Advertisement
Published May 28, 2022
Cream on Top: Cats knock off LSU to advance in SEC Tourney
circle avatar
Jeff Drummond  •  CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor
Twitter
@JDrumUK

With his team's season potentially hanging in the balance, Tyler Bosma turned in the pitching performance of his young life on Saturday against LSU in the SEC Tournament.

Kentucky's grad senior left-hander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against one of the country's top offensive clubs in leading the Wildcats to a stunning 7-2 win at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Alabama.

Bosma, who transferred to UK from Miami (Ohio) prior to the season, allowed only one earned run on one hit and struck out a season-high 10 batters. He improved to 4-3 on the season.

The circumstances in which he delivered that outing made it even more impressive.

Despite entering the day as the only No. 12 seed to ever win a game in the SEC Tournament, Kentucky (33-25) is on the cusp of earning an NCAA Tournament bid by taking three games in Hoover. The Wildcats will now play the nation's No. 1 team, Tennessee (51-7), later tonight hoping to add another impressive W to their resume.

"The energy," Bosma said when asked what has been driving UK's late-season surge. "The energy, and we believe in ourselves. We believe we can beat anybody in the country, and I think we've shown that this year."

The semifinals will feature UK versus Tennessee and seventh-seeded Florida against No. 2 seed Texas A&M. The Cats were the only team this season to take a series from the Volunteers, winning two out of three earlier this month at Kentucky Proud Park.

"It took us a while to figure it out, but I think we're playing our best ball now," UK head coach Nick Mingione said.

Kentucky won its third straight elimination game and remained unbeaten in its throwback cream uniforms this season, viewed now as something of a good-luck charm in Hoover.

LSU (38-20) had beaten the Cats 11-6 earlier this week in the double-elimination round.

After Bosma departed the game with no outs in the seventh inning, Wyatt Hudepohl and Daniel Harper combined to hold the Tigers in check. Harper, a senior right-hander, retired all seven batters he faced.

Pitching carried the Cats, but UK also had a strong showing at the plate with 12 hits just a day after collecting 16 in a win over Vanderbilt. Daniel Harris and Jacob Plastiak each had three hits to lead the way. Plastiak and Adam Fogel each hit a solo home run.


Advertisement