LSU will face the Kentucky Wildcats in the Super Regionals. The Wildcats defeated Indiana in the Lexington Regional 4-2 on Monday night to punch its ticket to the Super Regionals.
The Super Regionals will begin on either Friday, June 9, or Saturday, June 10. Jay Johnson said he thinks the series will begin on Friday.
Despite hosting a regional, Kentucky had a different type of journey to the Super Regionals than LSU. After defeating Ball State 4-0 in the regional opener, the Wildcats lost in the winner’s bracket game against Indiana 5-3.
From there Kentucky faced elimination. It defeated West Virginia on Sunday 10-0, and then beat Indiana 16-6 later that day. Since that was Indiana’s first loss, the two teams played each other for a third time on Monday, where Kentucky moved onto the Super Regionals with a win.
While there is a different mindset required at this point in the season, LSU defeated Kentucky in its regular season against the Wildcats in two out of three games.
In its first matchup on April 13, LSU showed its offensive prowess with a 16-6 win in eight innings.
Paul Skenes pitched for six innings, struck out 13, but gave up five runs on seven hits, four of those runs being earned runs. Riley Cooper came in relief for the last two innings, and gave up a run on two hits.
As many LSU fans suspect, Paul Skenes will be the starter in the Super Regional opener. Based on his performance against Kentucky, they were able to hit him. But when they didn’t they couldn’t make contact.
On the contrary, Kentucky started Zach Hise in the series opener in April. LSU seemed to have been tracking his pitches will, as he went 1.2 innings, and gave up 11 runs, six of them being earned runs, on four hits. He walked three hitters and hit four as well.
From there, the Wildcats used four more pitchers, the longest of which went three innings. That was Seth Logue, who pitched 3.0 innings and gave up just one hit.
The next day was a different story, as Kentucky won 13-10 with two, five-run innings. For LSU, Ty Floyd started that game in which he went 4.2 innings and gave up five runs on six hits, three of those runs being earned.
They hit Griffin Herring just as much. In 1.2 innings, he gave up seven runs on six hits. Three of those runs were earned.
The Wildcats still used a good amount of pitchers, as five different pitchers took the mound. Logan Martin got the start, pitched 1.1 innings, and gave up three runs on three hits. Darren Williams came in first in relief and received the win. He went 3.0 innings and gave up three runs on three hits.
LSU pitched five different people on Sunday, but still came away with the win 7-6 win with a late-game rally.
For the Tigers, Christian Little started and went 3.1 innings. He gave up a run on no hits, but walked three hitters. Gavin Guidry came in first in relief and gave up two runs on two hits and walked three in 1.2 innings. Thatcher Hurd also pitched 1.1 innings and gave up three runs on three hits.
Tyler Bosma started the game on the mound for Kentucky, and he went 3.1 innings, gave two runs on three hits and walked three. Kentucky used five pitchers in that game including Zack Lee, who received the loss. He went 1.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits.
For Kentucky at the plate, the Wildcats have found the most production within three hitters. But similarly to LSU, they have several hitters that can provide sparks when needed.
Jackson Gray leads the team with 73 hits on the season and a .348 batting average. He hits in the leadoff spot for Kentucky, so him being arguably its most consistent hitter can set the tone from the start for the Wildcats in the Super Regional.
Hunter Gilliam leads the team with 12 home runs. He’s the only player on the Wildcats’ roster with double-digit home runs. He has 70 hits with a .324 batting average. Emilien Pitre has 69 hits on the season with a .322 batting average, and Devin Burkes leads the team in doubles with 17, and is second in home runs with eight. Burkes went two for three in the Lexington Regional championship with a single and a double.
The Wildcats are very different from LSU when it comes to offense. Especially recently, the Tigers have put the home run ball on full display, but Kentucky doesn’t rely on the firepower.
The Wildcats have found their most success with simple contact, small-ball baseball. In fact, in the Lexington Regional championship, they only had six hits and no home runs. However, they had three doubles. This being said, a small-ball approach gets runners on for Kentucky, and solid contact gets those runners to score.
Since the series against Kentucky, a lot has changed for both teams. In fact, Lee has been the answer for the Wildcats. In 67.1 innings pitched, he’s recorded 73 strikeouts, the most on the team. He showed out in the team’s last regular season series against Florida, where he pitched 5.0 innings, struck out six, and gave up three runs on two hits.
Most recently, he started in the Lexington Regional against Indiana, where the team lost 5-3. He went 7.0 innings, struck out nine, but gave up four runs on five hits. While Lee has recorded many strikeouts in games recently, teams have still been able to hit him.
Along with Lee, Travis Smith is a likely candidate for the start in the Super Regional opener. He got the start in Kentucky’s regional opener against Ball State, where the Wildcats came away with a 4-0 win. He pitched four innings and gave up three hits.
But Kentucky’s strength on the mound comes with their depth. Even as far back as the series with LSU, the Wildcats were able to pitch several pitchers per game and at least have a fighting chance at winning the series. Depth on the mound will take teams further in the postseason than powerful offense can.
