Launch Party: No. 8 Kentucky Hits Six Homers to Win Fifth SEC Series ... Wildcats defeat Auburn 9-1 for longest SEC win streak in school history

By Matt May

Kentucky University

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 8 ranked Kentucky was handing out home runs on Friday night in a 9-1 series-clinching victory at Auburn. It was the ninth straight Southeastern Conference win for the Wildcats, the longest such streak in program history.

Kentucky (29-5, 13-1 SEC) now on Saturday will go for its third consecutive league series sweep when it sends junior Mason Moore to the mound.

UK hit six home runs by five different players, the first time the Cats have hit at least half a dozen blasts since clubbing seven in 2021 against Alabama. Ryan Nicholson smoked two more and now has five in his last three SEC games. Other Cats to leave the yard Friday included Nolan McCarthy, Emilien Pitre (Repentigny Que.), Grant Smith and Ryan Waldschmidt, all of who hit solo shots. For Pitre it was his fourth of the spring.

That was more than enough for starter Dominic Niman. The reigning SEC and NCAA Baseball Pitcher of the Week ran his scoreless inning streak to 15.2 before Auburn cashed on a sacrifice fly after he had departed with a pair of runners on in the sixth inning. Upon taking a 6-0 lead through four innings UK never allowed the tying run to come to the plate.

NOTES

Kentucky now is 29-5 in 2024, 13-1 in Southeastern Conference play, has won 17 of its past 19 games, is 11-1 in night games, 11-2 in “true” road games, 13-3 away from Lexington.

The Cats’ current nine-game win streak in SEC play is the longest in school history, hit six home runs in a game for the first time since clubbing seven against Alabama on April 25, 2021. Five of the six on the night were solo shots.

The Cats had back-to-back blasts on consecutive pitches in the third inning by Smith and Waldschmidt, while Nicholson hit a pair, giving him five in the past three SEC games.

Kentucky scored three runs or more in an inning for the 42nd and 43rd times this season.

UK coach Nick Mingione is in his eighth season at the helm and now owns a 245-155 career record, needing 13 victories to become the second-winningest coach in school history and is 54-55 in the month of April under coach Mingione, as well as 10-3 against Auburn.

Senior Dominic Niman, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, pitched into the sixth allowing one run on four hits, walking three, fanning four and hitting a pair. His scoreless inning streak ended in the 6th inning at 15 innings.

Junior Jackson Nove threw three innings of one-hit, scoreless ball, striking out four.

Senior Ryan Nicholson went 2-for-5 with two runs, three RBIs and two home runs blasting a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run blast in the ninth, giving him 199 career hits. It was his eighth multi-hit game of the season and ninth multi-RBI game. In the last three SEC games he has eight hits, including five home runs, and 11 RBIs. The last UK player to homer in three straight SEC games was teammate Grant Smith, who hit one in each of the Cats’ three game series against Florida to end the 2023 regular season.

Junior Emilien Pitre went 2-for-5 with a run, a RBI, a home run and stolen base, his 15th multi-hit game of the season and 33rd career.

ON DECK

The Wildcats go for their third consecutive series sweep on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SECN+ and there will be an audio broadcast via the UK Sports Network.