Perfection From Mason Moore Keeps Kentucky Afloat in Ball State Victory

"I had my stuff today. I had the confidence."

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The difference between success and failure in the NCAA Tournament often hinges on how a team manages its pitching staff. 

In the postseason for the first time since 2017, this was a conundrum that head coach Nick Mingione and pitching coach Dan Roszel had not had to deal with for some time. As Friday afternoon approached following the announcement of the Lexington Regional that featured Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and UK's first opponent, Ball State, Mingione kept his cards close to his chest, declining to dive into pitching plans or even publicly naming a starter until just over an hour until first pitch against the Cardinals. 

Ultimately, it was redshirt freshman Travis Smith that was handed the rock to open things in the postseason. The midweek-turned-Friday-night starter delivered 4.0 scoreless innings, departing after facing the Ball State lineup all the way through two times. 

Carrying 14 pitchers on the 27-man roster, Mingione had a big call to make, as his team was in a dogfight with the MAC Tournament champions, clinging on to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Devin Burkes home run. With Ball State starter Trennor O'Donnell not keen on allowing further damage, the UK skipper opted to send in a big gun from the bullpen in sophomore right-hander Mason Moore. 

The Morehead, Ky. native entered the day boasting a 2.43 ERA in 19 appearances, having allowed just two earned runs in his last seven outings, spanning 13.2 innings pitched. Being one of the only reliable arms out of the pen in terms of consistent length on the mound, UK was firing a big bullet by sending him out. 

He made his presence felt immediately, facing the top of the order with a runner on first base and no outs in a one-run game. After getting Ryan Peltier in a 1-2 hole, the sinker-baller induced a double play, wiping away the lead runner. Moore then got Decker Scheffler — the best hitter in the Ball State lineup — to fly out to right field, retiring the side. 

Little did Moore, Mingione, or anyone inside a packed-out Kentucky Proud Park know what was on the horizon. 

When the final out was recorded in the top of the ninth, Moore stood taller than ever on the mound, having retired all 14 batters he faced, leading to the last 15 Cardinal outs of the game and UK's first-ever shutout NCAA Tournament win in the modern era.

"I think throwing both pitches for strikes, curveball and fastball," Moore said when asked what was working for him on Friday. "We knew their attack, we knew they would be up there swinging. I new coming in I’d have to attack the strike zone." 

Ball State managed only two three-ball counts against Moore, making for some quick innings. He needed only 16 pitches to notch his first six outs, making life miserable for Cardinal batters. 

"(Moore) was throwing sinkers that were right at the bottom of the zone and getting us to roll over some pitches we thought we were hitting pretty well," Ball State shortstop Adam Tellier said.

That wicked sinker mixed with the off-speed induced eight groundouts, which was music to the sure-handed UK infield's ears, which didn't make an error in the 4-0 win. 

"I trust my defense a lot. We make plays, so I knew from the beginning if I just attacked the zone and let them swing that we’d make the plays and get outs," Moore said. 

He kept the Cats steady, who still led just 1-0 in the eighth inning, as O'Donnell continued to dice his way through a UK order that tallied just six hits. Moore again retired Peltier and Scheffler for his 11th and 12th outs the day, pushing his team back to the plate, where the big inning ensued. 

Kentucky finally chased O'Donnell, then used a pair of hits, a passed ball and a wild pitch to plate three runs, finally breaking things open. Trusty right-hander Darren Williams and lefty Magdiel Cotto were warming up in the UK bullpen amidst the eighth, but Mingione and Roszel knew they couldn't take the Rowan County High School product out of the game with the lead still in-tact. 

"I told Coach Roszel, can I go back out. And he was, like, yeah, you got it. I was, like, all right. I knew I had one job, and the crowd and the defense helped me out in the last inning," Moore said. I had my stuff today. I had the confidence. And the guys behind me were making plays."

"There was no way I was taking him out of the game. Some of those sinkers he was throwing were dive bombing. It was incredible," Mingione added with a laugh. 

Three more quick outs wrapped things up, with Moore sitting at just 50 pitches. The performance earned plenty of praise from Ball State head coach Rich Maloney:

"They brought in their relief pitcher, I thought he was outstanding, really stymied us," he said. "Superlative performance from Mason Moore."

The outing leaves Kentucky still with a full pen in preparation for the winner of West Virginia-Indiana on Saturday night. With ace Zack Lee, Williams, long-reliever-turned-starter Austin Strickland and more still ready to go, the UK staff is in a great spot to push ahead towards a Super Regional berth.

"The strength of our team is the amount of guys we can use as starters or out of the bullpen. And anytime, this is — you can play as many as five games or as many as three," Mingione said. "So the fact that we used two guys — and even for Mason to throw 50 pitches in five innings, that’s incredible."

Incredible indeed. Don't count out Moore for a second appearance this weekend, however:

"Yeah, I can throw again this weekend."

A game recap can be found HERE.

• For a complete preview of the action this weekend in Lexington, click HERE.
• For some UK baseball postseason lore, click HERE.
• Everything Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said about the draw HERE.
• More on Mingione HERE.
• More on Kentucky's pitching staff heading into the postseason HERE.
• Find out which Kentuckians are returning to their home state to play HERE.

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