Kentucky baseball (29-20, 13-14 SEC) will close out the 2025 regular season on the road against No. 9 Vanderbilt (36-16, 16-11 SEC).

What to Watch

The stakes for this series were huge just one week ago as it seemed like the Bat Cats would need to win the series or even sweep to make the NCAA Tournament. However, Kentucky swept then No. 17 Oklahoma and now are in position to make the field of 64.

A win or two against the Commadores would make it a guarantee for the Wildcats, but the series no longer has season-deciding implications like it once did.

Along with the sweep, Kentucky has won series against Texas A&M, Tennessee and South Carolina. The Wildcats have loss series to Georgia, Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas and Mississippi State.

Vanderbilt has won series against Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. The Commadores have dropped series to Auburn, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Ole Miss.

The two teams last met at Kentucky Proud Park to close out the 2024 season and the Bat Cats won not only the series but also secured a share of the 2024 regular season SEC Championship.

However, the last time the two programs met in Nashville, Vanderbilt swept Kentucky in 2023.

Offense

Starting with an overall look at the offenses, Kentucky is 12th in the conference with a .269 batting average. The Bat Cats move up one spot to 11th when it comes to on-base percentage at .394. The Wildcats drop to 14th in the SEC with a .428 slugging percentage.

The home Commadores are 15th in the SEC with a .267 team batting average. Vanderbilt is 14th in the conference with .373 on-base percentage and a 13th in the conference with a .430 slugging percentage.

Moving over to individual threats, Cole Hage and Patrick Herrera are tied with a team-leading .316 batting average. Hage also leads the team with a .579 slugging percentage while Herrera leads in on-base percentage at .457.

Hage has reached base at a .442 clip and Herrera has a .436 slugging percentage on the year.

Tyler Bell rounds out the big bats for Kentucky with a .305 batting average, .388 on-base percentage and a .530 slugging percentage.

Riley Nelson leads the home Commadores in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage with marks of .359, .469 and 530 respectively.

Jacob Humphrey is the next name to watch for Vandy as he has hit to a .312 batting average, .434 on-base percentage and a .488 slugging percentage.

Rounding out the offensive threats for Vanderbilt is Braden Holcomb who’s accumulated a .276 batting average, .379 on-base percentage and a .528 slugging percentage.

Overall Pitching

Looking at overall pitching numbers, Kentucky is sixth in the SEC with a 4.32 ERA. The Wildcats slide back to ninth in the conference with a .239 batting average against.

Vanderbilt has a formidable staff that has a team ERA of 3.82, which is fourth in the SEC. However, the Commadores are second in the conference with a .220 batting average against.

Pitching Matchups

JD Thompson is expected to get the ball for game one for the home Commadores and he’s pitched to a 3.88 ERA as he’s given up 31 earned runs in 72 innings of work. The lefty has struck out an eyepopping 94 batters and walked 23 hitters. Opposing batters are hitting .234 off of Thompson.

Nate Harris is slated to get the ball for Kentucky, and he’s allowed 20 earned runs in 49 1/3 innings of work, which equates to a 3.65 ERA. The righty has walked 21 and struck out 35 on the season and hitters are hitting .222 off the righty.

Cody Bowker is expected to get the ball for the middle game of the series, and he’s accumulated a 4.76 ERA on the season. The right-hander has given up 31 earned runs in 58 2/3 innings of work. Bowker has struck out 78 and walked 26 in his 13 starts. Hitters are batting .220 off of Bowker.

Nic McCay is scheduled to take the mound for Kentucky, and he’s tossed 64 1/3 innings on the season and given up 29 earned runs, which equals a 4.06 ERA. The right-hander has walked 36 batters and struck out 62. Opposing batters are hitting .192 off of McCay.

Connor Fennell is slated to round out the Vandy rotation with his 3.19 ERA as he’s allowed 15 earned runs in 42 1/3 innings of work. The righty has struck out 71 batters and walked 10 on the year. Fennell has allowed a .182 batting average against.

Ben Cleaver is scheduled to get the ball for the Wildcats, and he leads the team with a 3.30 ERA. The lefty has allowed 26 earned runs in 71 innings of work. Along with ERA, Cleaver also leads the team with 79 strikeouts. Opposing batters are hitting .183 off of Cleaver.

With the stage now set, Kentucky and Vanderbilt will kick off its three-game set with first pitch of game one set for 7 p.m. ET.