Nick Mingione explains how Kentucky can rally after 'rough start' in CWS elimination game vs. Florida
Nick Mingione prepared Kentucky for an elimination game Tuesday morning against SEC foe Florida, but it didn’t quite get off to a great start.
Going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Wildcats trailed the Gators 9-2. A grand slam highlighted a seven-run first inning for Florida after Kentucky led 1-0 to begin the frame.
But still, Mingione believed in the power of the rally and explained how they could do it during the ESPN broadcast.
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“Rough start,” Mingione said. “I mean, obviously that was a tough first inning, but our team has been behind beforeand we’ve actually been behind versus these guys before and had to just fight and claw our way back. So that’s the game plan moving forward, we got to find a way to put up some zeros and keep chipping away.”
As far as the offensive game plan to catch back up, Mingione explained as the game approached the halfway point.
“Yeah we just need to do a good job of stacking up quality at-bats,” Mingione said. “Just one guy have a good at-bat and pass the baton to the next guy. Then he passes that baton and next thing you know you get start getting four or five in a row, good ones, and you should have a (quality) number up there.”
Knowing your opponent is key and Mingione kept a close eye on the Gators coming into the game.
“They’ve played great of late,” Mingione said. “When you just think about what they had to do to even make the postseason, you give them so much credit. That last weekend what they did in Georgia, and obviously they’ve been playing really good since.
“And you know what, they took the hard path here. They were on the road for both the Regional and Super. And this league, you know this, but every week and every — every week it seems like teams can change. And this is a team that we’re facing tomorrow that’s been there, done that. They’re well-coached as you know.”
As with any opponent at this stage, Mingione won’t take anyone lightly, especially the Gators.
“Yeah, we’ll definitely have our hands full,” Mingione said. “But they’re not the same team from when we played them a couple of weeks ago.”