News

Actions

Kentucky baseball needs fans to pack Kentucky Proud Park for NCAA Regional

kentucky baseball.JPG
Posted at 5:00 PM, May 29, 2023
and last updated 2023-05-29 17:22:10-04

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Enjoy the quiet for now because come next weekend, Lexington will be quite a popular city.

One of those highlights is Kentucky Baseball hosting a regional in the NCAA Tournament.

"A lot, a lot of excitement for the community and I think they're going to show out," said pitcher Darren Williams.

The three teams coming in are all within driving distance, which increases the likelihood of a variety of fans supporting teams from outside Kentucky. Ball State, Indiana University, and West Virginia University will be the other teams joining the Wildcats at Kentucky Proud Park. The team's message to BBN is that this is still home-field advantage.

"Big Blue Nation, y'all showed us the biggest crowds this year almost, but we need y'all to keep coming out," said catcher Devin Burkes.

Coach Nick Mingione opened up, talking about the impact the fans can have at Kentucky Proud Park. He highlighted Mitch Barnhart's message to the team early on, but stressed how that remains paramount, especially going into the regional at home.

"This team just wants to win," Mingione said. "And it started with Mitch Barnhart's message to our team at the beginning of the year. He just challenged us to win for Kentucky. And that's what this team has done, that's what they've been committed to doing."

Kentucky will play Ball State on Friday at 12 p.m.