Harris' strong debut leads Kentucky to 8-2 win over Morehead State

Kentucky won its fifth consecutive game on Wednesday afternoon as the ‘Cats downed Morehead State 8-2 at Kentucky Proud Park.

Highly touted freshman left-handed pitcher Leighton Harris made his collegiate debut against the Eagles, holding them scoreless in four innings pitched. Harris alongside freshmen counterparts Tyler Bell and Ryan Schwartz will factor majorly into the future of the program.

Speaking of Bell, the 2024 MLB Draft pick had another great day at the plate. He notched hits in three of his five at-bats, including a double (third in two days), two singles and two RBI. He currently leads Kentucky with nine RBI. In his last 13 at-bats, he’s 9-13 with four doubles, a home run and eight RBI.

Morehead State actually tied Kentucky on the afternoon with eight hits, but stranded nine base runners. The Eagles’ eight hits were the most allowed in a game by the Wildcat pitching staff this season.

Players of the Game:

• LHP Leighton Harris: In his collegiate debut, the freshman held Morehead State scoreless and totaled five strikeouts in four innings pitched.
• SS Tyler Bell: Kentucky’s freshman shortstop had another strong day at the plate. He went 3-5 with a double and two RBI.
• RF Shaun Montoya: Montoya had the best game of his season so far on Wednesday, going 2-3 at the plate with a double and two RBI.

Lexington product makes Wildcat debut

For the second game in a row, a true freshman got the mid-week start on the mound for Kentucky.

Left-handed pitcher Leighton Harris, who grew up in Lexington and attended Frederick Douglass High School, made his first career collegiate appearance and start on Wednesday against Morehead State. According to Perfect Game’s rankings, Harris was the 208th ranked player nationally and second ranked player in the state of Kentucky in the Class of 2024.

The Lexington native pitched four innings on Wednesday, allowing five hits and no earned runs with three strikeouts in his debut. The freshman starting duo of Nate Harris (started on Tuesday) and Leighton Harris combined to allow two earned runs with eight hits in eight innings pitched this week.

When asked about the freshman pitchers on Tuesday, catcher Devin Burkes‘ face lit up.

“We’ve got a lot of dawgs,” Burkes said. “Young guys, old guys. It doesn’t matter. Everybody’s ready to play.”

Morehead State pitching gifts Wildcats early runs

After plating 24 runs in Tuesday’s 24-3 win over Evansville, the Kentucky offense kept the scoring rolling with six runs in the opening frame of Wednesday’s game. However, four of the six runs were gifted by the Morehead State pitching duo of senior left-hander Andre Wojtarowicz and grad right-hander AJ Hacker.

Kentucky’s first two batters of the game, Luke Lawrence and Patrick Herrera, were both walked on four pitches to open the day at the plate for the ‘Cats. Left fielder Cole Hage then snuck a single into shallow right field, quickly loading the bases for freshman shortstop Tyler Bell. The freshman phenom continued to shine, as he snuck a single past the glove of Morehead third baseman Griffin Olson down the left field line to drive in Kentucky’s first two runs.

Bell compiled his eighth and ninth RBIs, which lead all Wildcat batters.

Following Bell’s two-run single, the Eagles gifted Kentucky four more runs. With the bases loaded on all four occasions, Dylan Koontz drew a walk and Shaun Montoya, Will Marcy and Patrick Herrera were all hit by a pitch. Through the opening frame, Kentucky had already scored six runs on just two hits.

Eagles’ right-hander Callahan slows down Kentucky lineup

Following the struggles of Morehead State’s first two pitchers on Wednesday, Olive Hill, KY native RHP Trevor Callahan tamed the Kentucky lineup a bit.

Prior to Callahan’s entrance however, Tyler Bell stayed red-hot as he opened the second frame with a double to left field. Shaun Montoya followed with his second double of the season down the right field line, driving Bell home safely.

Once he entered the game with one out in the second inning, Callahan forced a double play to get out of the frame and then held Kentucky scoreless over the third and fourth innings. The Wildcat lineup finally got to him in the fifth however, chasing him with two outs in the inning.

Shaun Montoya kept his solid day at the plate going with a single, and was joined on the bases by Dylan Koontz and Raphael Pelletier following drawn walks. Luke Lawrence drove Montoya home from third with an RBI sac-fly, effectively ending Callahan’s day.

Kentucky’s pitching keeps Eagles scoring at bay

Although right-hander Nile Adcock allowed two runs in the fifth inning, the Wildcat pitching staff kept the Eagles scoreless over the final four innings to cement the 8-2 win.

Seven different Kentucky pitchers saw action on Wednesday, including Harris, Adcock, redshirt senior left-hander Evan Byers, redshirt junior right-hander James McCoy, freshman right-hander Zak Spurrier, redshirt sophomore left-hander Hayden Smith and freshman left-hander Logan Grubb. The seven arms combined to strike out eight with just two runs and three walks.

Grubb, who also made his collegiate debut on Wednesday to open the ninth inning, struck out the side to cement the win. The final 12 Eagles batters were retired in order.

What’s next for Kentucky?

Kentucky, who improved to 6-1 on the season following the win over Morehead State, has now won five consecutive games. After a day off on Thursday, the ‘Cats will be back in action at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday for the first game of their weekend series against Hofstra.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EST.