Largest crowd in UK Baseball history packs Kentucky Proud Park for NCAA regional

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Kentucky baseball fought off elimination on Monday night with a 4-2 win over Indiana in a winner-take-all Regional Final.

Thousands of loyal fans in blue and white made the pilgrimage back to Kentucky Proud Park for the fourth night in a row. This time, breaking records while they did it.

Six thousand seven hundred ninety-six baseball fans flooded the stadium on Monday—an all-time record, making this the largest crowd in UK Baseball history.

“It’s just a great feeling that no matter what the sport is, you have so much support,” said one of Monday’s attendees, Carrie Williamson. “I was just thinking about this the other day. We don’t usually come out to every baseball game, but this year, it’s just been great. And everyone comes out. You don’t even have to be a baseball fan.”

While that may be true, Peter Perlman has been a fan since high school. His love of UK kept him here through college and again for law school.

“This is a huge game,” said Perlman. “It’s historic. And it should be just a terrific game.”

For many, Monday night was about more than just a game. It’s about sharing this tradition with thousands of other UK fans.

“Athletics has a history in Kentucky going way back. The stories you hear. The people you see. Just the amount of stories they can share with their kids and their grandkids. There’s a lot of that going on this week,” said former UK president Lee Todd.

As a former university president, Todd knows the importance of passing down stories, as he’ll surely do with this one.

“It’s just overwhelming,” Todd said. “I just got here a few minutes ago and can’t believe the blue crowd we’ve got coming in here.”

It’s hard to say if the fan’s excitement had anything to do with UK’s NCAA Tournament super regional win Monday night. But it can be safe to say it certainly didn’t hurt.

The win advances Kentucky to the program’s second-ever Super Regional where they will face LSU in Baton Rouge later in the week.

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