The calendar has flipped to May, which means the home stretch for Kentucky baseball has officially begun and Cole Hage has returned to the offensive threat he began the year as in this critical time of the year.
Hage arrived in Lexington from Columbia, where he was three-time All-Ivy League First Team award winner in all three seasons he was with the Lions.
In the 2024 season, Hage hit to a .329 batting average, .471 on-base percentage and a .658 slugging percentage.
Coming into the 2025 season, Hage was named to the NCBWA Second-team All-American watchlist as a designated hitter.
Hage was absolutely dominate out of the gates in his new blue and white uniform as he was not only one of the best hitters on the Wildcats, but in the country.
Through the first 15 games of the season, Hage hit to a .558 batting average, .606 on-base percentage and an .813 slugging percentage. His batting average and on-base percentage were good for second and third in the SEC respectively.
Once SEC play began, Hage’s white-hot bat was extinguished as he hit a wall in production.
Over the next 21 games, Hage went 17-79, which was good for a .215 batting average. This cooled his season average down to .307, which was a .251-point drop.
“Baseball is a tough sport,” Hage said. “There’s going to be times you’re playing well, there is going to be times you are not. It’s just about trying to find the positive in every situation and also trying to help the team when you’re not playing well in any way you can.”
The culmination of Hage’s struggles was in the rubber-match between the Bat Cats and Tennessee when Hage was benched.
After taking that series finale, Hage returned to the lineup at home against Louisville, where the offense broke out and beat the Cardinals 17-5 in seven innings.
Hage finished the game 1-2 with two walks, but it set the stage for a home series against South Carolina. Hage found himself again in the series and returned as one of the biggest offensive threats for Kentucky.
In game one of the doubleheader with the Gamecocks, Hage finished 2-3 with an RBI. In game two, Hage finished 2-4 with a home run, double and two RBIs. Hage rounded out the series going 2-5 with two RBIs.
In the Bat Cats most recent loss against WKU, Hage finished 2-4 to continue his newly found hot streak.
Since his return to the lineup against Louisville, Hage has went 9-18 with six RBIs.
“Not dipping my backside,” Hage credited to his turnaround. “Sometimes I was dipping it, and that’s why I was missing underneath fastballs and curveballs, and just keeping my hands up a little bit is the main thing I’ve been working on.”
The senior has retaken his team lead with his season batting average of .331 and kept his lead on the team with a .600 slugging percentage. Hage is second amongst starters with a .459 on-base percentage.
The challenge that the SEC provided was no worries for Hage, in-fact he encouraged the test.
“We’ve got a lot of close games, every team is good,” Hage said. “It’s taken a little while to get used to, but I mean I love it, that’s why I came here, to play against the best.”
Hage will look to keep his hot streak alive as the Bat Cats surge towards the end of the season and into postseason play.
