Kentucky Baseball Opens Season with 11-7 Win over USC-Upstate

The 2024 Kentucky Baseball season is officially underway.

The Bat Cats reversed their fortunes from last season, as they came away with a 11-7 win in the season opener against USC-Upstate on Friday.

Grad transfers Nick Lopez (USC) and Ryan Nicholson (Cincinnati) were great in their Wildcat debuts, as they combined for five hits, three doubles, and 2 RBI.

Freshman Griffin Cameron also had himself a nice debut in blue and white, notching a hit, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Cameron will be a staple for this Kentucky Baseball team for seasons to come.

Kentucky finished with 12 hits on the afternoon, as eight of their nine batters finished with at least 1 RBI. It was a great start to the season for the Wildcat bats.

Redshirt sophomore Travis Smith, who has been lauded as one of the possible breakout pitchers in the country this season, got the Opening Day start for the Cats. However, he didn’t quite get off to quite the start he was hoping for.

In four innings pitched, Smith allowed four hits, walked four batters, and gave up two earned runs while striking out just one batter. We’re just one game in however, so Smith is surely just getting his legs under him.

Cats Jump Out to Early Lead

Kentucky and Upstate were both sat down in order in the first inning, but the bats would come to life for both teams in the second inning.

Reuben Church, Nolan McCarthy, and Nick Lopez all smashed RBI-doubles to right field, driving in three quick runs. McCarthy just missed the first Big Blue Bomb of the season, as it nailed the fence in the air.

REUB!!@reuben_church12 goes opposite field for a double and the Cats' first run of 2024.

ESPN+ – https://t.co/2JNfu3Ws0u pic.twitter.com/HgIxfEPYUG

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 16, 2024

Along with the three doubles, freshman Griffin Cameron secured the first RBI and first stolen base of his young career. With Nolan McCarthy on third, Cameron knocked a dribbler down the third base line. Upstate 3B Vance Sheahan made a great play on the ball, but the speedy first year beat the throw out at first. He would then go on to steal second base, making an instant impact in the blue and white.

The four-run lead wouldn’t hold for long however, as the Spartans quickly cut if in half following a two-run response in the bottom of the inning.

Kentucky Blows Game Open in Fifth

The Cats would fail to add on to their four-run second inning until the fifth inning, where they would put up their second four-run inning of the afternoon.

Nick Lopez continued to add to his Kentucky debut, singling after a Griffin Cameron walk to move the speedy freshman to third. Cincinnati transfer Ryan Nicholson was up next, and he hit a high pop-fly into “no man’s land” between the infield and center field. Upstate’s 2B Easton Cullison and CF Daniel Gernon failed to call each other off, allowing Nicholson’s pop-up to drop in for an RBI-single.

Following the Upstate error, bases were loaded thanks to a Devin Burkes bunt-single, allowing another run to score on a Pitre drawn walk.

Grant Smith then put his mark on the game, hitting a chopping single over the third baseman’s head to drive in two more runs. The Cats sat pretty with an 8-2 lead through five.

Wildcats Clinch First Win of Season

College of Charleston transfer RHP Trey Pooser took over for Smith in the bottom of the fifth inning and nearly finished things out for the Cats, as he was pulled with two outs in the ninth. In his first appearance as a Wildcat, Pooser pitched 4.2 innings. He gave up six hits and five earned runs while striking out four batters.

Following their four-run fifth inning, the Cats would go on to score three more runs over the remainder of the game.

The first of those runs came courtesy of yet another error by Upstate, this time by RF Jace Rinehart. James McCoy hit a high fly ball to the right field warning track that Rinehart lost in the sky. The ball popped right out his glove, allowing Émilien Pitre to score from second.

In the eighth, Nick Lopez (who reached on his second double of the game) put himself in prime position for yet another insurance run. Devin Burkes stepped up to the plate and smashed Kentucky’s first Big Blue Bomb of the 2024 season. Lopez and Burkes both trotted home, extending Kentucky’s lead to six to put this one on ice.

Upstate SS Troy Hamilton attempted to make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run home run, but LHP Evan Byers shut things down for the Spartans. The Kentucky Wildcats are 1-0.

Game two of the weekend series is scheduled for Saturday at 2:00 p.m. EST.