PREVIEW: Kentucky baseball prepares for SEC Tournament against LSU

May 22, 2024

Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt celebrates at second during the Kentucky vs Lipscomb baseball game on Friday, Mar. 1, 2024, at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Kentucky, Kentucky won 7-4. Photo by Sydney Yonker | Staff

It is officially postseason time for Kentucky baseball and its first stop will be in Hoover, Alabama, for the SEC Tournament where the Bat Cats will be the No. 3 seed.

The top four seeds in the tournament include No. 1 seed Tennessee, No. 2 seed Arkansas, the Wildcats and No. 4 seed Texas A&M. All four of these teams will have to be defeated twice to be eliminated from the tournament.

Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt swings during the Kentucky vs Louisville baseball game on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. Kentucky won 17-13. Photo by Isaiah Pinto | Staff (Isaiah Pinto)

The first round matchups included No. 5 seed Mississippi State taking on No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 6 Georgia taking on No. 11 LSU, No. 7 Alabama facing No. 10 South Carolina and No. 8 Vanderbilt taking on No. 9 Florida.

The Wildcats will take on the LSU Tigers after they defeated Georgia 9-3 in the opening game of the tournament. Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt also advanced.

The Tigers looked like a laughing stock at the beginning of conference play as they were sitting at 3-12 after winning the 2023 National Championship, however the Tigers finished 13-17 in conference play thanks to a late season push.

The defending national champions entered the tournament following a three-game sweep of the Ole Miss Rebels in which Tommy “Tanks” White shined at the plate, going 8-13 with two home runs, a double and a triple. White has been a staple at the top of the lineup and will be relied on heavily in the postseason.

In the win over Georgia, Gage Jump started on short rest and gave the Tigers a 105-pitch-seven-inning effort, putting the pitching staff in a great place for the rest of the tournament.

The offense was led by the top of the lineup as leadoff Michael Braswell III and the two-hole White combined to go 6-12.

Another name to watch out for when looking at the Tigers’ pitching staff is Luke Holman as he has posted a 2.73 ERA in 79 innings pitched.

Looking at a potential round two matchup for the Wildcats, a win would see the Bat Cats take on the winner of Arkansas and South Carolina. With a loss the Wildcats will take on the loser of Arkansas and South Carolina in a win-or-go-home game.

With the stage now set, Kentucky and LSU will take the field at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex on Wednesday, May 22, with first pitch scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET.