added an RBI double in the third inning.

Second baseman Emilien Pitre, catcher Devin Burkes, third baseman Mitchell Daly and center fielder Nolan McCarthy also tallied multiple hits in the game. Burkes reached base four total times with a single, a double and two walks.

Kentucky scored in each of the first five innings.

Kentucky’s James McCoy (13) celebrates after hitting a two-run homer in the second inning at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday.

ON THE MOUND

Mingione’s decision to hold normal Friday starter Trey Pooser for a Saturday matchup with either No. 2 seed Indiana State or No. 3 seed Illinois looked brilliant after four dominant innings from Niman, but the five-run fifth inning forced Mingione to use most of his top relievers despite the big early lead.

Western Michigan plated three runs in the sixth that were charged to reliever Evan Byers, but Hogan was able to stop the bleeding with 3 ⅓ scoreless innings to close out the game. Hogan, who has been Kentucky’s most consistent reliever this season, threw a season-high 50 pitches, so his availability for the rest of the regional is uncertain.

WHAT’S NEXT

Kentucky was to face Illinois, the 4-1 winner of Friday’s nightcap over Indiana State, on Saturday. With the pitching depth already tested in the regional, the Wildcats could use a strong start from Pooser in that game. The Wildcats lost Game 2 of the regional last year and still battled back through the loser’s bracket to reach the second super regional in program history, but that team only used two pitchers in Game 1. This squad does not appear to have the same depth on the mound, so avoiding the Sunday doubleheader required of the team coming from the loser’s bracket could be imperative.