No. 13 Kentucky Salvages Disappointing Series With 8-1 Victory Over Texas A&M

LEXINGTON, Ky. — After hitting leadoff for the entire season, Jackson Gray was one of the many Wildcats moved around the batting order as Kentucky tried to find some of the mojo that had eluded it over the past couple of weekends in SEC play.

Texas A&M continued to send a heap of left-handers to the mound, a trend that had flustered UK's bats in a big way over the course of the 2023 campaign and in both ends of the Aggies' doubleheader sweep on Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park.

Batting eighth in the order, Gray, one of just two left-handed batters in the Wildcat lineup, kept a stone-cold face just the same way he has every time he's led off a game for the Cats. Hitting .170 points worse against the same side rather than right-handers this year, the Western Kentucky transfer needed to get the monkey off his back in a big way.

In the bottom of the second, A&M LHP Matt Dillard hurled a 1-2 breaking ball that saw Gray stay back and shellack a solo home run the other way into the Kentucky bullpen to put the Wildcats up 2-0. It was his third homer of the season, but not his biggest hit of the day.

Up 4-1 in the seventh, Gray again found himself matched up against a lefty, this time with the bases loaded. A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle opted to leave the laboring Justin Lamkin in, a mistake that led to a 2-1 pitch getting pulled down the right-field line for a three-run triple, blowing the game open and leading to Kentucky salvaging an 8-1 victory, avoiding a sweep at home.

"He has been so consistent," UK coach Nick Mingione said of Gray. "There's no secret we've been trying to figure out what's the right mix versus left-handed pitching and how to beat that, so you know, hopefully we found maybe an order ... but Jackson was great. And he did it on all sides."

Gray, unbothered by his placement in the batting order, had been putting in the work with the UK coaching staff to try and axe his lefty-lefty woes. Mission accomplished:

"I've hit well off lefties in the past in my career and early this season I wasn't getting it done. I give a lot of credit to (the coaching staff), they're in there working with me, helping me make the adjustments and today it showed."

After getting sliced and diced by left-handed pitching to begin the series, Kentucky had no choice but to try and fix it on Sunday. The No. 13 Cats (30-9, 11-7 SEC) tagged Dillard for seven hits and two earned. Gray's triple was one of the two hits surrendered by Lamkin, who also walked three batters. UK drew six walks on the day and struck out just three times, a delightful change in the eyes of Mingione:

"I thought our strike-zone discipline was phenomenal," he said. "Ability to just put the ball in play with two strikes. Six walks and only three strikeouts. When you're doing that, doing a good job of the zone, fouling pitches off, it gives your offense a chance to get going and also causes them more opportunities to make mistakes."

The mistakes came hot and heavy for the Aggies (25-15, 9-9) in the fifth, as a hit-by-pitch, pair of walks and three wild pitches led to two runs crossing home plate for free, growing Kentucky's lead to 4-1 before the four-run seventh.

Eventually, the Aggies waved the white flag, partially thanks to some solid work from the Wildcat bullpen that stalled the road bats for the first time all weekend. After starter Zack Lee wiggled out of a few early jams and lasted just 3.1 innings, Evan Byers, Colby Frieda, Jackson Nove and Magdiel Cotto combined for 5.2 innings of two-hit, no-run baseball that witnessed five strikeouts and only two walks.

Byers was credited with the win, allowing just one of the six batters he faced to reach base. A&M as a team left 11 runners on, finishing the day with just six hits.

"Our bullpen I thought was phenomenal," Mingione said. "Evan Byers did unbelievable behind (Lee), got his five key outs. Colby Frieda had a clean inning. Jackson Nove was great and then good to see Mag (Cotto) get three punchouts there in the end, but it started with those guys on the mound."

Behind Gray's 3-for-3 day, five other Wildcats recorded hits, including a hustle-double and single from LF Ryan Waldschmidt, who also made a few key plays in the outfield, showcasing his range that led to some big outs. Designated hitter Reuben Church delivered an RBI single to put Kentucky ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first, his third hit and fourth RBI of the series.

Kentucky still lost its third series in a row, but it managed to end a disappointing weekend on a positive note. Mingione told his team following the pair of losses on Saturday that they'll "learn a lot about this team by how they respond" on Sunday.

He got a rectifying response from his group:

"I've said this over and over, but I challenged them yesterday to respond in a good way and it seems like every time we challenge them, they respond," he said. "it makes me think, do I need to challenge them every day?"

"It's easy during a stretch like that to kind of let morale get down and lay over and just let the hits keep on coming, but I'm proud of this team, how we responded. Picked ourselves up after getting punched in the face and started firing back today," Gray added. "This team's special."

The challenges keep on coming as the Wildcats inch closer to the SEC Tournament. The upcoming four-game week features a Tuesday-night clash against Louisville in Lexington, then a trip to Nashville for a series against Vanderbilt on the weekend.

First pitch between the Wildcats and Cardinals is set for 7 p.m. EST on April 25. The game will air on the SEC Network.

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