Former Rowan County star Mason Moore shines under pressure in Kentucky’s NCAA opener
Nick Mingione never had any doubts about right-handed pitcher Mason Moore’s athleticism.
As a recruit at Rowan County High School, Moore would routinely send Kentucky’s baseball staff videos of him dunking a basketball. But his proficiency at two sports might have slowed his baseball development as he made the transition from the basketball court to the baseball diamond each spring.
When Moore arrived at UK, he already boasted impressive fastball command, but his ability to locate his off-speed pitches lagged behind. As a freshman, he recorded a 6.14 ERA in 22 innings across 19 games.
But with Moore focusing on one sport, his pitching skills sharpened. As a sophomore he has emerged as Kentucky’s most effective reliever, recording four saves with a 2.43 ERA in the regular season.
Still, when Moore took the mound in the fifth inning against Ball State on Friday in Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament opener, even he did not expect the dominant performance about to come.
“I expected to go two or three, but I had my stuff today,” Moore said after Kentucky’s 4-0 victory against Ball State. “I had the confidence in the guys behind me making plays. They kept riding me, and I’m glad they had that confidence to keep me out there.”
Moore entered the game with a runner already on base and no outs, but he quickly induced a double play to quiet the threat. A flyout to right field followed, ending a six-pitch inning.
His athleticism was on display in the sixth inning when Moore closed out another perfect inning with a leaping grab on a bouncer behind the mound. Perfect innings followed in the seventh and eighth as Kentucky nursed a 1-0 lead.
As the Wildcats finally scored some insurance runs with a three-run eighth inning, Mingione toyed with removing Moore from the game, getting another reliever ready in the bullpen, but ultimately elected to stick with what was working.
“There was no way I was taking him out of the game,” Mingione said. “Some of those sinkers he was throwing were dive-bombing. It was incredible.”
Moore closed out the game with a strikeout, ending a perfect five innings of relief for the win in his first career NCAA Tournament appearance. By cruising through five innings, Moore saved Kentucky from having to burn multiple relievers in the first of what could be as many as five games in the regional. Since he threw only 50 pitches, Moore could be available again on Sunday or Monday if needed.
“I thought his sinker got a lot of groundouts to shortstop,” Ball State Coach Rich Maloney said. “We just kept rolling over, but that’s from good pitching.”
To build a roster that could end Kentucky’s five-year NCAA Tournament drought, Mingione made heavy use of the transfer portal.
But the Wildcats would not be in this position without multiple returning players making significant steps forward in their development, too. That progress was on full display Friday with Moore on the mound.
It is easy to imagine Moore alongside redshirt freshman Travis Smith, who pitched four shutout innings in the start against Ball State, in Kentucky’s weekend rotation in a year. But first there will likely be more high-leverage innings out of the pen if Kentucky is to advance to just the second super regional in program history.
Asked if he could pitch again this weekend, Moore did not hesitate in promising further contributions in the regional.
“He could always command the fastball and sink it, but now his ability to land his slider and changeup, that has made him a three-pitch guy,” Mingione said. “When you sit there and you go, we just ran a guy out of the bullpen who’s up to 94, 95, maybe 96 (mph) but he’s throwing three pitches for a strike, we almost brought in another starter. He’s that good.”
NCAA Tournament Lexington Regional
When: Friday through Monday
Where: Kentucky Proud Park
Tickets: UKBaseballTix.com
Teams: Kentucky, Ball State, Indiana, West Virginia.
Format: Double-elimination
At stake: Winner advances to NCAA Tournament’s 16-team super-regional round next week.
Lexington Regional schedule
Friday
Game 1: Kentucky 4, Ball State 0
Game 2: Indiana 12, West Virginia 6
Saturday
Game 3: Ball State vs. West Virginia, Noon (ESPN Plus)
Game 4: Kentucky vs. Indiana, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
Sunday:
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, Noon (TV TBA)
Game 6: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m. (TV TBA)
Monday (if necessary):
Game 7: Same teams as in Game 6, time TBA (TV TBA)
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