Kentucky baseball (13-2) cruised to a 9-2 victory over Northen Illinois (7-7) in final tune-up before conference play.
This contest was not on the Wildcats schedule to open the season but was added last Thursday after the Bat Cats home matchup against EKU was cancelled.
The Bat Cats started the scoring in the first after Shaun Montoya and Luke Lawrence opened the game with a single and hit-by-pitch. The duo scored on a Dylan Koontz single. The Wildcats added another run thanks to an error by the Huskies that brought home Tyler Bell and gave the Cats a 3-0 lead.
“I’m super proud of the guys and their starts,” Head Coach Nick Mingione said about taking early leads. “I think it is absolutely crucial, so let’s keep doing that.”
Nate Harris was on the mound for his third start of the season, and he pitched a three-up, three-down first and worked around a hit batsman along with a single to avoid any damage in the second.
The lone blemish on Harris’ ledger came in the third when a walk and a single turned into a run for the Huskies.
The Wildcats repeated the first inning in the third when they brought home three more runs. With the bases loaded, Patrick Herrera hit a fielder’s choice that scored one and Devin Burkes doubled to bring home two more runs and give Kentucky a 6-1 lead.
“Super grateful for our offense,” Harris said. “They work incredibly hard each and every day to be able to put up that run support and trust their foundation, it was a well-oiled machine today.”
Harris pitched two more innings and retired Northen Illinois six-up, six-down. The freshman continues to impress as he lowered his ERA to 2.08 in his three starts. The righty also increased to 3-0 on the season.
“I trust my teammates, trust my coaches,” Harris credited to his hot start. “Just trying to go out there and do my job, it’s all I can do.”
The Bats Cats lead grew by two in the fifth when Lawrence singled to bring home Will Marcy and Burkes. Unfortunately for Kentucky, Marcy was injured running home and did not return to the game.
The Huskies crept a run closer in the sixth when Logan Gregorio launched a homerun over the right field wall. However, the Wildcats got the run right back on a Griffin Cameron single that extended the lead to 9-2.
A barrage of pitchers finished out the game on the mound for Kentucky with Simon Gregersen throwing a scoreless eighth inning as he tries to find his stride in 2025.
“I’m really excited to go to SEC play,” Lawrence said. “I think everybody’s pretty pumped to be honest with you.”
With the win, Kentucky will begin SEC play on Friday, March 14, when it will hit road for a three-game set against No. 4 Georgia with first pitch set for 6 p.m. ET.
