10 Takeaways from Kentucky Baseball's Opening Day at Kentucky Proud Park

DrewFranklinKSR

Kentucky Proud Park opened its gates to the Big Blue Nation and Kentucky Baseball‘s 2024 season on Tuesday. The Wildcats hosted nearby Morehead State in an evening game on UK’s campus, the first home appearance for Kentucky since last year’s thrilling victory in the Lexington Regional’s championship game. Tuesday’s Kentucky Proud Park crowd wasn’t nearly as electric as the single-game attendance record of 5,204 fans who watched Kentucky host its first NCAA regional championship last April. Still, sunshine and an exciting come-from-behind win made for a fun first day at KPP.

The first 7.5 innings belonged to Morehead

Kentucky was staring down a loss in the home opener due to a sloppy start in Kentucky Proud Park’s first game of the season. Early on, the Wildcats left several runners on base, beginning with a first inning of missed opportunities. Kentucky loaded the bases with the first three batters in the game but couldn’t bring anyone home. Morehead State eventually struck first with two runs in the top of the fourth and one more in the top of the fifth before Kentucky got on the board with Grant Smith‘s fifth-inning RBI single. Two more Morehead State runs and one for Kentucky made it 5-2 as fans sang “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch, wondering if the opening night would end in defeat. Then came the comeback.

The 8th-inning rally

There must be some magic in Kentucky’s hype song because the game changed once “Pump It Up” played throughout the stadium before the bottom of the eighth. (The team used to really get into pumping it up.) With six outs to find three runs to tie or four to win, the Wildcats went bananas in the eighth, scoring seven to take their first and final lead.

Canadian pinch-hitter Émilien Pitre and freshman Eli Small started the comeback with consecutive one-out singles. They each made it all the way home on a flurry of walks and wild pitches as the Morehead pitching stuff folded while trying to protect the Eagles’ lead. Morehead walked two straight batters after Pitre and Small reached base, then plunked Patrick Herrera to add another Kentucky run. Nick Mingione then called for Grant Smith to lay down a sacrifice bunt to score the game-tying run, followed by Mitchell Daly‘s RBI single up the left side to put Kentucky ahead 6-5.

B8 | UK 6 | MSU 5

CATS. LEAD.#WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/zsjmoAiS7i
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 20, 2024

The Wildcats weren’t done. With two outs and bases loaded, Louisville St. X’s own Ryan Nicholson, a graduate transfer from Cincinnati, blasted one off the right field wall, nearly hitting a grand slam in his first game in KPP. Still, Nicholson’s double brought all three runners home.

B8 | UK 9 | MSU 5

CLEAR THOSE BASES, @RyNicholson25! #WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/F1bRHs3ZpJ
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 21, 2024

UK used seven pitchers

Kentucky threw seven pitchers against Morehead. Redshirt freshman Drew Lafferty made his first career start, going two scoreless innings with two strikeouts until handing the ball over to Hayden Smith in the third. Jackson Nove earned the win with help from Johnny Hummel, who closed it out in the ninth.

“Clear home advantage”

Attendance for Kentucky Proud Park’s first game was officially listed at 2,844, almost a thousand more people than watched last year’s Tuesday afternoon home opener against Evansville (1,944). There is a carryover in excitement from last season’s Regional. After the game, Nick Mingione credited those excited fans for fueling the comeback with their energy. “There’s a clear home field advantage,” said Mingione.

“There was a clear home field advantage… I’m thankful for those who came out”
– @UKBaseball Head Coach @Coach_Mingione on BBN showing up for the Cats home opener. pic.twitter.com/FVWnJxejXC
— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) February 21, 2024

Brock Vandagriff is a baseball guy

Kentucky Football‘s new quarterback, Brock Vandagriff, was among the 2,844 watching spring baseball in Lexington yesterday. Soon, Vandagriff will begin spring football practice only a few hundred yards from the baseball stadium. But on Tuesday, sunflower seeds and baseball.

“Baby Shark” is back, unfortunately

One of the downsides of the Kentucky Baseball experience is you will walk away with “Baby Shark” stuck in your head for hours, sometimes days, at a time. As I write this, I am singing it the morning after the game, wondering if and when it will ever escape my brain. “Baby shark doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo…” Is this gonna be forever?

The annoying kids’ song, which has 14 billion views on YouTube, is played at Kentucky Proud Park every time there is a 2-0 count.

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Pitcher Evan Byers’ walk-up music

From Drake to Shakira, NBA Youngboy to Foo Fighters, the Cats’ walk-up music spanned several genres. However, none caught my attention like relief pitcher Evan Byers walking out to the mound to “Never Leave Harlan Alive.” The song gained some traction over at Kroger Field last football season and it’s great to see Byers keeping it going during baseball games.

Nick Lopez working on a Rollie Fingers mustache

Nick Lopez, a graduate transfer from Southern Cal, led off the game with a double to left field for his first career hit in KPP. But let’s talk about his mustache. It’s fantastic.

Lopez’s home debut also came with three errors at third base as he was replaced midgame by Mitchell Daly.

The kids love Devin Burkes

Back for another season at catcher, redshirt junior Devin Burkes is again a fan favorite. Last season’s Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Regional drew a crowd of young fans along the net whenever he came up in the batting order. He acknowledged all of them with a smile or a fist bump.

Burkes didn’t get a hit against Morehead, going 0 for 3 at the plate. Still, he got the crowd going when he was hit by a pitch during Kentucky’s electric eighth inning. The Preseason All-SEC selection reached base on a walk in the first inning, too.

Expectations are high for Kentucky in 2024

Though the Wildcats are unranked in the D1Baseball.com Top 25, the team still has high expectations in Nick Mingione’s eighth season in charge. Kentucky lost much of its production at the plate and on the mound since last season’s Regional title. Still, several returners have high-level experience to lead the new-look club. Mingione also found quality help in the transfer portal.

Later this week, Kentucky will take its undefeated record into Round Rock, Texas, for the Karbach Round Rock Classic. The Cats play Washington State on Friday, Texas State on Saturday, and Kansas on Sunday.