Kentucky baseball: Previewing Wildcats regionals final with Indiana

Kentucky baseball will play Indiana in the Lexington Regionals championship on Monday. If the Wildcats win, they move on to the Super Regionals.

Kentucky baseball and Indiana both have one loss in the double-elimination regionals. Whoever wins moves on to the Super Regionals. Whoever loses is eliminated. Interestingly enough, both teams lost to each other, making it a true best-of-3 series.

Saturday’s loss to the Hoosiers may not give Big Blue Nation an overabundance of hope, but the way it happened shows some promise.

After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, Kentucky regained the lead in the top of the 7th. However, with a 3-1 lead and two outs in the bottom of the inning, Kentucky surrendered a 3-run homer. The Hoosiers scored one more run in the 8th, coming from behind late to stun the Cats.

For what it’s worth, Kentucky had two men on with two outs in the top of the 9th and were a big hit away from tying it up.

While blowing a lead will never sit well, it’s important to note that the Wildcats did hold the lead late in the game. They outplayed the Hoosiers for the first 7 innings, but just couldn’t close the deal.

Kentucky baseball returned the favor on Sunday

The Hoosiers and Wildcats met again on Sunday, and this time it was all Kentucky. Nolan McCarthy hit a 3-run homer in the second inning and the Wildcats never gave away the lead, winning 16-6.

Hunter Gilliam had 3 hits and 5 RBI, Ryan Waldschmidt had 2 hits and 3 RBI, and the team combined for 4 home runs in the blowout win.

The Wildcats need that same effort on Monday

Kentucky was facing elimination on Sunday when they dismantled Indiana. They’ll be at home for the third game in three days between the teams and need to have the same type of effort. The Wildcats came out of the gates swinging and didn’t stop, which is the right mindset in a win-or-go-home game.

Monday’s game is at 6 p.m. and can be tracked on NCAA.com.