KSR Today: Beat Indiana.
Mornin’.
It’s a big Monday here in the Bluegrass with a lot on tap for the day after one of the busiest weekends Lexington has ever known. Of most importance, Kentucky Baseball plays Indiana to advance from the Lexington Regional over at Kentucky Proud Park later tonight. On the other side of campus, there are significant Kentucky Basketball roster concerns and two special visitors to potentially help with that problem. And here at KSR HQ, someone needs to ice down their knees and back after two days at Railbird. That someone is me.
But first, we have our regular Monday morning conversation about everything you need to know…
Beat Indiana.
By winning two Sunday games in the double-elimination Lexington Regional, Kentucky Baseball forced a Monday night rematch with Indiana for the regional championship. Yesterday, Kentucky took down West Virginia in the afternoon and then handed Indiana its first loss of the round-robin in the second game of Kentucky’s Sunday doubleheader. Tonight, the ‘Cats host the Hoosiers with a spot in the Super Regional on the line. The game starts at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
As for how Kentucky got here, it took a lot of Tylenol. The Wildcats were hit by nine pitches, one shy of the NCAA record, in the 16-6 win over Indiana. Kentucky batters have been plunked 21 times in total during this regional alone.
After last night’s game, the coaches exchanged a few words, likely about all of the HBPs.
It’s good to see Mitch Barnhart doesn’t duck any smoke; he runs up the chimney.
Kentucky Basketball looks to add two players this week.
It’s desperation time for Kentucky Basketball‘s roster, and John Calipari expects to plug a few holes when Kentucky hosts two visitors on campus this week for visits. Coming to town are a couple of new high school graduates, Joey Hart and Jordan Burks, rated as three-star recruits in their graduating 2023 class.
The former, Hart, is a three-point shooter out of Linton, Indiana, who backed out of his commitment to Central Florida last month. He’s a 6-5 shooting guard with a 23-point-per-game scoring average in his senior season at Linton-Stockton.
Burks, an Alabama native, is a former OIe Miss commit who led Overtime Elite with 27.1 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting from the field, a 26.7 clip from three, and 67 percent at the free-throw line.
If both commit, Kentucky’s roster will be up to nine scholarship players, but the Wildcats will still need immediate help with all of the freshmen.
Antonio Reeves‘ return is still high on the wish list. However, Reeves’ timeline is unclear and his future in Lexington is uncertain.
Read Jack Pilgrim’s latest breakdown of the roster here.
The Heat stole Game 2 in Denver.
In the Association, Bam Adebayo‘s Heat stole Game 2 in Denver as Miami continues its surprise playoff run as the eighth seed in the East. Adebayo scored 21 points with nine rebounds in the 111-108 win, outshining fellow Wildcat Jamal Murray‘s 18-point effort. Nikola Jokic got his 41 and 11. Tyler Herro did not play.
With the win, Miami evened the series at a game apiece as the teams head to South Beach for Game 3. One side will take control when the third game is settled Wednesday night. Tip-off is 8:30 p.m. on ABC.
Herro is expected to return and play his first game since he broke his hand in Game 1 of the Heat’s opening-round series against Milwaukee.
Kentucky Football kicked off camping season with a Sunday Showcase.
As if Kentucky’s campus wasn’t busy enough with everything going on, Kroger Field opened its doors on Sunday for its first high school football camp of the summer. The “Sunday Showcase” camp welcomed prospects of all ages and skill levels to a summer camp with the Wildcats, where participants hope to catch the eye of the Kentucky staff while the staff looks for new targets for its recruiting board.
KSR was on the scene to do some scouting, too. You can read a recap of the event from Adam Luckett and Nick Roush here.
Railbird has a new home at Red Mile.
I’ll leave you with a taste of Tyler Childers’ Sunday night performance at Railbird. Lexington’s music festival was damn near perfect at its new home at Red Mile this past weekend. Two full days of music, no apparent logistical concerns, short wait times, plenty of water, plenty of restrooms, and lots of fun for all.
Beat Indiana.
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