Ryan Waldschmidt’s two home run game propelled No. 3 Kentucky baseball (31-5, 14-1 SEC) to a 17-13 win over the rival Louisville Cardinals (21-15).
Waldschmidt finished the game 3-5 and led the Cats with six RBIs.
“Waldy affected the game from every level,” Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said. “He did it with his legs scoring from second, he did it with his defense taking runs off the board, he did it with his bat.”
Waldschmidt led off the game by taking two consecutive balls before depositing the third pitch of the game over the centerfield wall to give the Bat Cats a 1-0 lead.
“I was just trying to get something going to start the game today,” Waldschmidt said. “I caught a barrel and it ended up getting out, which is pretty exciting in a game like this. To start the game like that, set the tone that way.”
In the bottom of the first, Waldschmidt showed off on defense with a diving grab for the third out that would have scored two runs.
“I mean this guy’s a good player. Glad he’s a Wildcat,” Mingione said.
After the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first, a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by Grant Smith allowed Nolan McCarthy to score to tie the game and brought Waldschmidt back to the plate.
Waldschmidt kept the ball in the yard in his second at-bat, but still hit a double down the left field line to bring home James McCoy and Smith to give the Bat Cats a 4-2 lead.
Nick Lopez also hit an RBI single in the second that made the score 5-2 after two.
In his third plate appearance in as many innings, Waldschmidt was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a botched pickoff attempt. An Austin Fawley double brought him and Émilien Pitre home.
Fawley came into the game after Devin Burkes appeared to hurt his leg running home in the top of the first and was removed from the game.
“He’s going to be out, we’ll reevaluate tomorrow,” Mingione said about Burkes.
Also in the third, Mitchell Daly doubled and Ryan Nicholson singled, which plated three more Wildcats which extended their lead to 10-2.
In the bottom of the third the Cardinals plated three runs, which made the score 10-5 and it would’ve been more had it not been for Waldschmidt’s second diving catch of the game.
Waldschmidt flew out in his at-bat in the fourth inning before Louisville continued to chip away in the bottom of the fourth by putting up two more runs, which shrunk the Wildcats’ lead to 10-7.
In the top of the fifth, Nicholson hit a two-run home run that extended the Cats’ lead. Following the homer, McCarthy and McCoy walked.
After Smith struck out, Waldschmidt returned to the plate and saw five pitches before taking the sixth pitch and hitting it 463 feet into the Louisville, Kentucky, night for a three-run home run that made the score 15-7.
“He sees the ball well, he sees a lot of pitches in at bats, he can go yard, he can bunt, he can run,” Nicholson said about Waldschmidt. “Overall, just a very good offensive player and it’s really easy to play behind.”
Waldschmidt did not get an at-bat in the sixth inning, but Daly added to the lead with a two-run home run that made the score 17-7.
The Cardinals plated three in the bottom of the sixth, making the score 17-10 before Waldschmidt returned to the plate in the seventh and worked a walk.
In his final at-bat in the top of the ninth, Waldschmidt struck out.
“We’re trying to do the best for our team,” Waldschmidt said. “Then if it’s not getting done, the guy behind us is going to do it just as well.”
The Wildcats return to action on Friday, April 19, when they will welcome the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers into Kentucky Proud Park for the first of a three game series with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 ET.
