COLUMN: Wasted Chances at Vandy Reminder That Kentucky Isn't in the Clear Just Yet

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kentucky didn't play bad baseball this weekend at Charles Hawkins Field.

The Wildcats just didn't execute nearly enough across all three of its losses to No. 5 Vanderbilt, and with the regular season ending in three weeks, that simply won't cut it as the calendar turns to May.

On Friday in a 6-4 loss, Kentucky went 2-for-19 with runners on base. On Sunday in a 3-2 loss, it went 2-for-18 with runners on base. Call it bum luck or tip the cap to Vanderbilt's wicked pitching staff if you wish, but the ATM was open on far too many occasions for the Cats to not be taking at least a little bit of cash in their pockets home to Lexington.

Kentucky didn't fail its test against left-handed pitching, either. Vanderbilt rolled out its top three starters, all of whom are lefties. The Cats knocked out Friday-night starter Carter Holton in the fourth inning after scoring three runs, tallied five hits in four innings on Saturday against Hunter Owen and even had the lead when Devin Futrell left the mound after six innings and six hits on Sunday.

The talent just didn't stop flowing out of the Commodore bullpen, as seven relievers combined to allow just seven hits and two runs across 13.1 innings. Patrick Reilly allowed two hits in 4.1 innings on Friday, Thomas Schultz and Ryan Ginther combined for five innings of shutdown relief of Saturday, while three arms each tossed a scoreless inning on Sunday.

Not only could Kentucky consistently not find a hit in a big spot, it struggled to do so in any spot. The Wildcats had 22 hits across the three games, but only two of them were extra-base hits. Jackson Gray — who stayed red-hot, reaching base eight times this weekend — belted a solo home run in the 9-3 loss on Saturday. That same inning saw Émilien Pitre hit a double down the right-field line. It's hard to do continuous damage with 19 singles unless you're stacking them three at a time, which UK did not.

On the mound, Kentucky continues to not have an arm that can be relied on at all costs. Darren Williams will always be able to eat innings, but five earned in four innings on a Friday night won't win games in the SEC. Tyler Bosma only lasted three innings in his start on Saturday and didn't record a strikeout. Zack Lee was an exception on Sunday, but instead it was a ninth-inning blowup from veteran righty Ryan Hagenow that led to the sweep.

The bullpen is missing Seth Chavez, who hasn't been reliable when healthy this year, but is a reliever that has the stuff capable of pitching in high-leverage situations. Austin Strickland allowed six hits in relief of Bosma, and while Mason Moore didn't allow a run in two innings on Sunday, he was shaky, walking two and throwing 37 pitches.

Vanderbilt was always going to be a tough matchup for Kentucky. It has the speed and understands the intricacies of small ball and how to handle it. It has the left-handers and the slick defense. But it wasn't like the Commodores overpowered UK for three games.

Kentucky didn't make an error all weekend. It only issued 11 walks and drew 15. For the most part, it made Vandy's pitchers make pitches and made the defense make plays. One of the many balls that fell shy of clearing the wall would've changed the entire series if it received one more big gust of wind. It just didn't happen.

"It felt like two of those three games — we were in those games. I told our team 'it's a play here, a pitch here, an at-bat here and it's totally different," UK head coach Nick Mingione said.

Now the Wildcats have lost four SEC series in a row barely have a winning record in conference play, sitting at 11-10 and 30-13 overall. All they need to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament is just two or three more wins. It always sounds easier said than done, but then you look at the remaining schedule and realize just how challenging it will be.

They'll return home for three games against No. 3 South Carolina, which just lost a home series against Auburn. Then it travels to Knoxville for three games against a ranked Tennessee team that's trying to turn a corner, then finishes with three games in Lexington against No. 4 Florida.

Kentucky should feel lucky that it stowed away so much hay in the barn with its 8-1 start in SEC play, because if not for those sweeps of Mississippi State and Missouri, the season would feel a whole lot different right about now.

The back is against the wall, but Mingione has continued to praise his team for not panicking and keeping cool. That temperament is being tested more than ever now, as adversity has hit like a truck.

"You have 30 SEC games and they're all worth the same. We told our team that at the very beginning ... so thankful we got off to a great start," Mingione said. "There's no question that we got some work to do. But everything we want, all of our goals are still right in front of us."

Kentucky desperately needs to rekindle its relationship with the win column. Including a midweek game against Tennessee Tech, it has 10 chances left to reiterate to the college baseball world why it reached the No. 10 spot in the Top 25 just a few weeks ago.

It all starts with three against the Gamecocks next weekend at Kentucky Proud Park.

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