Kentucky baseball fell 12-4 to Vanderbilt on Sunday, but the Wildcats still finished up their historic regular season as co-SEC champions.
The Wildcats (39-11, 22-8) head to the SEC Tournament this week as the No. 3 seed due to conference tiebreaker rules.
Here are more details from UK Athletics:
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The postseason is here.
No. 2 Kentucky, which clinched the Southeastern Conference regular season championship on Friday, capped its 2024 regular season with 39 victories, including a school-record 22 in league play. It now will head to Hoover, Alabama as the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament (due to conference tiebreaker rules) and advance directly to the double elimination portion of the event. The Wildcats (39-11, 22-8) will play at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 local time on Wednesday.
A quick turnaround from Friday night’s historic moment did not go UK’s way as a proud Vanderbilt team perhaps playing for its own postseason life broke open a tie game late to score a 12-4 victory on Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park.
It was a blip on an otherwise successful weekend and record-breaking regular season.
Still, the bright spots on Saturday included Emilien Pitre reaching base safely for the 28th consecutive game and homering for the second time in as many days. Ryan Nicholson clubbed his 17th blast of the season, the third-most in a single-season in the Mingione era.
Ryan Waldschmidt finished a scorching weekend 7-for-12 with four extra base hits and a significant hand in both victories that gave UK its eighth series victory in 10 conference weekends.
NOTES
Kentucky is a 2024 SEC regular season champion.
It is the second time in school history (2006).
Kentucky has 22 SEC wins, setting the school record that was previously set in 2006 (20).
This is the 83rd season UK has played SEC competition.
· Kentucky now is 39-12 in 2024, 22-8 in Southeastern Conference play.
Kentucky is 23-9 in night games.
Kentucky is 6-3 in May.
Kentucky finishes the season 11-4 in SEC home games.
· Kentucky is 12-5 vs. ranked teams and 19-6 vs. Quad 1 opponents.
o Kentucky owns the most Quad 1 wins in Division I.
· UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his eighth season at the helm and now owns a 255-162 career record.
o Mingione needs four victories to become the second-winningest coach in school history.
o UK is 46-44 in the month of May under Coach Mingione.
o Mingione now is 7-15 vs. Vanderbilt.
Junior INF Emilien Pitre extended his streak of games reaching base safely to 28.
He homered for the second time in as many days.
Junior OF Ryan Waldschmidt went 7-for-12 with two doubles, two home runs, seven runs, five RBI and three stolen bases in the series.
Senior INF Ryan Nicholson doubled and homered.
The HR was his 17th of the season, the third-most in a single-season in the Mingione era.
TEAM LEADERS
Batting Average – Nick Lopez, .380
Runs – Ryan Waldschmidt, 59
Hits – Nick Lopez, 70
Doubles – Nick Lopez, 20
Home Runs – Ryan Nicholson, 17
RBI – Ryan Nicholson, 52
BB – Emilien Pitre, 37
HBP – Ryan Waldschmidt, 16
Stolen Bases – Ryan Waldschmidt, 23
Wins – Mason Moore, Dominic Niman, 8
Innings – Mason Moore, 73.2
Strikeouts – Mason Moore, 67
Saves – Johnny Hummel, 6
ON DECK
Kentucky will open SEC Tournament play with a bye into the double elimination portion of the event. It will play Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 CT.
Follow along with the Cats on X, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
The SEC champion Kentucky Wildcats… #BBN pic.twitter.com/dMp5oDLax9
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) May 18, 2024
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