KENTUCKY WINS! Bat Cats defeat Western Michigan 10-8 in Lexington Regional opening game

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky baseball earned its first win of the Lexington regional, with a 10-8 victory over Western Michigan in the tournament's opening round on Friday. The SEC's co-regular season champions outlasted the MAC champions on a sunny afternoon at Kentucky Proud Park, despite the Broncos' resurgence beginning in the fifth inning.

The No. 2 Wildcats now move into the winner's bracket of the double-elimination regional and will play again Saturday at 6 p.m., against the winner of Illinois versus Indiana State.

Senior lefty Dominic Niman got the start for the Wildcats on the mound.

The Cats wasted little time backing up their small-ball, aggressive reputation. Ryan Waldschmidt stole his 24th base of the season in the bottom of the first inning, while Devin Burkes raced from first to second following a WMU error. With Wildcats on second and third, Nick Lopez hit a sac fly to score Waldschmidt and earn the team's first run of the regional.

Although the Cats scored one run in the first inning, they wouldn't record a hit until the second. Nolan McCarthy's single past the third baseman marked UK's first hit of the afternoon, while James McCoy's 2-run home run over the right field fence quickly followed. It was his first at-bat of the NCAA Tournament, and the homer snapped a recent dry spell that had limited McCoy in recent games.

The bats stayed hot, and Burkes - who was Most-Outstanding Player of the Lexington Regional last season - scored in the third inning to put the Cats up 4-0, forcing a Western Michigan pitching change.

New pitcher, same results. Lopez, Mitchell Daly and McCarthy tacked on runs to give Kentucky a 7-0 lead.

Burkes was back at the plate in the bottom of the fourth, where he crushed UK's third double of the inning. He scored after Daly's next at-bat, and the lead grew to 8-0.

The Wildcats had essentially cruised through the first four innings and were enjoying a comfortable 8-run advantage as they turned the page to the fifth. Meanwhile, the Broncos were far from defeated and - apparently - just getting warmed up. Their offense came to life in the fifth inning, and they quickly took advantage at the plate.

After three quick runs that narrowed Kentucky's lead from eight to five with the bases loaded and no outs, Coach Mingione went to his bullpen and called upon Cameron O'Brien. The senior RHP navigated the tough situation, giving up two additional runs but leaving two runners stranded before ending the inning.

Kentucky led 8-5 after five innings, but the momentum had swung and the Broncos were playing with a renewed confidence.

Still, the Cats persevered, and UK's selflessness was on full display in the bottom of the fifth. Nolan McCarthy and James McCoy bought into the team's "we don't move" mantra, and they each got on base after being hit by pitch. Following another pitching change by the Broncos, Grant Smith's bunt advanced both runners. Waldschmidt's following a sac fly that scored McCarthy from first, while Emilien Pitre's RBI single pushed McCoy across the plate.

Kentucky re-extended its lead, 10-5.

Evan Byers was next in the pitching rotation for the Cats, and the Broncos scored one run against him in the top of the sixth. Robert Hogan then took the mound for the Wildcats, where he gave up a 2-run double to make it a 2-run game at the top of the sixth, 10-8. Western Michigan would not score again.

Daly hit his second double of the game to lead-off the sixth inning, but the Cats failed to take advantage. It was the first inning Kentucky didn't tack on at least one run. The score was stagnant throughout the seventh, eighth and ninth inning, with Hogan closing out the victory for the Wildcats.

BBN TONIGHT

After outscoring the Broncos by eight runs through the first four innings, Western Michigan ended the afternoon with eight combined runs throughout the fifth and sixth innings, compared to Kentucky's two during that same time period.

Even the final three outs of the day came with a touch of drama when the Broncos loaded the bases, but the "Cardiac Cats" did enough to escape with the postseason victory in front of their home crowd.

BBN Tonight

For more on today's game and the rest of the weekend, tune into tonight's episode of BBN Tonight. We'll be live outside of Kentucky Proud Park beginning at 7:30 p.m. on LEX 18 and BBNTonight.com