Kentucky Finishes off Sweep of Georgia with 12-2 Win
Kentucky dominated Georgia once again on Sunday, run-ruling the Bulldogs in seven innings by a score of 12-2.
Eight batters finished with at least one hit, while six finished with at least one RBI. Ryan Nicholson and Emilien Pitre, who both hit home runs, tied for the team-lead with three apiece.
The Wildcat offense exploded this weekend, scoring 37 runs on 38 hits. The Cats looked like a completely different team than the one that lost last weekend’s series to Kennesaw State, an encouraging sign as Kentucky ventures deeper into SEC play next weekend.
For just the third time in the Nick Mingione era, Kentucky opened SEC play with a series sweep. The prior two occasions (2017 vs. Texas A&M and 2023 vs. Mississippi State), the Cats made the NCAA Tournament and hosted a Regional.
Longball gives Georgia early lead
After a scoreless first inning, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second inning.
Mason Moore walked senior left fielder Paul Toetz to open the inning, putting a runner on first for junior catcher Henry Hunter.
On the third pitch he saw, Hunter belted a 426-foot two-run home run over the left field wall to drive in two Bulldog runs.
Georgia had another prime opportunity to add onto its lead in the top of the third inning, loading the bases with just one out. Freshman first baseman Fernando Gonzalez however grounded out into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play, stranding three more potential Bulldog runs.
Two-out rally propels Cats in front
The bottom of the third inning looked uneventful, as Grant Smith flied out and Ryan Waldschmidt struck out for two quick outs.
A little St. Patrick’s Day magic struck however, as Emilien Pitre was walked to extend the inning. Pitre then stole second and third base with Devin Burkes up to bat. Burkes was hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners.
As is per quod, Nick Lopez delivered once again for the Bat Cats. Lopez roped his team-leading ninth double into the left center field gap, bouncing off the glove of Georgia’s Paul Toetz to drive in two Wildcat runs.
The two-out rally didn’t stop there, as Mitch Daly followed with an extra-base hit of his own. Daly hit a long drive off the right field wall, just missing a home run. The grad transfer reached third base safely standing up, chasing Georgia starter right-hander Christian Mracna out of the game.
Mracna was replaced by left-handed pitcher Jarvis Evans. Evans’ first batter faced was Ryan Nicholson, who put the finishing touches on the two-out rally.
On the first pitch he saw, Nicholson belted a no-doubt two-run home run just fair of the right field foul pole. In the blink of an eye, the Cats had jumped ahead by three runs.
Pitre Power Prevails
The power of the two-out rally struck once again in the bottom of the fourth inning, headlined by “notorious” power hitter Emilien Pitre.
After a quick two outs by the Wildcat offense, Grant Smith kept the inning alive with a single through the right side. Emilien Pitre looked to harvest the power of the two-out rally once inning, and he did with flying colors.
Pitre belted a 426-foot no doubt home run way over the right field wall, driving in two more Kentucky runs. After hitting just two home runs in all of 2023, he’s tied his 2023 total in just 20 games this season.
The Quebec native finished with two hits and three RBI on Saturday, receiving high praise from Nick Mingione postgame.
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“[Pitre] is as good of a player as I’ve coached and that’s saying a lot,” Mingione said. “I’ve had the privilege of coaching a lot of guys that made it to the major leagues and I can tell you that he’s as good of a player as I’ve coached. He can impact the game on so many levels.”
Mason Moore continues to impress
Junior right-hander Mason Moore made his fifth start of the season on Sunday and impressed once again.
Moore pitched six near flawless innings, allowing just three hits and two earned runs. He also struck out a career-high eight batters.
“Me and [pitching coach Dan] Roszel always talk about attacking the zone and this team was aggressive,” Moore said postgame. “With a defense like ours, it’s just kind of easy for me to go out there and attack the zone and get a lot of ground balls.”
“To go six innings and give up just two runs with the wind blowing the way it was, against an offense like that, he was phenomenal,” Mingione said postgame about Moore.
Bat Cats slam door on Georgia
The trend of big innings for the Wildcat offense continued in the fifth, as the Cats tacked on four more runs to extend their lead to nine.
Ryan Nicholson was walked and Nolan McCarthy singled, putting two runners on quickly for UK. James McCoy, who had three hits in Saturday’s win, blooped an RBI-single into shallow left field, bringing in Nicholson from third.
A sac-bunt from Grant Smith and two sac-flies from Ryan Waldschmidt and Emilien Pitre drove in three more runs, safely putting this one away.
Ryan Nicholson put the cherry on top in the bottom of the sixth, blasting a 390-foot solo home run to extend Kentucky’s lead to 10, igniting the run-rule possibility.
RHP Trey Pooser relieved Moore in the bottom of the seventh, sitting the Cats down in order to finish off the sweep.
“They came in 17-1, so for us to come in and win three games obviously is a great start,” Mingione said postgame. “You couldn’t start any better. I just thought our team was a team all weekend from Friday until the last pitch on Sunday.”
The Cats will be back in action on Tuesday, as they host Evansville at Kentucky Proud Park at 6:30 p.m. EST.
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