Pair of Kentucky baseball players named All-SEC
Postseason baseball has arrived, and we should expect a thrilling week of action at the SEC Tournament down in Alabama this week. Kentucky will be looking to make some noise, and a pair of players on Nick Mingione’s squad are among the best in the SEC.
On Monday, the league announced awards for the 2022 season. Kentucky’s Tyler Guilfoil and Ryan Ritter both made appearances.
Tyler Guilfoil named top relief pitcher in SEC
Lexington (Ky.) Lafayette product Tyler Guilfoil spent three years at Lipscomb from 2019-21 turning into an All-Atlantic Sun second-team selection as a junior. Guilfoil led the Bisons with 53 strikeouts and recorded five saves in 2021. After the year, Guilfoil entered the transfer portal and landed at Kentucky where the 6-foot-4 relief pitcher has put together a career season.
Guilfoil has led the Wildcats in WHIP (0.87), bullpen innings (46.0), saves (5), and strikeouts (73) while recording a pair of wins with a 1.57 ERA. In a pair of huge wins over Tennessee and Auburn to end the season, Guilfoil logged 10 combined innings of four-hit baseball with 10 total strikeouts. The aggressive righty has been electric for Kentucky all season as the bullpen has been consistently reliable.
The league named the transfer to first-team All-SEC as a relief pitcher as Guilfoil has been dominant for most of the year. Look for Mingione to go to his top arm in the bullpen early in the SEC Tournament.
Shortstop Ryan Ritter is well respected
Metro Chicago native and former junior college transfer Ryan Ritter entered the 2022 campaign with high expectations. A preseason third-team All-American selection by D1 Baseball, Ritter was coming off a nice SEC debut to go along with a solid summer in the Cape Cod League where Ritter flashed defense and improvements with the bat.
At the plate, Ritter has improved but did not take a huge leap like many thought he would. The junior is hitting .273 with eight home runs, 32 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases, but the majority of his damage comes with the glove.
Ritter is one of the finest defenders in college baseball and should have a good chance at rising in the professional level due to his defense. The shortstop was named to the SEC all-defense team as Ritter has put together a solid two-year career in Lexington.
Kentucky will look to continue its season on Tuesday when the Wildcats meet Auburn in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
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