May 5, 2026 • 21 mins
Darren Headrick talks with Head Coach Nick Mingione
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Okay for ready, when you guys are all right, you
want me just to look you're to the left right, Yeah, yep,
we got it all right, Just go just go at
uh thirty three even then.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
You got it all right?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Five four three two, Hello everyone, and welcome into another
edition of the Nick menje Oones Show here on the
UK Sports Network. The Cats are coming off a series
win over the Tennessee Volunteers that improves them to twenty
nine and sixteen overall, eleven and thirteen in SEC play,
with just six SEC games left in the regular season.
(00:47):
The Cats will be at Florida this week before they
finish with four games at home against Northern Kentucky and
Arkansas next week. A lot of guys shined at the
plate this week, as Kentucky scored thirty runs over the
three games, and we'll talk about all of them, including
the big return of Hudson Brown and Owen Jenkins to
the light up. Some great pitching performances as well. We'll
(01:08):
cover it all with coach when we come back on
the UK Sports Network.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
That's a serious win opener.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Alrighty, I want to go thirty four.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Hang with yep, like when you get it Okay, go
in five seconds.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Okay, three two. Welcome back into the Nick Mans You
Own show here on the UK Sports Network. I'm Darren Hedrick.
Coach has slid in alongside to talk about a series
win over Tennessee and we'll look forward to Florida throughout
the next half hour. But Coach, let's start with the
series win and the resiliency of your team and the
(01:55):
fight that was shown this weekend as they got a
couple of wins over the balls.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
It was fun, it was fun, and yeah, just dob
Ben did a great job getting us off to a
great start. I know we'll talk about him and Jackson
did the same thing on Saturday. But just to feel
the belief, the vibe of the guys, the home crowd,
it was all just it felt right. And you know,
we challenge our team and you and I have talked
(02:20):
about this about being able to pitch, defend and get
the timely hits and all in the same game. And
when we do that, we've had a ton of success
and we obviously felt like we did that two of
the three games. So good to get a series win
when that was much needed.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I know you spoke to the media after the game Sunday,
and you talked to him about the message you gave
to the team after the South Carolina series and how
they really took to it this week.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Yeah, it was just one of those times where you
know every point in a season and a lot of
times in your life, like you have to check. I
talked to them about an asthma check, and my buddy
Jason Cummings taught me what that was.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
I didn't know what it was, and.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
We basically just sat the team down and we just said, hey,
is our current direction heading towards our intended direction?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Are we going down the right path?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
And I just told him a story about me getting
lost in the mangroves fishing.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
One time with my buddy Bob and we're.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Just fishing away and you look up and we're two
hours deep into fishing and.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
We're like, where are we? We had no idea?
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And I also told him about how my center direction
is not good and my wife is amazing, Like we've
lived here for now ten years, and there are times
where we're going somewhere and we're driving through some random
neighborhood or do whatever, and.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I'm like, Christian, where are we going? And She'll like,
oh yeah, don't worry in and we just poop. We
just pop up right where we're supposed to go. And
I'm like, I can't do that. I need Google Maps,
you know.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
So I got to know, like, are we going in
the right direction or not? And our team was going
in the wrong direction, Deren. So we had a great
conversation and we mapped out what it would take and
where we want to go and why it's not going well,
and then how to we fix it and what are
we going to do to make sure we get there?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And the team has certainly responded.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
As you have gotten guys back from the injuries. Great
news with seeing Owen play this weekend, Hudson Brown, and
also we've heard good reports from Nate Harris. I'll let
you update that going forward. But as guys are coming
back and you see the emergence of freshmen like Caden Cloud,
Braxton Van Cleeve, do you see the identity of the
team beginning to change yet again this late in the season,
(04:29):
as guys are getting back and getting heated up.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
You know, there's been no secret that we have just
battled a ton of different kind of injuries, right, and
guys have been in and out and all of that,
but for the first time in a long time, you
feel like we're starting to get people back and people
aren't going this way right, So, yes, the teams, I
(05:00):
don't know what the right word is, Darren, like just
feel or vibe to know that Howey was coming back,
like just what Dad did to the team and how
it lifted the team to know like, yes.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
He's coming back.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And then Nate Harris through a bullpen Saturday and he's
doing great, but he got great news early in the
week and the throwing has been going great, and just like, yes,
he's getting better. Oh wait, we get oj back right, Like,
so all these things have like helped lift I don't
know if it's the spirits or the mentality or what,
(05:30):
but you know, when you see your teammates and they're
not able to play or contribute, you know, it hurts.
And so to get a lot of those back and
then guys now starting to get opportunities and you know,
fall into place, and then you see guys do what
Ethan Hindel Doe did and just like, Okay, I haven't
played first base all year, I'm gonna go ahead and
do that for three games and do a great job
(05:52):
at it. You know, just that part has been neat
to see and feel.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
I was going to ask you about Ethan handle playing first,
we'll just go ahead and stay on that topic. How
much did his athleticism translate to help him learn that
position quickly on the fly this weekend?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yes, yeah, I mean we you know, earlier in the
year I had mentioned about how we had guys work
their second and third positions, so he had done you know,
was it like a repper to you know what I mean.
I was cerned a little more than that for like
one or two practices, but yeah, just and then this
week just like working him over there has been great,
(06:31):
and you know, because of how well Braxton is doing,
like we want to get him in there, and then
knowing that Hoddy was going to be able to at
least come back in d H, so we wanted to
get Braxton. And then you know, Schwartz was out because
of his finger, so it's just like we knew we
didn't have swords, so it's like, hey, there's a potential
of the outfielder. And Marcy was still working through the hip,
(06:52):
you know, so there was just a ton of things
that we were trying to work through and having to
move and the amount of guys we've played at every
position has been crazy. But Ethan just his heart is
right and his athleticism and you know what's crazy is
much like Schwartz. You know, Schwartz practiced catching last year,
but then he took time off and he wasn't practicing well.
Then he came back to catching this year and it
(07:14):
was like better than he was last year. He wasn't
even really practicing it though, And Hindel it was almost
like he got better at first base just maybe because
it was like, hey, this is real and now I'm
ready and he actually did it at a high level.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Let's get caught up.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I know the fans want me to ask about some
injury updates. We talked a little bit about Nate Harris,
but great strides for him less or this past week.
So and then Schwartz is trying to battle through some finger.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
In yes, and hopefully we feel like maybe by this
weekend we'll get him back. So just doing the right
thing there to try to protect him and not make
it any worse, you know. So and then Will Marcy
was close to ninety, you know, and we we used
(08:03):
him the one time, but the rest is what he
needs and we feel good about he'll be available next
weekend too, so you almost feel like, hey, fingers crossed,
we're getting close to having, like, you know, all the
guys available.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
And then tager Tyson got banged up on that collision
at home trying to score. But I saw him yesterday
and he seemed to be okay.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
How is he? Yeah, I take same thing with him.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
You know, he was out this weekend after that, but
we feel like we're going to get him back as well.
So it's just like we're just progressing to where we
feel like, you know, and as a coach might it's
gonna be weird because there, you know, there's been times
where I've looked at and we've only had three positional
players available.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
For us up. It's just like Darren, they're not a
lot of moves, so do what you're going to do. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
So I'm just excited to get all of those guys back,
and they're trending. Tiger had a good day yesterday and
he was better than the day before, so that's been good.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Got a couple of minutes left in our first segment
here with Coach So let's talk about some of the
great pitching that we saw this weekend. You went through
two games, I think using four arms because of the
starters Jelkin and Cleaver. How big was that to get
fifteen innings two runs from two starters this weekend?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Then, man that he deserved that, like he has just
been working so hard and just you know, and we
threw him on Friday night, but we had a really
good feeling that he was doing it, was going to
do something special, and he certainly did. Seven innings now
and runs against that offense with all the home runs
and everything that they had coming in over eighty home runs,
(09:38):
and got us the start that we needed. And I
thought Mallin did a great job just finishing that game
and taking us through and not having to use another arm,
not knowing what the rest of the weekend held. And
then Jelkin, I mean just impressive. Zero walks, eleven strikeouts,
eight shutout. So I mean you just between those two starters,
as you mentioned, it's fifteen shutout innings and that's how
(10:00):
you win a serious Yeah, there's no secret.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
You and I know that. But two unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Performances in the next thirty forty five seconds. What was
one key to the recipe for those guys to get
through such a volatile lineup and to hold them to
just two or four runs rather through those two games.
Their ability to land multiple pitches and throw them at
any time.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
You know, I think anytime.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
There's so much data out there, Darren, Yeah, right, tendencies
and shapes, and I mean then had to cutter. He
had the curveball, he had to change up, he had
the four seemer, Jouk, the two seamer, the four seamer.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
He threw his change up, He had his curveball.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
I mean he had You just just had the full arsenal.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
And when you're mixing that many pitches and you're able
to land him in all different counts, it makes it
really difficult on the hitter.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
You're listening to the Nick min Gione Show here on
the UK Sports Network.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
We'll have more with coach.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
We'll talk about some of the big hitting superlatives when
we come back on the UK Sports Network. Okay, I
want to go ten seconds at forty five Yeah, okay,
(11:10):
five seconds two.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
This is our final segment of the Nickmingjeone show for
this week. The Wildcats again no midweek game as they
focus on finishing up things in the classroom. Coach, I
know that's a big part of your program, and the
guys are going to put the athletics part aside for
a moment and focus on being students as they finish
up classes.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Yeah, we got finals and Darren so proud of our team.
Speaking of that, we had the CASTP Awards last week
which Mitch Barnhardt and Schwacke and the rest of our
team just put an unbelievable job on. But our baseball
team won Academic Team of the Year, had the highest
male GPA, which is kind of crazy when you think
about how you get forty guys to have the highest
(11:53):
male GPA and some of the teams are a little
smaller than ours, you know what I mean. But just
credit to our players and Michael Stone are academ counselor,
Like what a job. And so, yeah, we have finals going.
And asked the guys yesterday after the game ras Rain
if you got a final, and a bunch of hands
went up. So we want to finish strong and that's
something we talk about, is like being the best student,
the person in the player.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
So finals week.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
And then nod and then they're gonna feel like professional baseball,
that's right.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
And someone we're done and they really feel like pros.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Now just baseball, that's right. It's always a fun time
for them.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Well, some guys were hitting like pros this weekend. Let's
talk about him. I want to start with Hudson Brown's return.
He had two hits, a home run, an RBI. Both
of his hits, by the way, were for extra bases.
But coach, besides his power and his hitting ability, what
is it about Hudson Brown that makes the line up
better when he's in it.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Well, his competitiveness.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
You just know that he's going to give you a good,
competitive at bat. And speaking to him, I just love
the fans reception for him, Like they announced his name
and the starting lineup and they're cheering so loud, and
he comes up his first at bat and they're like
cheering for him, and you know, in Mino, it was
like a real thing and it just zapped his energy
and got him good. And but man, did he just
(13:03):
bring it for us? I mean, yeah, he had two hits,
But Darren yesterday he had two balls.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
He hit one hundred and nine miles an hour and
got out both times.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
Right, just like long average says like, hey, that's finely
not gonna happen a lot, you know, but his presence
and his competitive spirit just is something that you just
can't replicate.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
On top of the standing ovation he got in his
first at bat back, the roar and just the crowd
going crazy on the home run was a lot of
fun to see.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Ah, and just to see like just I mean Darren,
like he gave me five and he was like, he
hit my hands.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
So hard, Like I was like, oh, it was like
all built up ergy.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I was like literally almost just started shaking it like
he hit it so hard.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
But man, that guy has deserved it. You know.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
At one point he had lost over twenty pounds and.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
He had gained it back.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
So he's good now all the way it's good and
where he's supposed to be.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
But yeah, just so happy for him.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Just his story, his journey from the time he first
step foot on campus and then to be able to
come back and do.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
That was awesome.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Coach I was thinking about last year's team and one
of the keys to that team making its run to
the regional final, where freshmen getting involved in producing and
we're seeing that at the end of the season again
this year. Let's start with Caden Cloud, who had five hits,
but he doubled twice, homered twice, and had six RBIs.
That's over the last four games going back to South Carolina.
(14:28):
But he also is such a consistent defender for you
at third base, what have you seen out of cadon consistency?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
That's like what we've gotten to.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
And the defense Darren has always been high level, like
elite defense, the way he can move to his left
and right, the way he does the slow rollers and
the big hops, hit the pop ups.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
What about the play he made where.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
He like stepped onto the mound and still made it
pop up.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Like he has been.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Able to just do it all defensively, and quite frankly,
he can do it all at all three positions, whether
it's and short or third. So that part's been good,
just to consistence Vender. And then you know, he made
an adjustment with his hands in his bad angle this
past week and I thought it really helped him and
just got some big hits.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
And you know he's been able to use the.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Whole field too. The ball he lays he crushes to right, center.
We've seen him go high to the pull side and
hit home runs. Like his ability to use the whole
field has been really neat, and you know, the game
doesn't get fast for him. He has this ability to
just like slow it down and has a good heart rate,
and he certainly has been fun to.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Watch Braxton Van Kleeve seven for fourteen in three games
against Tennessee a double, two home runs, six RBIs. Over
the last ten games, he's batting three seventy five with
five home runs that have all come against power for competition, man,
it has been fun to watch his bat literally explode
over the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Just repeat, just like grants and repeat, just like keep
doing whatever you're doing, Just keep doing it.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
But again, just a that's gotten consistent at bats, you know.
And you know one thing about Braxton is you know
he had Tommy John surgery coming off his senior year,
so he missed basically his entire senior year. And so
anytime you do that, you know typically you hear about
those with pitchers. Well for him, it was as a
positional player, and you know, it just takes time to
(16:20):
come back for that, and you know, the fall I
think at times was really challenging for him, which is good.
I think anytime a freshman can have some challenges you
get to a good spot. But man, when he came
back there and you know, and like most freshmen in
first year guys, I remember Jackson Gray was very similar,
who was a guy we had out of the transfer
portal and the first semester was rough for him. But
he came back in January and Jackson was second in
(16:43):
the SEC and hitting that year, behind Dylan Cruz in
SEC games only. But he just came back a different guy.
And practim was the same way when he came back
after December and it was like, hey, I've been here,
I've done that. Like we had a great end of
fall meeting and you could just see the confidence grow
in January, and like most freshmen, the season gets him
(17:04):
a little bit. But man, he's earned every opportunity and he's.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Going to keep getting him along those lines. I know
how much the development and teaching aspect of coaching means
to you. When you see a guy like Nate Harris
last year just really embrace, Hey, I'm going to be
the Friday night guy for our team. Let's go out
there or this year, it's Cayden in the field, and
it's the plate, it's Braxton hitting home runs. How much
fun is it for you to see those freshmen in
(17:28):
the light bulb go off they realize I do belong.
My skill set does translate to the SEC. Let's go
get them. Yeah, that is so much fun. And another
freshman is oj I mean, yeah, it's a job that
he's done behind the plate. Like he caught his best
games of the year this past weekend, Like he was unbelievable.
His scores were incredible, the way he calmed the game,
(17:50):
what he did with Ben, how he handled Jackson.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
I mean, just a job that he has done.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
So to your point, there's three freshmen that have like
clicked and hit on the highest level. And man, that
part is just fun.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
It's just fun.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
And you know one thing about coaching college kids, Darren,
that's like really neat is I get older.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
But days today, for the most part, in the same age.
I just keep coaching eighteen to twenty four. But they
keep staying in that age frame.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
But I just keep getting older and get more gray
hair and all this stuff. But so every year there's opportunities,
like new opportunities to see what you're talking about. And
when it happens and you see it, it's just like, man,
it is like really cool because you know how it
can impact their future.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Makes it fun to fill out the lineup card, doesn't it? It does.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
One more guy I want to talk about. We got
a couple of minutes left in the show. Tyler Bell.
We got to talk about him. Against Tennessee nine for fifteen.
He had three doubles, two home runs and if you
want to go back four games, he's got six RBIs
going back to the South Carolina game.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
But I have to.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Say this, coach, when Tyler Bell hits home runs, he
doesn't get cheated. I've never seen him just hit one
that barely made it over the wall.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
But he hits them. They're no doubters every time. It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
And you know, coming back from an injury is not
an easy thing. Yeah, and he has just gotten to
the spot where he is just he's comfortable, He knows
his routine. He is really figured out the left handed swing.
His right handed swing is dialed like. But he took
you know, I told him this after the game. He
(19:29):
found that ball straight back on Sunday and I saw
a swing in an extension that I hadn't seen in
a while, and I was like, yes, do that swing again.
And sure enough, like the next pitch like just stuck
his finish powerful dropped the bat run like a pro,
you know what I mean. And so, yeah, he's he's
(19:50):
been fun and he's certainly dialed right now.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
If you want to really kind of get a little
inside baseball with his swing, Coach, his hand quickness on
the wing is amazing. The bat speed is fun to watch,
and it's impressive when you see it up close.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, I mean, so there's guys that I typically say
you typically have either bat speed or strength at the
point of contact, where you know, there's just some of
these big, strong guys not only can they whip the barrel,
but like there's just unreal strength there, right.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
But Tyler he does have strength.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
But the bat speed is just man, can he whip
his bat And when he gets in the right positions,
it is crazy how fast he can whip that bad
there's no question.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Well we've got less than a minute left in the show.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Coach.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
You go to Florida this weekend, and I know it's
always a fun competitive series when you take on the Gators.
So the Cats will finish up their school work this
week and then we'll go head down to Gainesville for
a fun series with the Gators.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Yeah, looking forward to it obviously, that's where I'm from,
and my pass list will be full.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
We look forward to seeing a lot of blue and
white and the Cats invading Condrin Family Ballpark this weekend. Coach,
thanks for the time. We'll see you down in Gainesville.
This has been the Nick Mens you Own show on
the UK Sports Network.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Thanks fellows, thank you.
Okay for ready, when you guys are all right, you
want me just to look you're to the left right, Yeah, yep,
we got it all right, Just go just go at
uh thirty three even then.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
You got it all right?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Five four three two, Hello everyone, and welcome into another
edition of the Nick menje Oones Show here on the
UK Sports Network. The Cats are coming off a series
win over the Tennessee Volunteers that improves them to twenty
nine and sixteen overall, eleven and thirteen in SEC play,
with just six SEC games left in the regular season.
(00:47):
The Cats will be at Florida this week before they
finish with four games at home against Northern Kentucky and
Arkansas next week. A lot of guys shined at the
plate this week, as Kentucky scored thirty runs over the
three games, and we'll talk about all of them, including
the big return of Hudson Brown and Owen Jenkins to
the light up. Some great pitching performances as well. We'll
(01:08):
cover it all with coach when we come back on
the UK Sports Network.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
That's a serious win opener.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Alrighty, I want to go thirty four.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Hang with yep, like when you get it Okay, go
in five seconds.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Okay, three two. Welcome back into the Nick Mans You
Own show here on the UK Sports Network. I'm Darren Hedrick.
Coach has slid in alongside to talk about a series
win over Tennessee and we'll look forward to Florida throughout
the next half hour. But Coach, let's start with the
series win and the resiliency of your team and the
(01:55):
fight that was shown this weekend as they got a
couple of wins over the balls.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
It was fun, it was fun, and yeah, just dob
Ben did a great job getting us off to a
great start. I know we'll talk about him and Jackson
did the same thing on Saturday. But just to feel
the belief, the vibe of the guys, the home crowd,
it was all just it felt right. And you know,
we challenge our team and you and I have talked
(02:20):
about this about being able to pitch, defend and get
the timely hits and all in the same game. And
when we do that, we've had a ton of success
and we obviously felt like we did that two of
the three games. So good to get a series win
when that was much needed.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I know you spoke to the media after the game Sunday,
and you talked to him about the message you gave
to the team after the South Carolina series and how
they really took to it this week.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Yeah, it was just one of those times where you
know every point in a season and a lot of
times in your life, like you have to check. I
talked to them about an asthma check, and my buddy
Jason Cummings taught me what that was.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
I didn't know what it was, and.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
We basically just sat the team down and we just said, hey,
is our current direction heading towards our intended direction?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Are we going down the right path?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
And I just told him a story about me getting
lost in the mangroves fishing.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
One time with my buddy Bob and we're.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Just fishing away and you look up and we're two
hours deep into fishing and.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
We're like, where are we? We had no idea?
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And I also told him about how my center direction
is not good and my wife is amazing, Like we've
lived here for now ten years, and there are times
where we're going somewhere and we're driving through some random
neighborhood or do whatever, and.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I'm like, Christian, where are we going? And She'll like,
oh yeah, don't worry in and we just poop. We
just pop up right where we're supposed to go. And
I'm like, I can't do that. I need Google Maps,
you know.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
So I got to know, like, are we going in
the right direction or not? And our team was going
in the wrong direction, Deren. So we had a great
conversation and we mapped out what it would take and
where we want to go and why it's not going well,
and then how to we fix it and what are
we going to do to make sure we get there?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And the team has certainly responded.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
As you have gotten guys back from the injuries. Great
news with seeing Owen play this weekend, Hudson Brown, and
also we've heard good reports from Nate Harris. I'll let
you update that going forward. But as guys are coming
back and you see the emergence of freshmen like Caden Cloud,
Braxton Van Cleeve, do you see the identity of the
team beginning to change yet again this late in the season,
(04:29):
as guys are getting back and getting heated up.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
You know, there's been no secret that we have just
battled a ton of different kind of injuries, right, and
guys have been in and out and all of that,
but for the first time in a long time, you
feel like we're starting to get people back and people
aren't going this way right, So, yes, the teams, I
(05:00):
don't know what the right word is, Darren, like just
feel or vibe to know that Howey was coming back,
like just what Dad did to the team and how
it lifted the team to know like, yes.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
He's coming back.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And then Nate Harris through a bullpen Saturday and he's
doing great, but he got great news early in the
week and the throwing has been going great, and just like, yes,
he's getting better. Oh wait, we get oj back right, Like,
so all these things have like helped lift I don't
know if it's the spirits or the mentality or what,
(05:30):
but you know, when you see your teammates and they're
not able to play or contribute, you know, it hurts.
And so to get a lot of those back and
then guys now starting to get opportunities and you know,
fall into place, and then you see guys do what
Ethan Hindel Doe did and just like, Okay, I haven't
played first base all year, I'm gonna go ahead and
do that for three games and do a great job
(05:52):
at it. You know, just that part has been neat
to see and feel.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
I was going to ask you about Ethan handle playing first,
we'll just go ahead and stay on that topic. How
much did his athleticism translate to help him learn that
position quickly on the fly this weekend?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yes, yeah, I mean we you know, earlier in the
year I had mentioned about how we had guys work
their second and third positions, so he had done you know,
was it like a repper to you know what I mean.
I was cerned a little more than that for like
one or two practices, but yeah, just and then this
week just like working him over there has been great,
(06:31):
and you know, because of how well Braxton is doing,
like we want to get him in there, and then
knowing that Hoddy was going to be able to at
least come back in d H, so we wanted to
get Braxton. And then you know, Schwartz was out because
of his finger, so it's just like we knew we
didn't have swords, so it's like, hey, there's a potential
of the outfielder. And Marcy was still working through the hip,
(06:52):
you know, so there was just a ton of things
that we were trying to work through and having to
move and the amount of guys we've played at every
position has been crazy. But Ethan just his heart is
right and his athleticism and you know what's crazy is
much like Schwartz. You know, Schwartz practiced catching last year,
but then he took time off and he wasn't practicing well.
Then he came back to catching this year and it
(07:14):
was like better than he was last year. He wasn't
even really practicing it though, And Hindel it was almost
like he got better at first base just maybe because
it was like, hey, this is real and now I'm
ready and he actually did it at a high level.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Let's get caught up.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I know the fans want me to ask about some
injury updates. We talked a little bit about Nate Harris,
but great strides for him less or this past week.
So and then Schwartz is trying to battle through some finger.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
In yes, and hopefully we feel like maybe by this
weekend we'll get him back. So just doing the right
thing there to try to protect him and not make
it any worse, you know. So and then Will Marcy
was close to ninety, you know, and we we used
(08:03):
him the one time, but the rest is what he
needs and we feel good about he'll be available next
weekend too, so you almost feel like, hey, fingers crossed,
we're getting close to having, like, you know, all the
guys available.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
And then tager Tyson got banged up on that collision
at home trying to score. But I saw him yesterday
and he seemed to be okay.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
How is he? Yeah, I take same thing with him.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
You know, he was out this weekend after that, but
we feel like we're going to get him back as well.
So it's just like we're just progressing to where we
feel like, you know, and as a coach might it's
gonna be weird because there, you know, there's been times
where I've looked at and we've only had three positional
players available.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
For us up. It's just like Darren, they're not a
lot of moves, so do what you're going to do. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
So I'm just excited to get all of those guys back,
and they're trending. Tiger had a good day yesterday and
he was better than the day before, so that's been good.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Got a couple of minutes left in our first segment
here with Coach So let's talk about some of the
great pitching that we saw this weekend. You went through
two games, I think using four arms because of the
starters Jelkin and Cleaver. How big was that to get
fifteen innings two runs from two starters this weekend?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Then, man that he deserved that, like he has just
been working so hard and just you know, and we
threw him on Friday night, but we had a really
good feeling that he was doing it, was going to
do something special, and he certainly did. Seven innings now
and runs against that offense with all the home runs
and everything that they had coming in over eighty home runs,
(09:38):
and got us the start that we needed. And I
thought Mallin did a great job just finishing that game
and taking us through and not having to use another arm,
not knowing what the rest of the weekend held. And
then Jelkin, I mean just impressive. Zero walks, eleven strikeouts,
eight shutout. So I mean you just between those two starters,
as you mentioned, it's fifteen shutout innings and that's how
(10:00):
you win a serious Yeah, there's no secret.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
You and I know that. But two unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Performances in the next thirty forty five seconds. What was
one key to the recipe for those guys to get
through such a volatile lineup and to hold them to
just two or four runs rather through those two games.
Their ability to land multiple pitches and throw them at
any time.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
You know, I think anytime.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
There's so much data out there, Darren, Yeah, right, tendencies
and shapes, and I mean then had to cutter. He
had the curveball, he had to change up, he had
the four seemer, Jouk, the two seamer, the four seamer.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
He threw his change up, He had his curveball.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
I mean he had You just just had the full arsenal.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
And when you're mixing that many pitches and you're able
to land him in all different counts, it makes it
really difficult on the hitter.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
You're listening to the Nick min Gione Show here on
the UK Sports Network.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
We'll have more with coach.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
We'll talk about some of the big hitting superlatives when
we come back on the UK Sports Network. Okay, I
want to go ten seconds at forty five Yeah, okay,
(11:10):
five seconds two.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
This is our final segment of the Nickmingjeone show for
this week. The Wildcats again no midweek game as they
focus on finishing up things in the classroom. Coach, I
know that's a big part of your program, and the
guys are going to put the athletics part aside for
a moment and focus on being students as they finish
up classes.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Yeah, we got finals and Darren so proud of our team.
Speaking of that, we had the CASTP Awards last week
which Mitch Barnhardt and Schwacke and the rest of our
team just put an unbelievable job on. But our baseball
team won Academic Team of the Year, had the highest
male GPA, which is kind of crazy when you think
about how you get forty guys to have the highest
(11:53):
male GPA and some of the teams are a little
smaller than ours, you know what I mean. But just
credit to our players and Michael Stone are academ counselor,
Like what a job. And so, yeah, we have finals going.
And asked the guys yesterday after the game ras Rain
if you got a final, and a bunch of hands
went up. So we want to finish strong and that's
something we talk about, is like being the best student,
the person in the player.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
So finals week.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
And then nod and then they're gonna feel like professional baseball,
that's right.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
And someone we're done and they really feel like pros.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Now just baseball, that's right. It's always a fun time
for them.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Well, some guys were hitting like pros this weekend. Let's
talk about him. I want to start with Hudson Brown's return.
He had two hits, a home run, an RBI. Both
of his hits, by the way, were for extra bases.
But coach, besides his power and his hitting ability, what
is it about Hudson Brown that makes the line up
better when he's in it.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Well, his competitiveness.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
You just know that he's going to give you a good,
competitive at bat. And speaking to him, I just love
the fans reception for him, Like they announced his name
and the starting lineup and they're cheering so loud, and
he comes up his first at bat and they're like
cheering for him, and you know, in Mino, it was
like a real thing and it just zapped his energy
and got him good. And but man, did he just
(13:03):
bring it for us? I mean, yeah, he had two hits,
But Darren yesterday he had two balls.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
He hit one hundred and nine miles an hour and
got out both times.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
Right, just like long average says like, hey, that's finely
not gonna happen a lot, you know, but his presence
and his competitive spirit just is something that you just
can't replicate.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
On top of the standing ovation he got in his
first at bat back, the roar and just the crowd
going crazy on the home run was a lot of
fun to see.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Ah, and just to see like just I mean Darren,
like he gave me five and he was like, he
hit my hands.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
So hard, Like I was like, oh, it was like
all built up ergy.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I was like literally almost just started shaking it like
he hit it so hard.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
But man, that guy has deserved it. You know.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
At one point he had lost over twenty pounds and.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
He had gained it back.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
So he's good now all the way it's good and
where he's supposed to be.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
But yeah, just so happy for him.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Just his story, his journey from the time he first
step foot on campus and then to be able to
come back and do.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
That was awesome.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Coach I was thinking about last year's team and one
of the keys to that team making its run to
the regional final, where freshmen getting involved in producing and
we're seeing that at the end of the season again
this year. Let's start with Caden Cloud, who had five hits,
but he doubled twice, homered twice, and had six RBIs.
That's over the last four games going back to South Carolina.
(14:28):
But he also is such a consistent defender for you
at third base, what have you seen out of cadon consistency?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
That's like what we've gotten to.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
And the defense Darren has always been high level, like
elite defense, the way he can move to his left
and right, the way he does the slow rollers and
the big hops, hit the pop ups.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
What about the play he made where.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
He like stepped onto the mound and still made it
pop up.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Like he has been.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Able to just do it all defensively, and quite frankly,
he can do it all at all three positions, whether
it's and short or third. So that part's been good,
just to consistence Vender. And then you know, he made
an adjustment with his hands in his bad angle this
past week and I thought it really helped him and
just got some big hits.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
And you know he's been able to use the.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Whole field too. The ball he lays he crushes to right, center.
We've seen him go high to the pull side and
hit home runs. Like his ability to use the whole
field has been really neat, and you know, the game
doesn't get fast for him. He has this ability to
just like slow it down and has a good heart rate,
and he certainly has been fun to.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Watch Braxton Van Kleeve seven for fourteen in three games
against Tennessee a double, two home runs, six RBIs. Over
the last ten games, he's batting three seventy five with
five home runs that have all come against power for competition, man,
it has been fun to watch his bat literally explode
over the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Just repeat, just like grants and repeat, just like keep
doing whatever you're doing, Just keep doing it.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
But again, just a that's gotten consistent at bats, you know.
And you know one thing about Braxton is you know
he had Tommy John surgery coming off his senior year,
so he missed basically his entire senior year. And so
anytime you do that, you know typically you hear about
those with pitchers. Well for him, it was as a
positional player, and you know, it just takes time to
(16:20):
come back for that, and you know, the fall I
think at times was really challenging for him, which is good.
I think anytime a freshman can have some challenges you
get to a good spot. But man, when he came
back there and you know, and like most freshmen in
first year guys, I remember Jackson Gray was very similar,
who was a guy we had out of the transfer
portal and the first semester was rough for him. But
he came back in January and Jackson was second in
(16:43):
the SEC and hitting that year, behind Dylan Cruz in
SEC games only. But he just came back a different guy.
And practim was the same way when he came back
after December and it was like, hey, I've been here,
I've done that. Like we had a great end of
fall meeting and you could just see the confidence grow
in January, and like most freshmen, the season gets him
(17:04):
a little bit. But man, he's earned every opportunity and he's.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Going to keep getting him along those lines. I know
how much the development and teaching aspect of coaching means
to you. When you see a guy like Nate Harris
last year just really embrace, Hey, I'm going to be
the Friday night guy for our team. Let's go out
there or this year, it's Cayden in the field, and
it's the plate, it's Braxton hitting home runs. How much
fun is it for you to see those freshmen in
(17:28):
the light bulb go off they realize I do belong.
My skill set does translate to the SEC. Let's go
get them. Yeah, that is so much fun. And another
freshman is oj I mean, yeah, it's a job that
he's done behind the plate. Like he caught his best
games of the year this past weekend, Like he was unbelievable.
His scores were incredible, the way he calmed the game,
(17:50):
what he did with Ben, how he handled Jackson.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
I mean, just a job that he has done.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
So to your point, there's three freshmen that have like
clicked and hit on the highest level. And man, that
part is just fun.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
It's just fun.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
And you know one thing about coaching college kids, Darren,
that's like really neat is I get older.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
But days today, for the most part, in the same age.
I just keep coaching eighteen to twenty four. But they
keep staying in that age frame.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
But I just keep getting older and get more gray
hair and all this stuff. But so every year there's opportunities,
like new opportunities to see what you're talking about. And
when it happens and you see it, it's just like, man,
it is like really cool because you know how it
can impact their future.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Makes it fun to fill out the lineup card, doesn't it? It does.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
One more guy I want to talk about. We got
a couple of minutes left in the show. Tyler Bell.
We got to talk about him. Against Tennessee nine for fifteen.
He had three doubles, two home runs and if you
want to go back four games, he's got six RBIs
going back to the South Carolina game.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
But I have to.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Say this, coach, when Tyler Bell hits home runs, he
doesn't get cheated. I've never seen him just hit one
that barely made it over the wall.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
But he hits them. They're no doubters every time. It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
And you know, coming back from an injury is not
an easy thing. Yeah, and he has just gotten to
the spot where he is just he's comfortable, He knows
his routine. He is really figured out the left handed swing.
His right handed swing is dialed like. But he took
you know, I told him this after the game. He
(19:29):
found that ball straight back on Sunday and I saw
a swing in an extension that I hadn't seen in
a while, and I was like, yes, do that swing again.
And sure enough, like the next pitch like just stuck
his finish powerful dropped the bat run like a pro,
you know what I mean. And so, yeah, he's he's
(19:50):
been fun and he's certainly dialed right now.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
If you want to really kind of get a little
inside baseball with his swing, Coach, his hand quickness on
the wing is amazing. The bat speed is fun to watch,
and it's impressive when you see it up close.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, I mean, so there's guys that I typically say
you typically have either bat speed or strength at the
point of contact, where you know, there's just some of
these big, strong guys not only can they whip the barrel,
but like there's just unreal strength there, right.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
But Tyler he does have strength.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
But the bat speed is just man, can he whip
his bat And when he gets in the right positions,
it is crazy how fast he can whip that bad
there's no question.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Well we've got less than a minute left in the show.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Coach.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
You go to Florida this weekend, and I know it's
always a fun competitive series when you take on the Gators.
So the Cats will finish up their school work this
week and then we'll go head down to Gainesville for
a fun series with the Gators.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Yeah, looking forward to it obviously, that's where I'm from,
and my pass list will be full.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
We look forward to seeing a lot of blue and
white and the Cats invading Condrin Family Ballpark this weekend. Coach,
thanks for the time. We'll see you down in Gainesville.
This has been the Nick Mens you Own show on
the UK Sports Network.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Thanks fellows, thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com