Kentucky Baseball Jumps Back into Top 25 After Sweeping No. 3 South Carolina

DanielHagerKSR

After an unexpected sweep of then-No. 3 ranked South Carolina over the weekend, the Bat ‘Cats ended their unranked streak at just one week and hopped back into the Top 25.

On Monday morning, D1 Baseball moved Kentucky up to No. 17 while Baseball America slotted the Wildcats at No. 19. UK had previously been ranked in the Top 25 for six consecutive weeks prior to last Monday, climbing as high as No. 10 in the country back on April 3rd. Good omens are back around the program.

With Sunday’s series-sweeping win, Kentucky matched last season’s win total at 33. The Bat ‘Cats still have two more weeks of regular season play, the SEC Tournament, and the NCAA Tournament remaining. There’s a real chance the Wildcats can hit 40 wins for the first time since 2017.

The Bat ‘Cats will play host to Tennessee Tech on Tuesday before traveling to Knoxville for their final road series of the season against No. 23 Tennessee. UK will close out the regular season on May 20th when they welcome No. 7 Florida to Kentucky Proud Park. After that, it’s on to Hoover, AL for SEC Tournament play.

Even with those conference rivalry series on the horizon, the ‘Cats shouldn’t overlook Tennessee Tech. Tennessee Tech heads to KPP on Tuesday sitting at 17-27 on the season, fresh off a sweep of SIUE. The Eagles demolished No. 23 Tennessee in Knoxville 12-5 back on April 18th. If Nick Mingione’s squad can win their final midweek game of the season, they will hold an impressive 10-1 record in midweek non-conference games. Kentucky was 7-5 in those such games last season. The Bat ‘Cats blanked Tennessee Tech 13-0 in Lexington last season.

Kentucky’s starters made a loud statement with their performances against South Carolina over the weekend, as Zack Lee, Travis Smith, and Tyler Bosma combined for 16 IP, just six earned runs allowed, and 20 strikeouts. The Wildcats’ pitching rotation seems to have hit its stride just weeks away from postseason play. Pair strong pitching with a rejuvenated offense that just scored their most runs in a three-game sweep of a ranked opponent since 2006 and you’ve got a recipe for a team that is right back on track.

Kentucky’s final midweek game of the season against the Tennessee Tech Eagles is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. EST at Kentucky Proud Park. Following the massive sweep of the Gamecocks, I sat down with Steven Peake to break it all down in the latest episode of KSR’s Rapid Reactions.