PREVIEW: No. 24 Kentucky hosts Miami (OH) on Tuesday

The Bat Cats will play their first game of the season as a ranked team on Tuesday when they host Miami (OH) at Kentucky Proud Park.

Kentucky snuck into D1Baseball’s latest Top 25 Rankings at No. 24. The Cats are one of 10 SEC teams ranked in the Top 25, joining No. 1 Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 6 Florida, No. 7 Vanderbilt, No. 8 LSU, No. 16 Alabama, No. 18 South Carolina, and No. 21 Mississippi State.

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More to do. pic.twitter.com/LGEcqoyKpw

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) March 25, 2024

No question as to which conference runs the sport.

Tuesday will mark a short stay home for the Cats, as they hit the road once again this weekend for a series at Ole Miss.

Miami (OH)

Miami (OH) is 9-13 (4-5) on the season and are coming off a series victory over Northern Illinois.

The RedHawk offense is led by junior outfielder Zach McDonald (.353 BA) and junior designated hitter Ty Batusich (.316 BA), who are tied for the team-lead with 30 hits apiece. McDonald leads the team in batting average, home runs (seven), RBI (23), and slugging % (.694).

Miami (OH) has played one SEC opponent this season, opening their 2024 campaign on the road at South Carolina. The Gamecocks swept the RedHawks, outscoring them 30-5 on the weekend.

Junior left-handed pitcher Nick DeMonica opened last Tuesday’s game against Butler, giving up four hits and seven earned runs in just one inning of work.

Kentucky

The Cats enter Tuesday’s game as just one of two SEC teams with just one conference loss (Arkansas).

Kentucky (20-4, 5-1) has won eight of its last nine games and are 6-0 in midweek games this season.

Redshirt junior outfielder Nolan McCarthy is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak. McCarthy is 10-28 (.357) at the plate with three doubles and six RBI over his last eight games.

Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Drew Lafferty will make his sixth start of the season on Tuesday. Lafferty, who is 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA, ran into his first rough patch two weeks ago against Murray State. The righty allowed five hits and five earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings pitched.

He bounced back last Tuesday against Evansville however, giving up just four hits and one earned run in 4 1/3 innings pitched.

“Last week I struggled with execution a little bit,” Lafferty said postgame. “I was leaving too many pitches down the middle. I was throwing strikes, but I had to hit my spots better. I did that today and it worked well.”

Kentucky last met Miami (OH) in 2022. The Cats downed the RedHawks 5-1 in Lexington.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Kentucky leads 28-15

Tuesday, March 26, 2024 (Kentucky Proud Park – 6:30 p.m. EST) SEC Network+
UK: RHP Drew Lafferty (1-0, 3.24 ERA, 16.2 IP) vs MIA: LHP Nick DeMonica (0-2, 13.97 ERA, 9.2 IP)