Preview vs. No. 12 Arkansas
The 19th-ranked Kentucky baseball team returns to action after a four-day break on Friday to face No. 12 Arkansas in the first-game of a three-game series at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Wildcats are going for their second straight series victory over the Razorbacks after taking two-of-three in the series at Lexington last season. It was UK’s lone Southeastern Conference series victory of the season.
Two years removed from an SEC championship, Arkansas (25-9, 6-6 SEC) won its series against Vanderbilt last weekend while Kentucky (25-8, 7-5) took care of last year’s SEC champion, Florida. The Wildcats have already matched their conference win total from each of the past two seasons with 18 league games left.
One of the top pitchers in the conference, lefty Nick Schmidt (6-2, 1.91) takes the hill for the Razorbacks on Friday night against southpaw Aaron Tennyson (4-1, 3.38) of Kentucky.
Lefty Craig Snipp (4-2, 2.10) starts on Saturday for UK against fellow left-hander Trey Holloway (3-0, 3.34). Sunday’s pitching match-up features a pair of right-handers, UK’s Greg Dombrowski (6-1, 1.75) and Arkansas’ Shaun Seibert (2-0, 1.50).
Both teams also some of the SEC”s premier offensive players. Kentucky’s Ryan Strieby and the Razorbacks’ Danny Hamblin have been battling for the conference RBI lead all season with Hamblin now holding the advantage at 46-41.
The Wildcats also feature the reigning SEC Player of the Week, Sean Coughlin. In winning the honor for the second time of the year last week, he batted .727 against Florida with five extra-base hits.
Records
Kentucky – 25-8, 7-5 SEC
Arkansas – 25-9, 6-6 SEC
Rankings
Kentucky – No. 19 Baseball America
Arkansas – No. 12 Baseball America
Schedule (times Eastern)
Fayetteville, Ark. (Baum Stadium – 9,133)
Friday, April 14 vs. Arkansas * 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 15 vs. Arkansas * 5 p.m.
Sunday, April 16 vs. Arkansas * 1:30 p.m.
Radio
Friday – WLAP 630-AM in Lexington
Saturday – WXRA 1580-AM in Lexington
Sunday – WXRA 1580-AM in Lexington
Television
none
Pitching Match-Ups
Friday at Arkansas
LHP Aaron Tennyson, Sr. (4-1, 3.38) vs. LHP Nick Schmidt, So., (6-2, 1.91)
Saturday at Arkansas
LHP Craig Snipp, Sr., (4-2, 2.09) vs. LHP Trey Holloway, Sr. (3-0, 3.34)
Sunday at Arkansas
RHP Greg Dombrowski, So., (6-1, 1.75) vs. RHP Shaun Seibert (2-0, 1.50)
Projected UK Line-Up (Avg-HR-RBI)
C (L) Sean Coughlin (.350-7-28)
-or- (R) Justin Scutchfield (.211-0-7)
1B (R) Ryan Strieby (.366-8-41)
2B (R) John Shelby (.238-8-31)
3B (L) Michael Bertram (.346-3-21)
-or- (R) Matt McKinney (.321-1-10)
SS (S) Ryan Wilkes (.237-0-11)
LF (R) Shaun Lehmann (.217-5-15)
CF (L) Antone DeJesus (.369-2-20)
RF (R) Collin Cowgill (.327-8-31)
DH (L) Billy Grace (.317-4-21)
Quick Notes
At No. 19 in the latest Baseball America poll, Kentucky has been ranked each of the past four weeks. The No. 19 slot is the highest for UK since March 1994.
With seven conference wins, UK has matched its league win total from each of the past two years. With six series remaining, the Wildcats have a chance to become one of just four teams in school history to reach the 15-win total in league play.
Sean Coughlin earned SEC Player of the Week honors this week for the second time this year. Kentucky has won the award four times this year, marking only the third time in league history (Alabama – 1991; Florida – 2000) a team has accomplished that feat.
Kentucky has won all three series it has played against a ranked opponent this year.
Kentucky has 13 come-from-behind wins this year.
Of the 14 main statistical categories, Kentucky leads the SEC in eight, including runs per game. The Wildcats are first in runs, on-base percentage, slugging, RBIs, home runs, doubles and walks. UK is also fourth in ERA and fielding percentage.
First baseman Ryan Strieby is the only player in the SEC to rank in the top 10 in the league in each of the traditional triple-crown categories of batting average (8th), home runs (6th) and RBIs (2nd). He also leads the SEC in doubles with 15 and is third in runs scored with 38.
Third baseman Michael Bertram has been the fourth hardest person in the SEC to strike out, fanning only once every 14.86 at bats. He has just three strikeouts in his last 74 at bats.
Center fielder Antone DeJesus has been the best leadoff hitter in the SEC this year. He has posted a .483 on-base percentage, which is tops among SEC leadoff men. That has translated into him scoring a league-high 40 runs.
Sophomore Brock Baber earned his 10th career save last weekend, moving him into a fifth place tie in school history.
Kentucky head coach John Cohen quotes
On his team…
“I am pleased with the nature of the way our club has come together. It has been a neat experience for all of us. But, the most difficult part of our schedule is in the next three weeks and we’re going to find out a lot about ourselves. The one part of our club where we need to get better at is our infield defense. We’ve had some great practices of late, so hopefully that will improve for us.”
On what the difference has been this year from other years …
“We have better players. We have better talent and players who have been around the league. When I first got here, that wasn’t the case. I felt like about 20 percent of our club was ready to play in the SEC.”
On the rotation match ups …
“With (Nick) Schmidt throwing on Friday on Arkansas – he’s one of the best guys in our entire league -he’ll be a tough guy for us to handle. He works both sides of the plate very well and has a great breaking ball and he’s a tremendous competitor. I think the difference between our staff and Arkansas’ staff is they definitely have a No. 1 starter. We don’t have that. We have three very similar guys who are going to nibble a little bit, try to get you off balance and hit ground balls.”
On getting off to a good start in conference play …
“I think the LSU weekend was big for us. It got us off to a great start. The good news is we won two out of three from a very good club. The bad news was we were one pitch away from sweeping them and I think our players were a little disappointed in that. Getting off to a good start is crucial for a club that’s trying to find themselves and I think that’s exactly where we were.”
On the infield play …
“Our infield play through the first 22 games was outstanding. We had one of the best fielding percentages in the SEC. Our pitching staff does a great job of throwing two-seamers and getting big-hop groundballs. I felt like against Auburn and Florida, we weren’t as good. We didn’t dominate the average play they way I wanted to. We were outstanding on some plays, but didn’t complete every play. We’re in a situation where that’s an area we have to get better. We had an open week, didn’t play, and worked on it all week.”
On Antone DeJesus …
“Antone is one of the premier leadoff guys in the Southeastern Conference and the country. To give you an example, the first at bat we had against Florida was a 15-pitch at bat. He fouled off 11 pitches and doubled to the left side of the field. You want to talk about creating momentum in a game, how about a 15-pitch at bat and a double. That is symbolic of what he has done for us all year, so having him back is huge.”
