Kentucky Must Hit Left-Handed Pitching to Defeat LSU in Super Regional
LEXINGTON, Ky. — When watching Kentucky baseball play this season, it's easy to get wrapped up the bunts and stolen bases, misconstruing the Wildcats' offense as something that relies on small ball.
While it has been a major part of UK's success in 2023, it's not the end-all be-all. Combing through offensive statistics, one may be surprised to find out that it ranks highly amongst its compatriots in the big, bad SEC.
A .293 team batting average, .418 on-base percentage and .867 OPS mesh well with 91 stolen bases and 55 sacrifice bunts. That doesn't mean the Cats don't carry flaws in the box, though.
For the entire season, hitting left-handed pitching has been an issue for coach Nick Mingione's team. Lefty-righty splits aren't readily available, but from the opening-day defeat at Elon, when Shea Sprague threw 6.0 scoreless innings, to the Lexington Regional championship win over Indiana, when Hoosier starter Ty Bothwell struck out seven across 5.1 innings — albeit UK scored four runs — there hasn't been consistent success.
When looking at LSU, Kentucky's Super Regional opponent this weekend in Baton Rouge, it's the potential No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft Paul Skenes (11-2, 1.90), a right-hander, that clearly sticks out.
Cracking the potential Golden Spikes winner will be hard enough for UK, but LSU will also rely on a heap of lefties to try and punch a ticket to Omaha, that will likely be where the series is won or lost for either team.
There's an obvious dip in talent on the staff following Skenes, though that still may underplay the quality of arms that will follow him on the bump at Alex Box Stadium. The lack of reliability in the bullpen has been one of, if not the biggest knock on the Tigers.
Ty Floyd (7-0, 4.34), Thatcher Hurd (6-2, 6.49) and Gavin Guidry (3-0, 4.29) are all right-handers who carry a big load for the Tigers. It was the lefties who motored LSU past Oregon State in the Baton Rouge Regional, however. In the championship game on Monday afternoon, coach Jay Johnson sent out a trio of left-handers to nullify the Beavers.
Riley Cooper (3-3, 5.33) allowed just two earned in 3.2 innings, striking out four. Nate Ackenhausen (2-0, 3.63) followed for the next 1.2, then made way for Griffin Herring (4-2, 4.55), who also allowed just two runs in 3.0 innings, also fanning four. Not miracle performances by any means, but the potent Tigers offense had already done its part, putting up 13 runs in what finished as a six-run victory.
With Javan Coleman (1-2, 6.39) also available in the bullpen, Johnson will have plenty of looks to send the way of the Wildcats' batting order.
UK saw only Cooper and Herring when it first traveled to Baton Rouge for a series in the regular season back in April. It found plentiful success against the latter, racking up six hits and three runs vs. Herring, who lasted just 1.2 innings. Cooper allowed three hits and a run in 2.1 innings, striking out three, walking none.
Kentucky clung onto its left-handed bats in that series, led by second baseman Émilien Pitre, who had seven hits and five RBIs in the first two games that weekend. Center fielder Jackson Gray had five knocks, while backup catcher Chase Stanke mashed a big home run in a three-hit, four-RBI game, which turned out to be UK's only win of the series.
- Game One: LSU 16, Kentucky 6
- Game Two: Kentucky 13, LSU 10
- Game Three: LSU 7, Kentucky 6
The Wildcats scored 25 runs in three games vs. the Tigers, though they allowed 33. Mingione's squad will have to at least match that offensive output if history is to be made on the Bayou.
Game one between No. 5 LSU and No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday, June 10 is set for 3 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN. Times for games two and three (if necessary) are still to be determined.
Roommates, Kentuckians, Brothers: More on Darren Williams and Mason Moore HERE.
The King of Work: More on catcher Devin Burkes and his MVP honors HERE.
Game recap of Kentucky's Regional-clinching win can be found HERE.
How getting hit in batting practice helps Kentucky HERE.
How hard conversations molded RHP Austin Strickland HERE.
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