Nick Mingione reacts to Kentucky's offense, numerous batters hit by pitches

The Kentucky Wildcats have been able to protect their lead for the entirety of their Sunday night regional matchup versus Indiana, as a Hoosiers’ win secures them a win of the entire Lexington Regional, and a win for Kentucky forces a winner-take-all matchup on Monday.

But one of the hardest elements to ignore is how often the Wildcats have been hit by pitches. With a 6-2 lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning, Kentucky had already been hit by seven pitches on the day and 19 total in the Lexington Regional. Which Wildcats’ head coach Nick Mingione discussed during the game with ESPN’s Todd Walker.

“Man this is what Kentucky’s all about, we don’t move, we’re tough, and this didn’t just start with this team,” Mingione said. “There’s a lot of guys that have worn this jersey before it, I know they’re watching right now, that have done the same thing for Kentucky.”

Mingione continued, and got a little confused about his mental math, but highlighted how tough his team has been in the batters box all tournament long.

“So five last game right? Seven this one, that’s 13 on the day if my math’s right. Oh no wait, 12. But man our guys are just tough man, they want to win for Kentucky, that’s all I can say. The only way you do that is if you’re unselfish and you’re tough,” Mingione said.

Kentucky has had hot bats all night on Sunday, as offense came easy for the Wildcats who led the SEC this season in batting average with .282 on the season.

“And that’s one part of it, Todd you know this, hitting and batting average is one and there are six components to offense. And your ability to control the strike zone and stand in there and take pitches and be able to draw walks and hit, those are all part of offense,” Mingione explained. “And in order to lead in hitting you got to do a lot of other things well too and we just gotta keep going. This game’s far from over.”

Kentucky’s offense has continued to cook late for the Wildcats, as they now lead Indiana 16-4 in the seventh inning. Getting hit by pitches has also been a continued trend, as the Wildcats have now been hit by nine pitches at the top of the seventh inning.

And as they continue to extend their lead, it’s looking more and more like the Wildcats will soon force the winner-take-all matchup on Monday they were looking for.