Cats hang on for 10-8 win in NCAA opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Early offense proved to be vital for Kentucky on Friday in the opening game of the NCAA Lexington Regional.
James McCoy bashed a two-run homer and smacked an RBI double to help the Wildcats build an 8-0 lead after four innings at Kentucky Proud Park. Little did anyone know at the time how pivotal those swings would be as second-seeded UK was pushed to the wire by Western Michigan in a 10-8 victory.
The Broncos scored five runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to make the predominantly blue-clad crowd at KPP uneasy, then loaded the bases in the ninth inning to induce full-blown anxiety.
Kentucky reliever Robert Hogan eased their collective fear by getting WMU's Grady Mee to fly out harmlessly to right field with potential tying and go-ahead runs on base.
"We've been in these kind of games for 15 weeks," UK head coach Nick Migione said. "I thought our guys absolutely responded."
Hogan, a junior right-hander, tossed 3.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn the save and keep the Cats in the winner's bracket of the four-team regional. Kentucky (41-14) will face the winner of tonight's second game between Indiana State (42-13) and Illinois (34-19) on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
"Just throwing strikes," Hogan said of the keys to his first save as a Cat. "That was the biggest thing, being able to throw every pitch for a strike, keeping the hitters off-balance. And I have an unbelievable defense behind me, so it's easy to pitch when you have guys like G (Grant Smith) and James (McCoy). They're getting to balls that not a lot of teams can."
Western Michigan (32-22) drops to the loser's bracket, where it will play the loser of tonight's second game on Saturday at Noon ET in an elimination game.
McCoy's strong day at the plate was part of a 13-hit attack by Kentucky. Emilien Pitre, Devin Burkes, Mitchell Daly, and Nolan McCarthy also had two-hit games for the Cats. Daly drove in a pair of runs, while McCarthy scored three times.
"We had seven different guys with an RBI," Mingione said. "And if you look at what our 7, 8, and 9 guys did, they scored five of our 10 runs. Any time you have that kind of production up and down the lineup, it makes us hard to beat."
After entering the game with a slumping .213 batting average, McCoy credited a pep talk and some extra batting cage work with Mingione for his good at-bats in the 8-hole on Friday.
"I was about three hours down here with Coach Minge, just working on a bunch of fills, doing some crazy stuff," McCoy said. "I just thank him for everything he pours into us."
Dominic Niman started for the Cats and delivered four strong innings on the mound before running into trouble in the fifth. The Broncos got themselves back in the game by plating five runs without the ball ever leaving the infield -- three infield hits, a walk, and a ground-ball out.
Cameron O'Brien (2-0) replaced Niman in the fifth, limiting the damage after entering with the bases loaded, no outs, and an 8-3 lead.
The Broncos put three more on the board in the sixth inning against UK reliever Evan Byers, but Hogan recorded the final out of that frame and kept WMU in check the rest of the game.
Brady Miller (6-6) started and took the loss for Western Michigan. He allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks over two innings on the mound.
