Kentucky's pitching has begun to settle in over last two SEC series

Kentucky’s pitching staff was riddled with somewhat of a negative stigma through its first nine SEC games (No. 3 Georgia x3, No. 16 Auburn x3 and Texas A&M x3), as the ‘Cats boasted a team 7.88 ERA (70 ER in 80 IP). Dan Roszel’s staff has seemingly found its groove over its last two series however (No. 6 Ole Miss x3 and No. 2 Texas x2), as the staff’s ERA is down to 3.52 (25 ER in 64 IP).

The ‘Cats are just 2-4 in those six games, but that falls solely on the offense. All four of those losses are by three or less runs, as Kentucky pitching kept top-10 opponents within striking distance until the very last out.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Nick Mingione said about his pitching following Sunday’s 5-4 loss to No. 2 Texas. “Even think about [Saturday’s game] alone, I thought that piece has been awesome you know all weekend long. It’s definitely been a strength of ours and we need that to continue. It hasn’t been just one guy, it’s been a bunch.”

The major standout on the mound from Kentucky’s series against No. 2 Texas had to be senior right-handed reliever Simon Gregersen, who entered with one out in the top of the ninth in Saturday’s 5-4 15-inning win and held the Longhorns scoreless until he departed following the 13th inning.

He pitched 4 2/3 innings, holding a Texas team that was outscoring SEC opponents 81-45 entering the weekend, to just one hit and no runs with five strikeouts. Gregersen got off to a rough start to SEC play, as he allowed eight hits and five earned runs (11.25 ERA) over his first three appearances (4 IP). Over his last two relief outings however, he’s held teams to one hit and no runs (0.00 ERA) over 7 1/3 innings.

“How about Simon Gregersen?” Mingione said with confidence about his reliever following Saturday’s win. “Golly, man that was absolutely phenomenal.”

Saturday’s win over what is now a No. 1 ranked Texas will likely go down as one of the greatest Kentucky pitching performances of all time. Over the 15-inning span, right-hander Nic McCay and five relievers combined to total 18 strikeouts and hold Texas to a .157 team average (8-51) on the day.

The ‘Cats will look to continue this newfound SEC success on the mound this weekend when they travel to No. 4 Tennessee for a three-game series. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST.