Kentucky
Western Michigan baseball in NCAA tournament: Broncos to play Kentucky in opener
Western Michigan baseball has its assignment and will be hitting the road to begin its run in the NCAA tournament.
The pairings for the 64-team tournament were announced Monday and the Broncos, who won the Mid-American Conference tournament over the weekend in Avon, Ohio, were an automatic qualifier. Their reward: A trip to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on the regional host and No. 2 overall seed Kentucky. The other two teams in the regional are Illinois and Indiana State.
The Broncos and Wildcats will open regional play at Kentucky’s home field at noon Friday on the SEC Network. The Sycamores and Fighting Illini will play at 7 p.m. Friday.
WMU was the No. 2 seed in the MAC tournament and took down No. 3-seeded Ball State, 10-3, on Saturday night for the Broncos’ second conference tournament crown. The 32nd win of the season is the most for WMU since winning 35 in 1993. The MAC tournament MVP was outfielder Dylan Nevar, who went 6-for-13 with five RBIs and four runs scored.
The Broncos were the best hitting (.316 batting average) and pitching (5.50 ERA) team in the MAC this season. Cade Sullivan (.397) and C.J. Richmond (.384) finished 1-2 in hitting in the MAC and Nevar was tops in RBIs (68).
Each of the 16 regionals will be four-team, double-elimination tournaments to advance to the Super Regionals, for which the pairings will be announced on June 4.
This year marks the first time the Broncos have made the NCAA tournament since 2016, when they also won the MAC tournament title. That year, they were in the Louisville, Kentucky, regional, and went 0-2.
The Tennessee Volunteers are one of the many teams that have the opportunity to make the college football playoffs, still, as they will need to win out for the remainder of this season. They ave a tall task ahead of them with the teams like the Florida Gators, Oklahoma Sooners, and Vanderbilt Commodores ahead of them.
The Tennessee Volunteers are set to take on the Kentucky Wildcats first and one of their toughest games that remain on the schedule, not based off the team that they are playing, but based off of how they play against them. It is safe to say that the Kentucky Wildcats can’t stand the thought of Tennessee, but the same goes for the Tennessee Vols as they cannot stand the thought of the Kentucky Wildcats and their fan base.
There are multiple injuries that the Tennessee program will have to move past as they won’t be having some of their players play in this one, which comes with expectations, as this has been one of the most banged-up teams in the nation. One of the players that made the injury report was Rickey Gibson (as expected).
The Tennessee defensive back will be out yet again, as he has only played in one game this season. That game is the season opener against the Syracuse Orange. The Tennessee Vols will be looking to return their DB, but as of now, it is uncertain that he will find his way back on the field. While he may not play in this one, he may find his way back, but that will depend on how fast he can heal. The odds seem to point at the fact that he may not return, and if he does, it will likely be later this season. There is a chance that the Vols don’t have him or Jermod McCoy for the rest of the season.
The Vols will hope to win this game, although nothing is for certain in this league. The Vols are the favorites, and a win here will put them in the best mind space when it comes to their biggest remaining home game when they play against the Oklahoma Sooners, who have one loss and one loss only at this time.
A win here will solidify a bowl game for the Vols, which is a bowl game in every season under head coach Josh Heupel.
The Tennessee Volunteers (5-2,2-2) will travel north to face the Kentucky Wildcats (2-4,0-4) for what could be a slugfest Saturday night.
This has potential to be closer than the records would indicate as the Vols have had their fair share of struggles on the road, while the Wildcats take advantage of home field as they did last week.
Last Week:
Tennessee fell at Alabama 37-20
Kentucky fell at home to Texas 16-13 in OT. (No one was anticipating that)
Both teams will have injuries and obstacles to overcome, but the game itself is important for both programs moving forwards.
Kentucky Wildcats
The Cats are winless in the conference thus far but are looking to catch the Vols reeling after a loss in Tuscaloosa. Kentucky has been a working progress all season long and has shown signs of life in various contests but have yet to fully get to a consistent level.
Tennessee Volunteers
The Vols could come into this game with a huge chip on their shoulders. Tennessee was a few plays away last week from a different outcome, and if the Vols play to their potential, they could make this a difficult night for the home team.
Tennessee will have a couple of players or more that are assumed to be out this week, A pair of starting defensive back have been out essentially all season with upper body inuries. One has had several speculations about a possible return, although no concrete timeline has been given.
Kentucky had a list of players banged up last week and could be without a few players this week as well. Running back Seth McGowan was injured during the game with Texas last week. McGowan left for the hospital and returned to the game.
The Cats had 7 (1-suspension) players total that did not participate in the overtime game.
Here is the mid-week injury report for Tennessee vs. Alabama.
Tennessee Volunteers Injury Report
• Jermod McCoy (OUT)
• Rickey Gibson (OUT)
• Travis Smith (OUT)
• Radarious Jackson (Questionable)
• Ethan Davis (Questionable)
• Arion Carter (Questionable)
Kentucky Wildcats Injury Report
• Troy Stellato (OUT)
• Jamarion Wilcox (OUT)
• Jacob Smith(OUT)
• Devin Smith (OUT)
• Nic Smith (OUT)
• David Washington Jr. (OUT)
• Elijah Brown (OUT)
• DJ Waller Jr. (Doubtful)
• Seth McGowan (Questionable)
• Fred Farrier II (Questionable)
• Aba Selm (Questionable)
• Willie Rodriguez (Probable)
• Josh Kattus (Probable)
• Khalil Saunders (Probable)
The kick-off time is set for 7:45 PM EDT. It’s going to be a late one in the Bluegrass State.
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DeWine, Beshear talk government shutdown, national guard, more
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear discuss the current government shutdown, appropriate use of the national guard and more.
Rob Portman established a center at the University of Cincinnati two years ago to bridge the gap between the left and the right.
Ohio’s former Republican senator won cooperation on that count from Ohio and Kentucky’s governors on Oct. 21, as the two agreed on how to use National Guard (not for law enforcement), when to end the federal government shutdown (now), the importance of the Brent Spence Bridge project (giant) and who should inspire public policy (citizens).
“In these polarized times,” Portman said, setting up the conversation between Mike DeWine, Ohio’s Republication governor, and Andy Beshear, a Democrat who fills that job in Kentucky, “I think there’s a real interest in how to get together and solve problems.”
Here’s what the governors had to say before a politically mixed crowd at a packed UC auditorium.
(Separately, Beshear told reporters a presidential run is something he and his family will “consider” if they feel he’s the best candidate for the job in 2028. And DeWine declined to comment on Cincinnati’s police chief, saying only “That issue just has to get resolved. It’s not mine to get resolved.”)
Should the National Guard police American cities?
National Guard members are useful during natural disasters and civil disturbances when mayors request them, DeWine said. Otherwise, other agencies are better equipped to help, he said. In Cincinnati, for example, state and local officials worked out an agreement for the Ohio State Highway Patrol to backstop local officers to address urban crime.
Beshear said citizens deserve to be safe and feel safe, but agreed National Guard officers are not trained to handle law enforcement. He also said the National Guard of one state should not be sent to another state where the governor does not want them.
“Decreasing crime and making people feel safer is hard work that can’t be solved by a stunt,” he said.
How is the federal government shutdown affecting your state?
Beshear said he’s hearing from federal workers worried about paying their mortgages and electric bills. “We’re looking at a lot of families that aren’t getting a paycheck,” he said. “We need to think about them.”
At the same time, rising costs, particularly of health care premiums, are hurting families, he said. Health care costs are a central issue in the shutdown, with Democrats wanting to extend insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act before they expire at the end of the year and Republicans wanting to end the shutdown before working out that issue.
DeWine said he is concerned that recipients of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Women, Infants and Children program will not get needed benefits come Nov. 1.
“The further this goes on the pain is very, very clear,” he said.
Speaking to reporters later, DeWine said the state of Ohio has “no additional money” to provide those benefits. “What we hope is that this matter is resolved in Washington, D.C.”
How important is the Brent Spence Bridge to Ohio and Kentucky?
On that question – asked by media rather than Portman – the three politicians agreed each played a role in securing funds for a $3.6 billion plan to upgrade the existing bridge, build a new one to its immediate west and improve about 8 miles of interstate that send traffic over the Ohio River.
Portman, along with U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, played key roles in the federal infrastructure legislation, signed by President Joe Biden, that led to a $1.6 billion federal commitment to the project, DeWine said. Ohio and Kentucky agreed to share the balance of the bill.
“Big contribution from Kentucky, big contribution from Ohio, big contributions from the federal government,” he said.
The bridge project “wouldn’t be happening without all three of us standing here,” Beshear added, noting the importance of the project to both states and the country overall.
The Brent Spent Bridge Corridor plan requires Ohio and Kentucky to work lockstep with each other, he said, “and we’ve been doing that every single day of the project.”
Thanks to federal-state cooperation, Portman noted, “we’re going to … start to see the companion bridge start to come out of the water.
Design work on the project will be at 60% complete this fall with installation in the river to be underway next year, bridge managers told Cincinnati City Council earlier this month.
How can politicians improve civil discourse?
Beshear said political leaders must be willing to call out successes of their opponents along with what they see as failures. “We’ve got to find common purpose,” he said. “It’s a lot easier when you view that person as a human being.”
DeWine said leaders must work through differences to reach common goals. If Portman and Congressional colleagues had not been able to do that on infrastructure legislation, he said, “we would not be building a bridge across the river.”
Both governors – Beshear wearing a red tie and DeWine a blue one, with Portman in one with blue and red stripes –agreed with Portman’s opening lines that “solutions matter more than slogans” and “courage and compromise can co-exist.”
“Your job isn’t to be a Democrat or a Republican,” Beshear said. “It’s to get something done for people.”
Solutions can come from staff, legislators or citizens, added DeWine. “You don’t get 100% of what you want,” he said.
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