Oct. 9, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Sophomore two-way star A.J. Reed – the first consensus freshman All-America honoree in program history – launched an opposite-field home run in the first inning and added a double off the centerfield wall in the sixth inning, leading Black to a 3-1 win over Blue, in the first intrasquad scrimmage of the week, on a gorgeous Tuesday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
A native of Terre Haute, Ind., Reed opened the scoring with a mammoth homer over the left-centerfield fence. In the sixth inning, Reed again launched a laser to centerfield, smashing a double off the top of the wall. A year ago, Reed hit .300 (60-for-200) at the plate with four homers and 43 RBI and added a 5-3, 2.52 ERA on the mound, with 51 strikeouts and nine walks in 53.2 innings. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound lefty then starred in the Cape Cod League on the mound during the summer, owning a 3-0 record and a 2.21 ERA in seven starts, with 38 strikeouts and seven walks in 36.2 innings.
Black also got offensive contributions from Zac Zellers (1-for-3), Max Kuhn (1-for-2, RBI sacrifice fly), Matt Reida (1-for-3), Greg Fettes (1-for-2) and Thomas Weaver (1-for-2). On the mound, Black started senior southpaw Jerad Grundy, who worked two innings with two strikeouts. Matt Pope – a 6-foot-8 freshman righty – worked two shutout innings in relief of Grundy, with freshman Ryne Combs tossing a shutout final frame.
Blue was led at the plate by hits from a red-hot J.T. Riddle (1-for-1, HBP), Jeff Boehm (1-for-2), Micheal Thomas (1-for-2) and Jacob Russell (1-for-2). Blue started sophomore right-hander Taylor Martin, who hurled two innings, allowing two runs. Freshman lefty Dylan Dwyer pitched two frames with one run and three strikeouts. Freshman Kyle Cody – another 6-foot-8 righty – worked a shutout frame and senior Walter Wijas also pitched a shutout final inning.
UK will scrimmage three more times on the week, weather permitting. On Friday, the team will play at 2 p.m. ET, Saturday at 12:15 p.m. ET and on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. The scrimmage on Saturday will conclude with a parent’s day luncheon at Cliff Hagan. All of the game times are subject to change based on weather.
