Kentucky baseball sweeps doubleheader against Indiana State 4-2 and 5-4
Kentucky Wildcats pitcher Darren Williams (5) pitches the ball during the Kentucky vs. Indiana State baseball game on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky won 4-2. Photo by Travis Fannon | Staff
March 8, 2023
Kentucky baseball swept its doubleheader on Saturday against Indiana State, winning the first game 4-2 and winning the second game 5-4 to improve to 8-2 on the season.
The Wildcat defense showed out in the doubleheader as the Sycamores scored just six runs combined in both games, with just two in the first game.
“We defended at a really high level,” Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said. “We defended the field at a high level and that helped us because they put some balls in play and they made it hard on us and our guys responded.”
The first game saw the Wildcats jump out to an early 4-0 lead in the second inning. The scoring started when sophomore Ryan Waldschmidt singled to left field, bringing in Emilien Pitre to give Kentucky a 1-0 lead.
Later, in the second inning with the bases loaded, senior Hunter Gilliam would score on a wild pitch before a double from Grant Smith in the same at-bat would score Waldschmidt and Reuben Church.
Indiana State would then respond with sophomore Luis Hernandez hitting a double to score Randal Diaz, making it 4-1. The Sycamores would add to their score in the following inning with a home run off the bat of Parker Stinson, ending the fourth inning with the score at 4-2.
Graduate student Darren Williams would come in and pitch the final five innings for the Wildcats, not allowing a single run and giving up just one hit as the Wildcats and Sycamores went scoreless for the rest of the game, resulting in a final score of 4-2.
“Darren Williams was phenomenal,” Mingione said. “He was unbelievable, gave us five shutout innings, gave up one hit. [he] really gave us a chance.”
Waldschmidt showed out in the first game against Indiana State as well, getting on base three times in four at-bats with two hits and a hit-by-pitch.
The second game started off by continuing the stretch of scoreless baseball, with neither team getting anything in the run column until the bottom of the fourth inning when Pitre scored off a single from Gilliam.
Indiana State would respond immediately with a run of their own, with Henry Brown scoring off the bat of Diaz in the top of the fifth inning.
Kentucky would respond with a pivotal four-run inning to make it a 5-1 ballgame.
The scoring would start with a James McCoy single that brought in Jackson Gray, which would be immediately followed by a single from Gilliam that scored both McCoy and Devin Burkes. Pitre would then score later in the inning off a fielder’s choice bunt from senior Jase Felker.
Things would slow down as neither team scored through the sixth and seventh inning, however a three-run home run off the bat of Mike Sears in the eighth inning immediately made the game competitive again as the Sycamores came within one run at 5-4.
Regardless, Mingione was proud of the way his players handled the 18-inning marathon.
“It was a long day,” he said. “We talked about it before today that we didn’t care how long it was going to take, we were going to stay out here and do what we could to get Kentucky a couple wins and we were able to do that.”
Pitcher Mason Moore would hold off the Sycamores in the final two innings, earning a save and securing the 5-4 victory for the Wildcats.
Kentucky will look for its first season sweep of the season on Sunday in game three against Indiana State.
