Roommates, Kentuckians, Brothers: Darren Williams, Mason Moore Will UK to Supers
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Darren Williams was well aware of the stakes when he took the mound for the first time on Monday night right before Kentucky's 4-2 win over Indiana.
Not only did his seven-year career hang in the balance, but so did Kentucky's season, which was just one win away from claiming an NCAA Tournament Lexington Regional, but also one loss away from going kaput.
The ball was literally and figuratively in his hand. The righty had the power to be the reason Kentucky's season extended a week, or the reason that it ended. It was only fitting that the "old man" had a part in the final say, right?
Williams, glasses and all, didn't embark on a masterful outing. He didn't carve up Indiana batters while pitching deep into the game. Things had to come the hard way, as he faced the same team that had tacked on three hits against him in a single inning on Saturday night.
Indiana scored a run in the first, then another in the second. The Hoosiers fouled off pitch after pitch, forcing Williams to work for each and every out. He lasted only 4.0 complete innings, making way for the bullpen in the fifth. That doesn't tell the entire story, though.
See, it could've been much, much worse. IU had another runner on third base in the first inning, but a calming mound visit halted momentum for the away team, leading to two key strikeouts. The bases were loaded in the second, but sure-handed infield defense allowed only the one run to cross home plate on a bang-bang fielder's choice.
Again in the third inning, a runner was on third base with nobody out. Williams again buckled down, picking up a strikeout, inducing a foul out then a liner right at 2B Émilien Pitre, stranding what would've been an early go-ahead run. Another runner in scoring position was left on the pond in the fourth, as Williams picked up two more outs in a tight spot, ending his day on a high note.
Things could have very easily gone awry, and while he didn't turn in the best performance of his career, Williams battled, which is something he's been doing since since his freshman season at Eastern Kentucky all the way back in 2017.
"He gave us everything he had," UK head coach Nick Mingione said of his starter. "What a warrior. What a warrior Darren Williams is."
Leaving the bump in a tie game, Williams had done his job, even if it wasn't to the superbly high standard that he sets for himself. With his team winning being the only thing crossing his mind, though, he felt a calmness come over him when "Over" by Drake hit the Kentucky Proud Park speakers.
Out trotted Mason Moore, Williams' roommate on the road and his "little brother" that was about to shutdown the Indiana batting order and extend Kentucky's season another weekend. Just three days removed from hurling 5.0 hitless frames, the Morehead, Ky. native relieved the Maysville, Ky. native and tossed 5.0 scoreless once again, taking his fellow Kentuckian and the rest of his teammates over the mountain.
Williams continuously hyped up his fellow right-hander between innings, pushing all the right buttons to keep Moore's sinker, which Indiana later described as a "bowling ball," moving as his pitch count piled high.
"I probably talk to Mason more than anybody in the world the last four months," Williams said. "You've just got to fire him up and make sure he was on his game. And he was. I think all three of us every single inning were going up, asking him if he was tired, slapping him on the chest. We were pulling him through as much as he was pulling the rest of the team through tonight. We were calm with Mason in that game, just like we will be next weekend."
"Like (Hunter Gilliam) said, we don't do tired," Moore added. "I know I wasn't 100 percent tonight. I knew I had one job and that was to go out there and give my best effort with the defense I had behind me. I had no worries they'd make every play. And that was my mindset to go out there and just give the best performance I can for the team."
Moore's breakout postseason is the furthest thing from a surprise by anyone wearing blue and white. He was as important a piece as there was in the Cats' bullpen throughout the regular season, consistently offering a couple of innings every time he took the ball. Perhaps under-appreciated before, that's no longer the case now.
Williams and Mingione felt confident labeling the Rowan County High School product as someone with a bright future in professional baseball.
"He's got some of the best pitches in the entire country, not just this team, not just this league, not just this tournament -- the country. I think he's going to be a Big Leaguer one day," Williams proclaimed.
"He'll be playing baseball a long time,"Mingione added. to be able to manipulate the baseball the way he does and land multiple pitches for a strike, pretty special."
As Moore recorded the final out of the game, he was met on the field by the entirety of the dugout, leading to a dogpile, then a smile-filled trot around the park to celebrate with the largest crowd in the history of the program.
Williams later addressed Big Blue Nation with his arm around Mingione, taking in the moment that took so long to come. He watched UK make its first Super Regional in 2017 on television. Now, a year removed from elbow surgery, he gets to play in the second.
He wouldn't change a thing.
"All the 6 a.m. workouts, everything I did last summer through rehab. The grueling practices in the fall where I was out here not throwing that day. And all I could do was cheer these guys on to get better," he said. "This moment right here, worth every single thing I've done the last seven years."
Both arms will now look to keep the magic moving into next weekend, as the Wildcats will play the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. Having gotten a taste on Monday night, Williams is ready for more:
"Omaha, you're two wins away now," he said. "That dogpile right there. That means the world, man. So hopefully we can do it one more time."
Game one between Kentucky and LSU is set for 3 p.m. EST on Saturday, June 10. It will air on ESPN.
Game recap of Kentucky's Regional-clinching win can be found HERE.
Game recap of Kentucky's 4-0 win over Ball State can be found HERE.
Game recap of Indiana's 5-3 win over the Wildcats can be found HERE.
Game recap of Kentucky's 10-0 win over West Virginia can be found HERE.
Game recap of Kentucky's 16-6 win over Indiana can be found HERE.
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