Given the history of the Kentucky baseball program, it's awfully hard to be negative about a season in which the team went 44-18, was co-champion of the conference, hosted an NCAA regional for the first time in school history and had the SEC Coach and Player of the Year.
And yet, it all ended too soon.
With an early loss to Ball State in the NCAA opener, Kentucky had no more room for error. So when College of Charleston played the Cats Sunday evening with no losses in the regional, it meant the Wildcats -- playing a doubleheader -- had to win twice to advance. That's a tall order ... too tall for the Cats.
Six first-inning runs left the Wildcats playing catchup all evening, and they ran out of time and gas, dropping the evening's elimination game, 7-4.
While Kentucky's hopes for a College World Series berth are gone, the future is extremely bright, with top recruits ready to reload the team.
So congratulation are in order for the Kentucky baseball Cats, who proved beyond doubt they were one of the class programs in the league and set the groundwork for, hopefully, less disappointment in a near-future season.