No. 10 Kentucky Opens Second Half of SEC Play vs. No 8 LSU

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After knocking off No. 2 Louisville on Tuesday night, No. 10 Kentucky gets back to Southeastern Conference play this weekend in hosting No. 8 LSU. The three-game set begins with a Friday doubleheader due to the wet forecast for Saturday and on Sunday will complete a week where the Wildcats play four games against Top 10 opponents. 

On Friday, game one will begin at 2 p.m., with game two to follow one hour after the conclusion of the first game. Sunday’s game will remain at the regularly schedule time of 1 p.m.

The Cats already have played 20 games against ranked teams, going 12-8, have faced the nation’s 11th-toughest schedule and are seventh in the RPI, tops in the SEC.

This weekend will mark the beginning of the second half of the league schedule and the Cats enter with a two-game lead in the East and just one game behind Arkansas in the overall standings. LSU has taken its last two SEC series, including two of three at Arkansas two weeks ago, and are led by a devastatingly effective weekend pitching rotation. The Tigers, one of college baseball’s most storied programs, are led on offense by Greg Deichmann, who has 12 home runs and 45 RBI this season.

The Cats will attempt to re-create the results from the last time LSU came to Lexington. In 2012, the Tigers entered as the nation’s No. 1 team and saw UK win two of three in the series. UK also won the series in 2015 in Baton Rouge, the last time the two schools met on the diamond. The Cats also are looking to claim their fifth series win in the first six weeks of conference play this season.

UK – Sean Hjelle (So., RHP): 9 starts, 5-2, 3.97 ERA

LSU – Alex Lange (Jr., RHP): 9 starts, 4-4, 3.27 ERA

UK – Zach Logue (Jr., LHP): 9 starts, 5-2, 4.04 ERA

LSU – Jared Poche’ (Sr., LHP): 9 starts, 6-2, 2.67 ERA

UK – Justin Lewis (So., RHP): 9 starts, 5-2 3.14 ERA

LSU – Eric Walker (Fr., RHP): 9 starts, 5-0, 2.48 ERA

Date/Time:  Fri., April 21 (2 p.m.); Fri., April 21 (I hour after Game 1); Sun., April 22 (1 p.m.)

Location (Facility): Lexington, Ky. (Cliff Hagan Stadium)

Series History: LSU leads 47-27-1

Radio: Friday (Game 1) – 98.5 FM Lexington; Friday (Game 2)/ Sunday – 630 AM-WLAP Lexington (Neil Price); ukathletics.com

TV/Online: SECN+