Kentucky baseball earned its second series sweep of the season, defeating Lipscomb 9-1 under a sunny sky at Kentucky Proud Park.
The Wildcats (10-1, 0-0 SEC) now have swept the first two three-game series of the season for just the second time since Head Coach Nick Mingione took over in 2017. Additionally, the program’s 10-1 start to 2024 ties the second-best mark in the Mingione Era, matching the mark set by the 2022 team and only trailing the 12-1 start by the 2018 squad.
Offensively, the Wildcats clubbed a season-high 16 hits, led by a trio of three-hit games from Ryan Waldschmidt, Émilien Pitre, and Patrick Herrera. Kentucky scored five of its eight plate appearances, including multiple runs in the second (two) and seventh (four) innings.
Mason Moore started Sunday’s contest and earned his second win of the season, pitching five solid innings while only allowing three hits, one run, and two walks, The Morehead, Kentucky native also struck out seven Bison batters, tying his career high. The Kentucky bullpen held strong once again, as Evan Byers, Cameron O’Brien, and Colby Frieda combined for six strikeouts over four scoreless innings. The Wildcat relivers are currently on an 18-inning scoreless streak, dating to February 25.
The two teams began the game by trading scoreless frames, as the Wildcats were able to escape an early jam after catcher Devin Burkes threw out his second runner of the season. The Wildcats would then score a pair in the second on RBI singles from Grant Smith and Waldschmidt. The Wildcats would extend their lead in the third as a ground ball allowed Herrera, who led off the inning with a double, to score. After a triple in the first at-bat of his career, Kyuss Gargett would score the game’s fourth run on a Pitre RBI single.
Lipscomb (3-8, 0-0 ASUN) would score its only run in the game on a fifth-inning home run, but the Wildcats would soon respond, taking a 5-1 lead in the sixth after Pitre smashed his second RBI of the game to score Waldschmidt. In the seventh, Kentucky would put the game out of hand, hanging four runs on the Bison bullpen. A failed pickoff allowed Ethan Hindle to score the first run of his career, before Waldschmidt clubbed a 418-foot home run to left field, his first of the season. Pitre would follow with a triple, and scored on an RBI single from Herrera, bringing the game to its resting score of 9-1.
Next week, the Wildcats will continue their eight-game stretch against members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, facing Eastern Kentucky in a home-and-home midweek series before hosting Kennesaw State for a three-game set at Kentucky Proud Park.
Kentucky Races Past Lipscomb to Sweep Series – UK Athletics
The Wildcats (10-1, 0-0 SEC) now have swept the first two three-game series of the season for just the second time since Head Coach Nick Mingione took over in 2017. Additionally, the program’s 10-1 start to 2024 ties the second-best mark in the Mingione Era, matching the mark set by the 2022 team and only trailing the 12-1 start by the 2018 squad.
Offensively, the Wildcats clubbed a season-high 16 hits, led by a trio of three-hit games from Ryan Waldschmidt, Émilien Pitre, and Patrick Herrera. Kentucky scored five of its eight plate appearances, including multiple runs in the second (two) and seventh (four) innings.
Mason Moore started Sunday’s contest and earned his second win of the season, pitching five solid innings while only allowing three hits, one run, and two walks, The Morehead, Kentucky native also struck out seven Bison batters, tying his career high. The Kentucky bullpen held strong once again, as Evan Byers, Cameron O’Brien, and Colby Frieda combined for six strikeouts over four scoreless innings. The Wildcat relivers are currently on an 18-inning scoreless streak, dating to February 25.
The two teams began the game by trading scoreless frames, as the Wildcats were able to escape an early jam after catcher Devin Burkes threw out his second runner of the season. The Wildcats would then score a pair in the second on RBI singles from Grant Smith and Waldschmidt. The Wildcats would extend their lead in the third as a ground ball allowed Herrera, who led off the inning with a double, to score. After a triple in the first at-bat of his career, Kyuss Gargett would score the game’s fourth run on a Pitre RBI single.
Lipscomb (3-8, 0-0 ASUN) would score its only run in the game on a fifth-inning home run, but the Wildcats would soon respond, taking a 5-1 lead in the sixth after Pitre smashed his second RBI of the game to score Waldschmidt. In the seventh, Kentucky would put the game out of hand, hanging four runs on the Bison bullpen. A failed pickoff allowed Ethan Hindle to score the first run of his career, before Waldschmidt clubbed a 418-foot home run to left field, his first of the season. Pitre would follow with a triple, and scored on an RBI single from Herrera, bringing the game to its resting score of 9-1.
Next week, the Wildcats will continue their eight-game stretch against members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, facing Eastern Kentucky in a home-and-home midweek series before hosting Kennesaw State for a three-game set at Kentucky Proud Park.
Kentucky Races Past Lipscomb to Sweep Series – UK Athletics