Kentucky Baseball finishes off sweep of Alabama with 10-1 win
No. 17 Kentucky dominated No. 13 Alabama 10-1 on Sunday, finishing off the weekend sweep in dominant fashion.
The Bat Cats outscored the Tide 23-3 over the three-game span, securing their third SEC sweep of the season (Georgia, Ole Miss, and Alabama). Over its first four conference series, Kentucky is outscoring opponents a combined 114-43.
The Wildcat pitching staff (Pooser, Smith, Niman, Moore, and Nove) held the Alabama offense to just three runs on the weekend, their least amount of runs scored in a series this season.
Kentucky improves to 27-4 on the season and 11-1 in SEC play, which is the best start to conference play in program history. The Cats remain atop the SEC East and sit three games ahead of No. 7 Vanderbilt (8-4).
Expect a nice jump in the Top 25 rankings Monday morning for the Bat Cats.
Players of the Game
- RHP Mason Moore: The righty pitched seven innings and allowed just four hits and one earned run. He also struck out six batters, improving to 7-0 on the season.
- 1B Ryan Nicholson: Nicholson exploded at the plate on Sunday, going 3-4 with two home runs and five RBI.
- DH Nick Lopez: The California native continued to produce offensively, going 2-4 with a double and two runs scored.
Three-run second inning propels Cats ahead
For the third time this weekend, Kentucky jumped out to an early lead. The Cats have scratched across the first run of the outing in four consecutive games and in six of their last seven.
Ryan Nicholson kicked off the second inning with a single to right field, marking the start of his big day at the plate. Nolan McCarthy, who entered Sunday with 10 RBI over his last four games, continued his hot-streak with an RBI-double to left center field.
The play at the plate was close, but Alabama catcher Mac Guscette was unable to hold onto the ball, allowing Nicholson to slide in safely.
McCarthy advanced to third on the throw to the plate, putting a runner 90 feet away from home with just one out in the inning. James McCoy then executed his job to perfection, grounding out to second to score McCarthy from third. Kentucky had jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
Following McCoy’s RBI-groundout, Grant Smith (single) and Ryan Waldschmidt (walk) found their way on base with two outs in the inning. Émilien Pitre capped off the frame for the Cats, ripping an RBI-single up the middle to score Smith from second to give the Cats an early three-run lead.
Ryan Nicholson’s longball pads Kentucky’s lead
The Crimson Tide scored their first run in the last 13 1/3 innings in the top of the third, cutting into Kentucky’s lead.
Kentucky’s lead wouldn’t hold at two for long however, as a Ryan Nicholson Big Blue Bomb propelled their cushion back to four in the latter half of the inning.
Nick Lopez led off the bottom of the third with a double down the third base line, his 13th of the season. Lopez’s 13 doubles are tied for 11th most in all of college baseball and are second most in the SEC.
With Lopez standing on second following his patented swerve celebration, Ryan Nicholson blasted a no-doubter home run over the left field fence to bring in two more Wildcat runs. Nicholson’s long ball, his fifth of the season, traveled 394 feet.
Mason Moore dominant again
With Sunday’s victory, righty Mason Moore improves to an unblemished 7-0 on the season. Moore’s seven wins are second most in all of college baseball.
Moore pitched seven innings in the series finale, allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out six batters.
“We knew they were aggressive team and that they’d swing early,” Moore said postgame. “I knew my job today was to go out, throw strikes and let my defense do the work.”
The junior has now started four SEC games and boasts a 4-0 record 3.13 ERA in 23 innings of action. Overall, Moore’s ERA lowered to a stellar 2.62.
Bat Cats cap off dominant weekend in seventh inning
The red-hot Kentucky offense was held quiet for three innings following Nicholson’s home run, but the grad transfer would change that in the seventh.
Nick Lopez and Mitch Daly knocked back-to-back one out singles in the inning, putting two on for the Louisville native.
With runners on first and second, Nicholson belted his second Big Blue Bomb of the game over the left field wall, bringing in three more Wildcat runs. His five RBI drove in on Sunday marked a season high.
“Everyone in our program really enjoys what we’re getting right now and how we’re doing it,” Nicholson said postgame. “It’s awesome to start [SEC play] 11-1 but you want to keep it going and finish strong too. The veterans on our team are pushing the guys along to keep what we’re doing so it definitely feels awesome.”
Holding an 8-1 lead in the seventh, the 3,579 fans in attendance at Kentucky Proud Park could feel the sweep coming on.
The Cats tacked on two more runs in the inning thanks to an RBI-single from Ryan Waldschmidt and an RBI-double from Emilien Pitre, pulling ahead by nine.
Left-hander Jackson Nove relieved Moore in the eighth inning, allowing just one hit over his two frames of action. Nove struck out Alabama’s Kade Snell to cement the victory.
“That’s a really good baseball team,” Mingione said about Alabama postgame. “They’re deserving of every ranking and I’m just really proud of our guys.”
What’s next for No. 17 Kentucky?
The Bat Cats will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Samford for their second road midweek game of the season. First pitch is at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN+.
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