UK baseball back in business after sweep of nation’s No. 3 team. See where Cats rank now.
A University of Kentucky baseball season fast running off the rails is back on track after a shocking sweep of a top-five opponent over the weekend at Kentucky Proud Park.
The Wildcats, who rocketed to a 27-2 start this season on the strength of a 17-game winning streak, had lost four games in a row and 10 of 13 heading into their three-game series against South Carolina, which was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation by D1baseball.com.
More importantly, Kentucky had lost four consecutive SEC series.
Taking advantage of four days off after getting swept at Vanderbilt, a refreshed group of Wildcats whipped South Carolina 7-3 on Friday night, 14-7 on Saturday and 9-2 on Sunday.
The sweep of the Gamecocks (36-11 overall, 14-9 SEC) paid immediate dividends for Kentucky (33-13, 14-10) in the national polls.
Kentucky moved from No. 21 to No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Unranked by the three other major polls last week, UK moved up to No. 17 by D1baseball.com, No. 19 by Baseball America and No. 21 by Collegiate Baseball.
The Wildcats also regained their spot atop the Division I RPI after having fallen to No. 4 last week.
Pitcher Zack Lee (4-2) spurred Kentucky to victory Sunday as UK completed its first sweep of a top-five opponent since doing so against No. 2 South Carolina in 2012.
Lee, a senior right-hander from Effingham, Ill., struck out a career-high 12 while allowing two runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Evan Byers, Mason Moore, Jackson Nove and Ryder Giles shut out the Gamecocks the rest of the way.
Kentucky collected 12 hits Sunday, scoring two runs in the first inning, three in the third and two each in the seventh and eighth.
Ryan Waldschmidt and James McCoy each drove in a pair of runs. McCoy, a redshirt freshman outfielder from Dunwoody, Ga., homered for the third day in a row.
Kentucky is in pursuit of its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017 and might have secured it with this weekend’s sweep. With seven regular-season games remaining plus the SEC Tournament, now the target becomes hosting a regional at Kentucky Proud Park.
The Wildcats host Tennessee Tech on Tuesday in Lexington (6:30 p.m., SEC Network Plus) before visiting Tennessee (32-16, 12-12) for three games this weekend. The Volunteers are ranked No. 20 in this week’s coaches’ poll.
UK No. 9 seed in SEC softball tourney
The 23rd-ranked UK softball team built momentum for the postseason by taking two of three games from No. 16 Florida at John Cropp Stadium this past weekend.
The Gators won the series opener 3-2 on Friday before Kentucky posted 7-6 and 1-0 wins Saturday and Sunday.
Florida (35-19, 11-13) won’t have to wait long for another shot at the Wildcats (30-19-1, 10-14). The teams will square off again in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday night at Fayetteville, Ark.
Florida is the No. 8 seed in the single-elimination tournament, and Kentucky is the No. 9 seed. Game time is 8 p.m. EDT (SEC Network). The winner will face No. 1 seed Tennessee on Thursday night.
Tennessee, No. 2 seed Georgia, No. 3 Auburn and No. 4 Arkansas received byes to the quarterfinals.
The tournament begins Tuesday with No. 12 Mississippi State facing No. 13 Missouri.
Before UK faces Florida on Wednesday, it’s No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 12 South Carolina, and No. 5 Alabama vs. Tuesday’s winner.
The SEC has crowned 25 tournament champions but Kentucky has never won the event.
Sunday’s 1-0 UK win over Florida was the product of a complete-game shutout by sophomore pitcher Alexia Lacatena (11-7) and a solo home run in the sixth inning by junior infielder Grace Lorsung.
