No. 21 Kentucky baseball (15-2) claimed its 10th straight win, taking care of Ball State Cardinals (7-8) 10-3 in another midweek showdown.
The Wildcats started slow in this one, going six up, six down in the first two innings, and Ball State attacked early on the first pitches but did not capitalize until the third inning.
Freshman Will Coleman got the ball to start for the Wildcats, but Ball State figured him out around his mistakes to rattle him.
From a leadoff walk in the third, then a hit-by-pitch directly after, to a wild pitch setting up the sacrifice fly and another run, bringing an early deficit for the Wildcats.
BBN showed no mercy to the Cardinals or the umpire behind the plate, as they continuously had the Wildcats’ backs in the field.
“I’ve loved the way the fans have gotten behind our guys and you can just feel them,” Mingione said. “It’s one of the reasons why I just feel like there’s constant pressure.”
The fans were always perched in excitement, encouraging the teams through the big innings and paving the way for the active 10-game winning streak.
On top of the players feeling the presence, the bottom four of the lineup were carrying the boats for the Wildcats on the offensive side.
“Just our ability to score in a bunch of different ways… whether it be strike-zone discipline, HBPs, stolen bases, the baserunning,” Mingione said.
The bottom four of the lineup crossed the plate a combined seven times of the 10 runs scored, with big insurance runs and two-out RBI base hits bringing runners around the score.
Including Ryan Schwartz, who struggled a little bit at the beginning of the year with a little bit of bad luck and quality at-bats not falling, he’s found a groove at the perfect time for the Wildcat offense.
From an impressive day at the plate in Sunday’s victory, going 3-for-4, he tacked on another multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a ringing double that hit off the base of the wall.
“He was just missing balls, and hit some balls hard and got out, it could have been really easy for him to just feel sorry for himself and go the other way,” Mingione said.
With the bad luck finally shifting off of Schwartz and the baseball gods giving him grace for his consistent at-bats, Kentucky is sitting in a prime spot offensively, looking ahead to more.
With the bats continuing to stay hot, they’ve been able to give a valuable amount of run support for the pitching staff and the Wildcat bullpen.
However, after a slow start for Kentucky, freshman Will Coleman took the mound to open the game, but Ball State quickly found its rhythm at the plate.
The Cardinals rattled Coleman early, pushing across two runs before the Wildcats elected to go to the bullpen and end the freshman’s day.
Kentucky’s bullpen quickly settled things down, beginning with Nile Adcock in the third inning. Adcock allowed just one hit and recorded two strikeouts in a little more than an inning of work.
Oliver Boone followed and earned his first win as a Wildcat. After surrendering a run early in his outing, Boone found his rhythm on the mound, finishing the fifth inning strong.
In the sixth, despite walking the leadoff batter he faced, Boone retired the next three Cardinals in order to close out his day.
“I mean, we’re always ready to go in,” Boone said. “We work our butts off every day, and we’re ready just whoever they call. We’re all super selfless and whenever we get our chance, we’re ready to go.”
Ryan Mullan took over in the seventh and made quick work of Ball State, striking out two batters and forcing a groundout to end the inning.
Jackson Soucie handled the eighth inning for Kentucky. After hitting Max Kalk with a pitch, Soucie kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard, inducing two groundouts and a flyout.
Berkeley Bounds closed things out for the Wildcats in the ninth. A single from Maalik Perkins was the only offense Ball State could muster as Bounds recorded two strikeouts to seal the victory for Kentucky.
