Kentucky Baseball (10-1) completed a series sweep over Lipscomb University (3-8) over the weekend.

With three games worth of key events and unfortunate happenings, five key takeaways stuck out beyond the others.

1 – Bullpen perfection

The Kentucky bullpen was a question mark coming into the season, but it has quickly emerged as one of the most valuable assets for the team. 

The bullpen is currently on a 19.1 scoreless innings streak dating back to Kentucky’s Feb. 25 defeat of Kansas, including 10.1 scoreless innings of work against Lipscomb.

Cameron O’Brien has become an arm that the Wildcats have turned to in several tight spots this season, recording one out in game one to get the Wildcats out of a jam with the score being tied 4-4 at the time.

His next appearance was in the series finale and, once again, he only got two outs, but it was to get out of a jam, further solidifying him as a high leverage arm out of the Cats’ bullpen that has thus far delivered on all fronts.

Trey Pooser tossed two scoreless innings on Friday as he continues to become a reliable arm out of the bullpen as well

Jackson Nove continued his stellar start to the season with a three-inning save in the game one victory.

Robert Hogan pitched one inning to secure the mercy rule victory in game two of the series.

Evan Byers pitched one-and-one-third scoreless innings on Sunday and left with two on, but O’Brien got him off the hook.

Colby Frieda was the final pitcher out of the bullpen for the Wildcats in the weekend series and he finished with two innings of work.

2 – Injury bug 

While there were a lot of positives from the weekend sweep, one thing that did not go the Wildcats’ way was injuries.

In game one, left fielder Nolan McCarthy exited the game after getting his foot caught under the wall while attempting to rob a home run. McCarthy banged up his knee in the awkward encounter and missed the other two games in the series, though he is not expected to miss extended time.

Also in game one, third baseman Mitchell Daly was involved in a collision at home plate in the bottom of the eighth inning and finished out the game at third base. Daly was not available for the other two games in the series due to the collision, though he also is not expected to miss extended time.

Then, in game three, shortstop Grant Smith was taken out of the game with a hamstring injury.

It’s unknown when exactly the injury occurred, but after a play in the field that he was not involved in he was removed from the game after trainers and Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione came onto the field.

“We’ll see where he’s at, but he was in a good bit of pain and we were not going to risk anything,” Mingione said. “He didn’t want to come off the field like every great competitor, but it was the right move.”

With the uncertainty around Smith’s injury, there are some names that the Wildcats could use at shortstop if Smith is out for an extended amount of time including Kyuss Kargett, who replaced him, while Daly and his middle infield partner Émilien Pitre can also play shortstop.

3 –  Offensive onslaught

Coming into the series, Kentucky had a team batting average of .243 and a slugging of .386, having certainly not clicked offensively.

The team also struck out 58 times entering the series, which was the fifth highest in the SEC.

“We had a rough start to the season, I think we were just a little antsy,” Ryan Waldschmidt said after game three.

The series against the Bison changed these numbers completely as the Wildcats collected 37 hits as a team in the series, scoring their most runs in a series thus far with 32.

The series moved the team batting average up to .282 and slugging moved up to .439, putting the team 10th in the SEC in strikeouts after the breakout series.

“I think we did a really good job this week of just learning to back the ball up and just try and catch barrels, not trying to do too much with it,” Waldschmidt said.

4 – Dominic dominance

Dominic Niman is quickly emerging as the ace of the Wildcats’ pitching staff as, in game two, he tossed six innings, striking out five and surrendering one run.

He also earned his 200th collegiate strikeout in the effort.

“I thought Dom was fantastic today,” Mingione said. “This is three weeks in a row he has set the tone for our team.”

His 2.81 ERA is currently the best among the weekend starters for the Wildcats, with Niman also leading the starters with 16 innings pitched.

He also has the lowest WHIP among the starters at 1.13, with the metric tracking This stat how well a pitcher is able to keep baserunners off of the bases.

Niman also leads the starters with a .233 batting average against.

Suffice to say, the Central Connecticut State transfer has wasted no time making his mark in blue and white. 

5 – Pitre plate performance 

Kentucky second baseman Émilien Pitre had a stellar weekend at the plate. 

After going 0-4 with a walk in game one, Pitre responded in game two by going 3-4 with a walk at the plate with two doubles and a single. He also recorded four RBIs in those swings.

Pitre followed up this performance with a 3-5 day in game three with two singles and a triple. He also recorded two RBIs.

Overall, Pitre led the team with six hits and tied with teammate Waldschmidt for the team lead in RBIs with six.

“I thought Pitre was unbelievable all weekend,” Mingione said. 

The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday, Mar. 5, 2024 when they take on Eastern Kentucky University at Kentucky Proud Park with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.