LEXINGTON ? The Kentucky baseball team returns to action Wednesday at Cliff Hagan Stadium when it hosts Evansville at 6:30 p.m.

The game should help the Wildcats prepare for this weekend?s series with Southeastern Conference Eastern Division rival Tennessee. Evansville enters the game 24-7 and has won 16 of its last 19 games. The Purple Aces are 3-3 against ranked opponents this year.

?Evansville is a very solid ball club,? Kentucky head coach John Cohen said. ?They have a couple of very good pitchers and have proven they can play with and beat some of the best teams in the country. There?s no doubt it will be a challenging game.?

The Wildcat bats have caught fire recently as the team has scored nine runs or more in four of its last six games. Sophomore John Shelby has been the catalyst with five home runs and 17 RBIs to go along with a .392 batting average his last 13 times out.

?John has done a tremendous job with his approach the last couple weeks,? Cohen said. ?He?s really seeing the ball well and it making solid contact every time up. The way he?s producing from the middle of the lineup has made us much more dangerous offensively.?

Shaun Lehmann and Antone DeJesus have also been hot as each is batting over .400 in the past six games. Lehmann has a .440 mark while DeJesus has six extra-base hits and a team-high 12 runs in that span.

The Evansville contest begins an eight-game home stand for Kentucky and is the first in a stretch of five weeks where the Wildcats have a home game on Wednesday night. Free UK Baseball t-shirts will be given out to the first 100 fans.