LEXINGTON ? The Kentucky baseball team hosts Cumberland (Ky.) College Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Cliff Hagan Stadium for the 2005 home opener.

The Wildcats are 2-1 on the year after a successful weekend at the Buccaneer Classic at Charleston, S.C. In the first game of the year, Kentucky pitcher Andrew Albers carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in a 6-1 victory over Appalachian State.

Last time out, the team dismantled George Mason, which earned an NCAA Regional bid a year ago, 15-4.

?We?re excited to get back on the field,? said Kentucky head coach John Cohen. ?We did a lot of good things last weekend and we want to carry that over. Our pitching was outstanding all weekend and I thought our bats really came alive as the weekend progressed.?

Kentucky will send a true freshman to the mound for the third time in four games as Mark Tanner of New Castle, Pa., gets the nod. The lefty was dominant in his final year at Neshannock High School, going 14-1 with a 0.91 earned-run average and 135 strikeouts to just 18 walks in 79 innings.

Junior Michael Bertram, a Lexington, Ky., native, has paced the offense thus far. His .636 batting average is tops in the Southeastern Conference and he has a team best five RBIs.

The game is the first of four in the next six days for the Wildcats. Buffalo comes to Lexington for a three-game set beginning Friday at 3 p.m.