Kentucky excelling in midweek games over past two seasons

Kentucky-excelling-midweek-games-over-past-two-seasons — Photo by Eddie Justice (UK Athletics)

Kentucky Baseball is a near perfect 17-1 in midweek games against non-conference competition over the past two seasons.

Its lone loss came last season at home against Louisville, where Kentucky set the regular season single-game school attendance record.

The Cats were 10-1 in 2023 and improved to 7-0 in 2024 with their 9-5 victory over Miami (OH) on Tuesday night.

𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘, 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐘!

The Cats complete the comeback, fueled by 19 free passes and a six-run seventh inning!#WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/gPd5V7J0LZ
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) March 27, 2024

Kentucky boasts the best midweek game winning percentage in the SEC over the past two seasons (94.44%). The entire list is below.

Kentucky: 17-1 (94.44%)
Tennessee: 20-2 (90.91%)
Alabama: 18-2 (90%)
LSU: 17-2 (89.47%)
South Carolina: 19-3 (86.36%)
Vanderbilt: 17-3 (85%)
Auburn: 14-3 (82.35%)
Arkansas: 13-3 (81.25%)
Missouri: 12-3 (80%)
Texas A&M: 16-4 (80%)
Georgia: 15-4 (78.95%)
Mississippi St: 14-4 (77.78%)
Ole Miss: 14-4 (77.78%)
Florida: 14-7 (66.67%)

Interestingly enough, Kentucky has trailed in 10 of their 17 midweek victories, including the last four. They don’t call them the Comeback Cats for no reason.

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“If I had the answer we’d be winning,” head coach Nick Mingione joked when asked about falling behind in their midweek matchups. “The guys that end up coming in slam the door late and give our offense a chance to come back. They fight back. But man it would be nice to get a lead and add to a lead. But their fight is pretty impressive.”

Kentucky’s emphasis on not taking midweek games for granted has padded its resume with wins that helped them host a Regional in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and hopefully help them make the NCAA Tournament once again in 2024.

“This team made a comment at the beginning and I’ll never forget it,” Mingione said following Kentucky’s win over Evansville earlier this season. “Evan Byers just reminded the guys week one the importance of [midweek games].”

They have never reached back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in program history.

The Bat Cats will be back in action this weekend on the road at Ole Miss. Their next midweek game is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2 against rival Louisville in Lexington.