Nick Lopez after Kentucky wins series over Arkansas: 'Job ain't done yet'

At 35-10 overall and 18-6 in conference play after this weekend, Kentucky is in sole possession of the top seed in the Southeastern Conference. It’s quite the accomplishment for the Wildcats with only a few games left to go but their work isn’t done according to INF Nick Lopez.

Lopez spoke with the media following their 7-4, rubber match win in their series against No. 2 Arkansas on Sunday. While that victory felt great, he said it’s not over yet with a few regular-season games left to go.

“Yeah. I mean we’ve just got to keep stacking ’em, keep going,” Lopez said. “Job ain’t done yet so we’ve got to keep going.”

This series at Kentucky Proud Park was between two of the best out of the SEC. The Razorbacks came in atop the league standings but left with a tie for second-place with Tennessee after losing just their second series of the season.

That comes after the Wildcats handled their business on their home diamond over the weekend. Friday got off to a poor start with a 10-3 loss to the ‘Hogs. However, over the final pair of matchups, Kentucky won 11-3 on Saturday and then the 7-4 victory on Sunday. That gave them an 18-7 margin over the last two games of the Top-10 series.

Lopez was a large part of that effort with his bat. During the weekend contests, he went 4-9 with three runs, a homer on Sunday, a double on Saturday, and six total RBI. Emilien Pitre was also key at the plate by going 4-7 with three runs, a home run, three doubles, and six RBI as well.

Kentucky is in a great place in the standings after defeating the Razorbacks in a series for the first time since 2012, making it the only time they’ve done so in the tenure of Nick Mingione. Still, with eight games left, including two conference series against Florida and Vanderbilt, Lopez and the Wildcats know there’s just a bit more for them to do before they fully earn it.

More on Kentucky downing Arkansas for pivotal series wins

With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, Kentucky sits alone atop the Southeastern Conference.

No. 8 Kentucky held off No. 2 Arkansas at 7-4 on Sunday to preserve its spot in the league. Dreams of a potential Super Regional in Lexington are getting more and more realistic.

“That’s what they do,” Nick Mingione said postgame. “They compete at the highest level. They have an edge about them, and they have a real belief.”

The Cats improved to 35-10 (18-6) and remain a game ahead of Tennessee in the SEC East. They’re also game ahead of both Arkansas and Tennessee (17-7) overall in the SEC.

Kentucky will travel to Cincinnati for its first midweek game in two weeks on Tuesday. It’ll be for a non-conference matchup with Xavier. First pitch is at 3:00 p.m. EST and the game will be streaming on Flo Sports.