Kentucky baseball began SEC play by going 1-2 against No. 4 Georgia and the series exposed a season-threatening weakness in the form of the entire pitching staff.  

The Bat Cats faced their first big test offensively and delivered by not only getting first-inning leads in all three games but scoring 26 runs across the three games with 10 in two games.

The issue came when the pitching staff showed little to no ability to hold those leads. 

In game one, the offense jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but went cold for the reminder of the game, and that was their demise as the staff only pitched two scoreless innings in the 12-6 loss.

In game three, it was a back-and-forth battle as the Cats got a 2-4 lead going into the bottom of the third, but it quickly turned into a 9-4 deficit. 

The Bat Cats went on to tie the game at 10-10 but immediately were behind 15-10 the next time they stepped to the plate. 

Like in game one, Wildcat hurlers only tossed two scoreless innings in game three. 

The most glaring issue with the staff in the three-game set was walks and hit-by-pitches. 

In the three games, Kentucky pitchers walked 23 batters and plunked 11 hitters. 

That equals out to 34 free runners and naturally it’s going to result in runs for your opponent. 

In fact, the 34 free passes or bases loaded walks led to 15 of the 36 Georgia runs in the series.

It should come as no surprise that the lone game Kentucky won, they only allowed two runners who reached by walks or hit-by-pitches to score. 

The next issue the pitching staff faced was starters not giving length, which had been a strength all year. 

Nic McCay got the ball for game one and only lasted two and third innings and was constantly in high-stress situations due to the five walks and two batters he hit in his outing. 

In game two, Ben Cleaver only allowed one walk and hit two batters in his four and two thirds’ innings of work. Cleaver allowed three home runs in his outing, but they were all solo shots because he was not giving up free passes. 

In the series finale, Ethan Walker walked and hit two batters. However, he surrendered several hits, which resulted in his exit in just two and a third innings. 

The rough outings resulted in all three starters drastically increasing their ERA’s. 

McCay went from 0.42 to 1.52, Cleaver increased from 2.11 to 2.77 and Walker jumped from 3.86 to 6.43.

Due to the limited length, it meant the bullpen would be tested for the first time this season, and they failed. 

In the series, the bullpen gave up 22 earned runs in just 14 innings pitched. 

Coming into the series, the bullpen had only allowed 10 earned runs in 53. 2 innings.

Even arms like Jackson Nove and Evan Byers who had been lights out coming into the series faltered in a big way. 

Nove tossed two and two thirds’ innings in two outings and gave up four earned runs. 

Byers tossed one total inning in two outings and surrendered four earned runs. 

Scott Rouse collected a four inning save in the game two win and he also gave up four runs. 

The duo of Robert Hogan and Simon Gregersen, who had struggled out of the gates this season, continued to do so. 

Hogan did not record an out on the mound and gave up two earned runs.

Gregersen gave the Wildcats two innings but was responsible for three earned runs himself. 

Last season, Kentucky had a clear-cut direction of who was going to pitch in certain spots. 

For example, a big spot with runners on was going to Cameron O’Brien and a save opportunity was going to Johnny “Lightning” Hummel or Hogan. 

In the series against the Bulldogs, a variety of other arms got opportunities in big spots simply out of necessity but just could not come through. 

This series showed that Kentucky has yet to establish those clear-cut roles with this year’s pitching staff as nothing feels automatic right now like it did at times in 2024.

Like the starters ERA, the team ERA jumped from 1.77 to 3.59.

Georgia is a really good offense but is not the best they will face this season with teams like Tennessee and Auburn, who currently rank higher than the Bulldogs in batting average still on the schedule.

The silver lining for Kentucky is that there’s still 27 SEC games to go, which means plenty of opportunity to turn things around on the mound, because the offense proved it was more than capable in this series. 

Overall, if the first series was any indicator of things to come on the mound, Kentucky will not be competitive in the SEC in 2025.