Nick Mingione applauds Kentucky's toughness while facing elimination

Kentucky already flew close to the sun in the postseason considering their position just last weekend during the Lexington Regional. Still, while the Wildcats are on the brink of elimination again today against LSU, Nick Mingione thinks his team has the toughness to dig themselves out of their hole.

Mingione commented on UK’s resiliency with the ESPN2 broadcast during the third inning of their matchup in the Baton Rouge Super Regional. He said his team is tough enough and cares enough to give it all for their school in what could be the final game of their season.

“They’re built tough, they care. And when you’ve been through a lot and you’re trying to do something that’s never been done before? Obviously it means a lot. A good group of guys that are just super tough,” Mingione said. “I’ve said it all year. They want to do whatever they can for Kentucky.”

In the Lexington Regional, Kentucky needed to win three games in two days to extend their season. They started that effort off with a 10-0 victory over West Virginia. The Wildcats then closed it out with a pair of wins over Indiana inside Kentucky Proud Park.

Now, a week later, they find themselves in a similar position against LSU with a spot in the College World Series on the line. They were shutout in a 14-0 blowout in a delayed opening matchup of the three-game series. Through two and a half innings, Kentucky is hanging by a thread inside Alex Box Stadium as they’re currently down 4-1.

Even so, the Wildcats aren’t out of it yet. Based on Mingione’s comments, he isn’t going to count his team out either as long as they’re within striking distance considering what they can still bring to the table, who they are as a team, and where they’ve been before.

Gray gives Kentucky early lead over LSU

Kentucky outfielder Jackson Gray started in a major way in Game 2 of the Wildcats’ Super Regional matchup versus LSU on Sunday.

On just the third pitch of the day, Gray got the best of Tigers’ pitcher Ty Floyd. He sent his pitch over the right-field wall for a solo home run. That gave Kentucky their first lead of the ball game and series.

The homer marks Gray’s sixth of the season and his first of the postseason. In short, he chose a great time to launch one over the wall.

Gray gets things going 💣@UKBaseball x @jacksongray23 pic.twitter.com/DW3SrIKgLT

— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) June 11, 2023