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Kentucky

Tyler Bell injury update: Kentucky shortstop's status vs. USC Upstate revealed

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax05/31/25BarkleyTruax
Kentucky-Tyler-Bell-named-SEC-Freshman-Week
Kentucky's Tyler Bell (Photo via UK Athletics)

Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell has been ruled out for the Wildcats’ elimination matchup against USC Upstate on Saturday. Bell did not appear in Saturday’s lineup after he fouled a ball off his knee during Friday’s loss to West Virginia.

Bell continued to play in the Clemson Regional opening matchup despite not appearing 100%. He didn’t record a hit, but was still effective as he drew two walks while striking out once during his three at-bats.

The Wildcats would lose the matchup in heartbreaking fashion — via a Mountaineers walk-off sacrifice fly. West Virginia had a runner on third base, and Armani Guzman popped a ball up to shallow center. Kentucky center fielder Griffin Cameron was able to make a diving grab for the out, but missed on the throw home. If the throw to the plate had been accurate, it likely would have been tough beating the runner home. Either way, the Wildcats are now facing elimination in the Clemson Regional.

This came after a nearly three-hour delay to the matchup due to inclement weather in the area. When the game began, Kentucky jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Now, the Wildcats’ backs are against the wall and they’ll be without their shortstop to boot. Kentucky knows the implications heading into this matchup, which senior Patrick Herrera, who went 1-of-4 at the plate against WVU, commented on during the team’s postgame press conference on Friday.

“Everyone knows what’s at stake tomorrow,” Herrera told reporters. “Just got to move on as quick as we can. It’s win or go home so just got to come out tomorrow and execute a little better. But we’re ready to go.”

For USC Upstate, they took on regional host Clemson. Losing 7-3, the Tigers outscored Upstate seven runs to one after the fourth inning. They led Clemson 2-0 early, but once the No. 11 overall seed took the lead, they never gave it up.

The Spartans aren’t a team that should be overlooked, either. They entered the weekend ranked second in the country in scoring with 9.7 runs per game. They hit 99 home runs as a team before arriving at Clemson for the start of the NCAA Tournament.

First pitch for the matchup between UK and USC Upstate is scheduled for noon ET and will air live on ESPN2. The loser will be eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.