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LSU blows out Kentucky in SEC baseball tourney opener. What does it mean for Wildcats?

jon hale
·4 min read

Kentucky baseball’s postseason run started on an inauspicious note with an 11-0 run-rule loss to No. 11 seed LSU in its SEC Tournament opener.

The Wildcats shared the regular season title with Tennessee but entered the SEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed because Tennessee held the head-to-head tiebreaker and the winner of the division that didn’t feature the regular season champion automatically gets the No. 2 seed regardless of record.

Kentucky’s normally potent offense was no-hit for six innings against LSU ace Luke Holman, and LSU used two grand slams to trigger the SEC’s run rule to end the game after eight innings.

Here is what you need to know from Wednesday’s game in Hoover, Alabama, and what it means for Kentucky.

Key moment

With Holman at 100 pitches through six innings, there was hope Kentucky had kept things close long enough to break through against the Tigers’ bullpen, but the top of the seventh essentially decided the outcome. UK coach Nick Mingione elected to use normal Saturday starter Dominic Niman out of the bullpen for the first time this season to start the inning. Niman started strong with a strikeout but was removed after back-to-back walks.

Reliever Cameron O’Brien then intentionally walked likely first-round pick Tommy White to load the bases. First baseman Jared Jones, who was 0-for-7 in the tournament to that point, made Kentucky regret that decision with a grand slam just inside the left field foul pole.

LSU piled on with a solo home run from designated hitter Hayden Tavinski later in the seventh inning and a grand slam from White in the top of the eighth.

Player of the game

The good news for Kentucky is it is unlikely to face a pitcher as talented as Holman, who MLB.com ranks as the No. 56 prospect in the 2024 MLB draft class, in its NCAA Tournament regional, but Wednesday’s game did offer a reminder that the Wildcats lack the type of true ace many of the other top teams in the country have. Holman struck out seven batters and walked two in six hitless innings.

With Kentucky already appearing to have locked up one of the top eight national seeds in the NCAA Tournament, Mingione elected not to use normal UK Friday starter Trey Pooser on short rest in the SEC Tournament opener. That meant Kentucky used a parade of relievers with former Friday starter Travis Smith, who was relegated to the bullpen after early season struggles and had not pitched since May 4 due to an injury, starting the game. Smith surrendered two runs while recording three outs.

What’s next for Kentucky

UK falls into the losers’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament. The Wildcats face an elimination game Thursday at 10:30 a.m. against No. 2 seed Arkansas. The Razorbacks lost to No. 10 seed South Carolina 6-5 on Wednesday.

Pooser could start Thursday on just one day less rest than normal, but Kentucky’s pitching depth has already been exposed. Mingione must decide if the desire to remain in contention for the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament outweighs the benefit of full rest for his pitching staff in an NCAA regional. Kentucky just needs a top-eight seed to ensure it would host a super regional if it advances through the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend.

SEC Tournament

At Hoover, Ala.

All times Eastern

TUESDAY

(Single-elimination format)

▪ No. 11 seed LSU 9, No. 6 Georgia 1

▪ No. 10 South Carolina 10, No. 7 Alabama 5

▪ No. 8 Vanderbilt 6, No. 9 Florida 3

▪ No. 5 Mississippi State 2, No. 12 Mississippi 1

WEDNESDAY

(Double-elimination format begins)

▪ No. 11 LSU 11, No. 3 Kentucky 0

▪ No. 10 South Carolina 6, No. 2 Arkansas 5

▪ No. 8 Vanderbilt 13, No. 1 Tennessee 4

▪ No. 5 Mississippi State 5, No. 4 Texas A&M 3

THURSDAY

▪ 10:30 a.m.: No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 2 Arkansas (SEC Network)

▪ About 2 p.m.: No. 1 Tennessee vs. Texas A&M (SEC Network)

▪ 5:30 p.m.: No. 11 LSU vs. No. 10 South Carolina (SEC Network)

▪ About 9 p.m.: No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi State (SEC Network)

FRIDAY

▪ 4 p.m.: Arkansas-Kentucky winner vs. South Carolina-LSU loser (SEC Network)

▪ About 7:30 p.m.: Tennessee-Texas A&M winner vs. Vanderbilt-Mississippi State loser (SEC Network)

SATURDAY

▪ Single-elimination semifinals begin at 1 and about 4:30 p.m. (SEC Network)

SUNDAY

▪ 3 p.m.: Championship game (ESPN2)

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