If he hadn’t already, right-hander Mason Moore cemented his legacy at Kentucky after Sunday’s 5-0 Lexington Regional clinching win over Indiana State.
The Morehead native continued to show why he’s called “Big Game MaMo,” as he held the Sycamores scoreless with six strikeouts in six innings pitched.
Sunday’s Lexington Regional game marked the third in his career. He pitched two games of relief in the 2023 Lexington Regional against Ball State and Indiana.
In three career Regional games at Kentucky Proud Park, Moore has pitched 16 scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts. He also held eventual champion LSU scoreless over 4 1/3 innings pitched with five strikeouts in last season’s Baton Rouge Super Regional.
Time and time again, he steps up when the stage is the biggest.
“It’s really the defense,” a humble Moore said postgame. “When you have guys like Grant [Smith] and [Émilien Pitre] and [Ryan] Nicholson and Mitch [Daly] out there and [Ryan Waldschmidt], everybody, it’s easy to go out there and pound the zone and let them make plays for me.”
Not only did he show up in a big way on Sunday, he also did it while battling a stomach virus.
“There was a little doubt I wasn’t able to go because how bad I was in the morning,” Moore said. “But like I said, the trainers did a really good job of getting me healthy. I went home and just rested. The coaches, they made me leave.”
However, there was absolutely no way that the junior wasn’t going to take the ball when his team needed him the most.
“At 7:36 my phone goes off. It’s a text message from Mason,” Nick Mingione said postgame. “This is what he said: ‘Here we go!’ That’s what he said. ‘Just to update you, I’m feeling better and back to normal. I’m ready to throw and win us a ball game tomorrow, Coach.’ That’s what he said. That’s what he said. Want to know my reply? ‘Got it. Get some rest. I can’t wait to watch you,’ in all caps, “DOMINATE tomorrow. Call me if you need anything.”
Moore was named to the 2023 and 2024 All-Lexington Regional Teams for his efforts. His postseason story however isn’t over yet, as he’ll get a start in the Lexington Super Regional and hopefully… the College World Series.
Kentucky will host the winner of the Corvallis Regional, either Oregon State or UC-Irvine, in next week’s Lexington Super Regional. Dates and times will be revealed at a later date.
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