GREENVILLE, S.C. – The University of Kentucky baseball team will open its 91st season of baseball, 23rd under Coach Keith Madison, against Furman University, Friday, Feb. 9, at 3:00 p.m. at Furman Baseball Stadium.

The Cats are hoping to duplicate their impressive start to the 2000 season in which they won 15 consecutive games en route to finishing with a record of 38-20-1.

Scott Wade will open the season on the mound for UK. Wade, a 6-1 sophomore from Kingsport, Tenn., posted a 7-7 record with a team-best 4.00 ERA during his freshman campaign in 2000.

The 2001 Kentucky squad will have a lot of unfamiliar faces as 19 of the players will be suiting up for their first game in a Cats uniform. Of the 19 newcomers, 14 are true freshman, while the remaining five have junior college experience.

Furman (3-1) opened its season last weekend with a three-game sweep of High Point before falling to UNC-Charlotte on Tuesday. The Paladins are an experienced ball club, returning 22 letterwinners and seven pitchers from last year’s 27-31-1 squad.

Friday will mark only the second meeting between the Wildcats and the Paladins. UK won the schools lone match-up in 1967.