Nick Lopez swung his way into the history books in Kentucky Baseball’s 10-6 win over Murray State on March 12.
The USC transfer finished the night 5-5 at the plate, becoming only the third player under Kentucky head coach Nick Mingone to have five hits in a single game.
“The fans bring it and it makes the games so much fun and having everyone behind you just feels like a family,” Lopez said about the Lexington crowd.
While Lopez has shifted between third base, first base and designated hitter, one thing that has not changed is his consistency at the plate as he leads the Wildcats and ranks third in the SEC with a .429 batting average.
In fact, the only thing that changes for Lopez at the plate is which side he swings from as he is a switch hitter, meaning he switches which side of the plate he bats from based on the pitcher’s dominant hand.
This was not always the case, however, as Lopez did not swing right handed all of last season, but has since brought it back after encouragement from assistant coach Nick Ammirati.
“I’m happy I brought it back,” Lopez said. “It makes me more versatile and it brings more value to the team.”
His stellar day on Tuesday started In the second inning as he stepped in from the right side and singled to left field.
He came back up to the plate in the third inning and singled from the right side once again, this time to left center field.
”He is a professional at bat machine,” Mingione said. “This guy is just quality at-bat after quality at-bat.”
In the next inning, Lopez stayed on the right side and hit a game-tying single to center field.
He then stepped back into the right-handed batters box in the sixth inning and notched his fourth hit of the day as he singled to right field.
“Him and coach Ammirati have worked really hard on his right-handed swing,” Mingione said. “It may be just as good as his left one.”
Then, when a lefty took the mound in the eighth, Lopez returned to his natural left-handed swing and tripled to cap off his perfect night at the plate.
Lopez has been an integral piece of the Cats that have begun a strong start to conference play. UK will return to action on Sunday, March 24, at noon ET.
