Kentucky glides to 14-3 win in series-opener against Western Michigan

Cole Stupp and the Wildcats saw what they did to their fans on Wednesday, took note, and made sure not to put the BBN under the same stress again. After waiting until the last possible moment a couple of days ago, Kentucky struck early and often in a 14-3 humiliation over Western Michigan on Friday as they move to 5-0 on the season.

VICTORY, KENTUCKY!!

F | UK 14, W. Michigan 3 pic.twitter.com/TNzvomqbVY

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 26, 2022

Bats get to work early

Kentucky had no intentions of making this another worrisome night in Lexington. The Wildcats led today before even recording an out.

Ryan Ritter led off the game with a productive at-bat, fighting for a full-count walk. Hunter Jump followed up with a double off the right-center field fence, allowing Ritter to scamper home all the way from third to give the Wildcats the initial lead. An Adam Fogel RBI groundout combined with an RBI double to the left-center gap by Oraj Anu gave Kentucky a 3-0 lead after the first frame.

“That was a message to our team before the game. We challenged our position players ‘Can you make a statement early?'” Nick Mingione said after the game. “Obviously we had five runs right there in the first two innings, so that was good.”

Kentucky continued the onslaught in the second with a couple more runs. Whether we credit these runs to the Wildcats’ offense or the lack of defense of Western Michigan, we still don’t entirely know. Ryan Ritter flew what should’ve been a routine out to center. Will Morrison dropped it, allowing John Thrasher to score from third base. A botched play in a rundown allowed Ritter to score, giving the Wildcats a 5-0 lead.

“We wanted to start off the weekend strong and just get after them right away,” Ryan Ritter said after the win. “We didn’t want to wait around like last time or even last weekend so we wanted to change that up today.”

Alonzo Rubalcaba ripped the first home of his Kentucky career, launching a two-run shot over the left-field fence that ballooned the lead up to 7-1 in the fourth. Two RBI doubles by Ritter and Thrasher later in that inning had Kentucky up by 11 runs after four.

ZO!!!@AlonzoRubalcaba cranks his first #BigBlueBomb to make it 7-1 UK in the 3rd!

Watch on SECN+ pic.twitter.com/dc0aepkCZJ

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 25, 2022

“We did a good job creating pressure, whether it be on the bases or our at-bats… I’m proud of the way our guys stood in there and competed.” Mingione said.

Two more came across in the fifth inning. Chase Estep continued his torrid start to the season with an RBI single on a chopper over first base. Oraj Anu brought in the next by grounding into a double play, allowing Adam Fogel to touch home plate.

Cole Stupp struggling early in the year

Cole Stupp floundered in his opening start last week against Jacksonville St. — no question about it. Even though it’s not ideal that kind of performance came from your Friday night starter, you can toss away the first start somewhat due to nerves. His performance tonight though could give some credence to those who are starting to worry about the junior.

Following the four-inning, six-earned run performance from the Georgia native last Friday, Stupp’s numbers tonight weren’t nearly as gruesome but didn’t really help quell the worries of fans. Stupp’s day was done after five frames, this time throwing 101 pitches. The numbers at first glance aren’t all that awful — two-runs allowed and nine strikeouts don’t seem too alarming. It actually tied his career-high for strikeouts in a game.

“I thought Cole made his best pitches when runners were in scoring position. In the first inning they had a chance. They had guys in scoring position and what does he do? He gets out of it.” Mingione said.

He did however allow eight hits and give up two free bases in the limited action. Stupp was bailed out a few times by his defense which saved his stat line. Again, it’s not great to see this from your supposed number one starter. But it’s hard to complain all that much after a 12-run win.

Given the extensive lead, Mingione was able to experiment around and get some normally unused bullpen arms some run. Newcomers Mason Moore, Jackson Nove and Colby Freida all made their debuts. Moore and Freida hurled scoreless frames while Nove allowed a home run in his only inning. The home run snapped an 18.1 inning scoreless streak for the Kentucky bullpen.

The Wildcats will look to secure a series victory on Saturday as they’re back out against the Broncos. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. EST and is scheduled to be broadcasted on SEC Network+.