Kentucky baseball will face USC Upstate in Saturday's elimination game

Kentucky pitcher Ben Cleaver | UK Athletics

After another tough loss for Kentucky, this time in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against West Virginia, the Wildcats have learned their opponent for the elimination round.

With Clemson’s 7-3 win over USC Upstate in the Clemson Regional on Friday night, Kentucky is officially slated to face USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon in a win-or-go-home matchup. First pitch is scheduled for noon ET in Doug Kingsmore Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

To keep the season alive and make it out of the Clemson Regional, Kentucky now must win four games in three days. A win over USC Upstate on Saturday would push the Bat Cats into Sunday’s game at noon ET between the loser of Clemson-West Virginia. From there, UK would need to win again on Sunday night and then once more on Monday to advance.

That will do it for Day 1 in the Clemson baseball regional

Kentucky will play USC Upstate at noon tomorrow.

WVU will play Clemson at 6pm tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/B9o0V7Zgva
— Nic Costello (@costello_nic) May 31, 2025

Friday’s 4-3 regional-opening loss to West Virginia was nothing new to this year’s edition of the Bat Cats. Following a nearly three-hour rain delay, Kentucky struck first in the top of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. But WVU went on to score four runs over the final five innings before winning in walk-off fashion. It marked the fifth straight game in which the Wildcats scored first and went on to lose.

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Kentucky’s Ben Cleaver was in a groove on the mound through the first several innings, but pitching was not the primary issue for the Wildcats. UK registered only five hits on the afternoon, and a costly error in the bottom of the fifth inning scored two West Virginia runs, sparking the comeback. Left-hander Jackson Nove allowed the walkout RBI sac-fly to Armani Guzman, handing the Mountaineers the win.

But a win on Saturday can keep Kentucky’s season alive at least for one more game. USC Upstate comes in with a 36-24 overall record (19-5 Big South) following Friday’s loss to Clemson.