KSR Today: Softball loses, Baseball wins, jersey mock-ups!
Good morning, friends. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but it feels very odd to already be in the offseason for Kentucky Basketball. Right now, we should be churning out Sweet 16 previews and packing our bags for Philly. Instead, we’re catching up on Netflix and trying desperately not to think about basketball. Life goes on, but that was an abrupt halt, wasn’t it?
Don’t worry; the KSR morning post won’t let you down. Here’s a rundown of what’s currently happening in UK Sports and beyond.
No. 8 Softball lost to No. 1 Oklahoma
A sold-out crowd packed John Cropp Stadium to cheer the Cats on vs. No. 1 Oklahoma last night, but the Sooners were just too good. Oklahoma hit six home runs to beat No. 8 Kentucky 9-1 in six innings, the Cats’ solo score coming off a home run by Renee Abernathy in the bottom of the fourth inning. A regular-season record 2,117 fans came out for the game, making it the second-largest crowd in program history behind the 2013 SEC Championship game. Kentucky falls to 20-6 on the season and will resume SEC play this weekend with a three-game series vs. No. 18 Auburn, which starts Friday night at 6 p.m.
Baseball bounces back vs. Morehead State
Elsewhere on campus, the Kentucky Baseball team got a much-needed win, beating Morehead State 7-5 to snap a four-game losing streak. The Cats fell behind 3-0 in the first inning but quickly mounted a comeback, scoring seven unanswered. Sophomore Wyatt Hudepohl got his first collegiate victory, relieving starter Seth Logue in the fourth inning and pitching 3.1 innings of one-hit baseball, striking out four along the way. Lexington native Tyler Guilfoil came in during the ninth inning to finish things off, earning his first save. Corbin native Chase Estep bounced back after having his 17-game hitting streak broken over the weekend, going 2-3 with a double and a pair of walks.
The Cats get back to SEC play this weekend vs. No. 14 Georgia. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday at Kentucky Proud Park. You can also watch on SEC Network+.
ICYMI, big Kentucky Football injury news yesterday
Spring football practice is supposed to be what cheers us up this week, but unfortunately, we got a big piece of bad news yesterday. Sources told our Matt Jones that junior defensive back Vito Tisdale suffered a torn ACL and meniscus, which is expected to sideline him for the entire 2022 season. Tisdale was already one of Kentucky’s best players on defense and was expected to shift from nickel to cornerback to use his skills at a position of need.
Where do the Cats go from here? Adam Luckett had an excellent breakdown for you last night. Junior Joel Williams stepping up will be crucial, as will the transfer portal. A name to keep an eye on is Ole Miss transfer Keidron Smith. He’ll be on campus for the spring game on April 9.
More Spring Practice coverage
Before we learned the Tisdale news, members of Kentucky’s offense chatted with reporters, including Rich Scangarello. The Cats’ new offensive coordinator shared what his first weeks in Lexington have been like and what Kentucky’s offense will look like with him in charge. In news that will make Ryan Lemond very proud, freshman wide receiver Dane Key is already impressing the coaching staff.
“I think (Dane) Key’s done a nice job,” said Scangarello. “He’s really, for a young guy has real high football IQ and he’s gone out there every day and I see it. He’s been a good example of someone who’s getting better, taking the coaching and has the kind of skills that you’d like to see blossom in the offense.”
We’ll have more spring practice leftovers for you today, but if you can’t wait until then, check out wide receiver Tayvion Robinson, tight end Brenden Bates, and offensive lineman Kenneth Horsey‘s comments below. Horsey had some great things to share about how the Big Blue Wall is rebuilding — excuse me, reloading — under new offensive line coach Zach Yenser. Yenser’s connection to the late, great John Schlarman certainly helps.
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Lee Corso
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Big shakeup in CBB Top 25
“He embodies it perfectly. It’s honestly a small world the fact that he was coached by Schlarman previously, but I feel like that speaks to the legacy of Coach Schlarman. We constantly think about how we leave our legacies and I honestly believe Coach Schlarman’s legacy was bigger than what he did in this building.”
Reminder: The Chris Stapleton concert at Kroger Field is one month away
It’s been delayed more than once due to the pandemic, so you may have forgotten, but exactly one month from today (Saturday, April 23) is Chris Stapleton’s “A Concert for Kentucky: An Outlaw State of Kind Benefit” at Kroger Field. The concert will also feature special guests Willie Nelson and Family, Sheryl Crow, and Yola. 100% of the net proceeds will go toward Chris and Morgane Stapleton’s Outlaw State of Kind Hometown Fund, which supports local and national organizations directly impacting Kentucky, with initial grant distributions focusing on music and arts education.
Tickets for the concert are still available on Ticketmaster. Earlier this week, UK Athletics announced that parking permits are now also available for purchase on Ticketmaster. Kroger Field parking lots will open at noon on April 23. The concert begins at 6 p.m. Here’s the parking map:
Xavier beat Vanderbilt and dunked on their awful new logo
Yesterday was a rough day for the Vanderbilt Commodores. First, the university unveiled its new “visual identity,” replacing the Star V logo with a generic V logo that became the laughing stock of Twitter. Then, the ‘Dores lost to Xavier in the NIT Quarterfinals and the Musketeers’ official social media account twisted the knife:
I am here for this pettiness. I’m also here for the end of the checkerboard uniforms, which is apparently nigh. We won’t find out what Kentucky’s new basketball uniforms look like until this summer or fall, but that’s not stopping the BBN’s very talented graphic designers from weighing in. Here are a few of my favorite mock-ups:
Seriously, give me those bottom ones now and I’ll forgive what happened on Thursday.
KSR is at The Ketch
If you’d like to turn that frown upside down, or just eat some good seafood, come out to The Ketch (2012 Regency Road) for today’s show, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Shannon and Billy are kicking things off with the KSR Preshow, which starts right now on 630 WLAP and iHeart Radio.
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