June 26, 2013

2013 Kentucky Baseball

Final Season Notes – Team

30-25, 11-19 SEC

• Kentucky’s .973 fielding percentage was the third-highest in program history, just behind the record of .976 in 2012 and the 2008 total of .974.
• UK set a new program record with a 2.29 bullpen ERA, eclipsing the previous record of a 2.97 ERA in 2012.
• UK went 25-0 when staked to an eighth-inning lead and have now won 88 consecutive games when leading after eight innings, dating back to 2011.
• UK played the longest game of the year in college baseball in 2013, an 18-inning midweek affair at Western Kentucky.
  • In 2012, UK played the second-longest NCAA Tournament game in history, a 21-inning marathon vs. Kent State.
• Kentucky won its first three SEC weekend series for the second consecutive year and just the third time in program history, also winning its first three SEC weekends in 1992.
• UK went 8-2 in its black jersey and white pants uniform combination and have posted a 22-3 record in that uniform combination the last two seasons.
• UK spent 12 of 15 weeks ranked in the top 25, with its No. 7 rank by Baseball America on week seven its highest ranking of 2013.

Final Season Notes – Individual

• Freshman outfielder
  Kyle Barrett
  was named to the All-SEC freshman team.
  • Barrett led the team in average (.349) and on-base percentage (.407).
    • Barrett’s .349 batting average was the highest for a club-leader since Thomas McCarthy hit .371 in 2011.
  • Barrett finished 2013 with the 11th-most hits in UK freshman history.
  • Barrett finished 2013 on a season-high streak of reaching base safely in 19 straight games, reaching safely in 34 of his 38 starts.
  • Barrett concluded 2013 ranked 10th in the SEC in batting average, and second among SEC freshmen, behind only NCAA Freshman of the Year, LSU shortstop Alex Bregman.
  • Ran up a 2013 high 16-game hitting streak over the final three weeks of the season, the longest streak since A.J. Reed had a 16-gamer in 2012.
  • Barrett was just the fourth freshmen in program history to lead the team in batting average, joining Mike Botkin (1979), Jeff Abbott (1992) and Austin Cousino (2012).
    • It marked the first time in UK history that a freshman has led the team in hitting in consecutive seasons.
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked 10th in average (.349).
• Righty Kyle Cody
  became the first UK freshman to start a weekend game in the SEC since Corey Littrell started in 2011.
  • Cody finished 2013 with five games and three starts vs. SEC foes, owning a 3.10 ERA in 20.1 innings, allowing 20 hits – 17 singles – and striking out 14.
  • Worked four quality starts, owning a 2.49 ERA in those outings.
  • Had a 2.96 ERA over his last four starts, posting quality outings at Western Kentucky, vs. No. 14 Arkansas and vs. No. 1 Vanderbilt.
  • Cody’s start vs. No. 14 Arkansas marked the first right-handed pitching UK had started on the weekend in a span of 106 games.
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked sixth among qualifying SEC pitchers in homers allowed (two).
• Sophomore Austin Cousino
  started all 55 games in centerfield.
  • Cousino was hit by an SEC-leading 21 pitches, the second-most in UK single-season history and now ranks third in UK career history with 34 HBP.
  • Ranked second on the team in hitting in SEC games, batting .270.
  • Cousino moved out of the No. 1 spot in the batting order for the first time in his career, making starts in the batting order at No. 2 (eight), No. 3 (nine), No. 4 (two), No. 5 (two) and No. 6 (three).
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked ninth in homers (six), first in hit by pitch (21), 11th in steals (14) and eighth in strikeouts (46).
• Junior righty
  Trevor Gott
  posted a 4-1 record and a 1.20 ERA, saving 12 games in 2013.
  • Gott’s 12 saves broke his own single-season record of nine saves in 2012.
  • Gott finished his career with a school-record 23 saves in 27 chances.
    • With 23 career saves, Gott is tied with Tennessee’s Todd Helton (1993-95) for the eighth-most saves in SEC history.
  • In Gott’s 23 career saves, he has thrown 24.2 innings, allowing only 10 hits and one earned run, walking just six and striking out 37 without a hit batter or wild pitch.
  • Gott helped lead the UK bullpen to a staggering 89-1 record when leading after eight innings in his career, with UK winning 88 consecutive games when holding an eighth-inning lead.
  • In his career, Gott appeared in 69 games, ranking 11th-best in UK history.
  • Gott finished his career with a 9-5 record and a 2.30 ERA, striking out 107 in 82.1 innings.
  • In 2013, Gott inherited 13 runners, allowing just one to score (coming in the extra-inning thriller at No. 14 South Carolina).
    • In his career, Gott inherited 57 runners and allowed only 14 to score.
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked sixth in saves (12) and sixth in games finished (22).
• Junior
  Max Kuhn
  started 54 of 55 games for the Wildcats, making 41 starts at third base, 11 starts at first base and two starts as the designated hitter.
  • Kuhn led the team with 37 walks, the most walks for a UK team leader in the Gary Henderson era and the most since Collin Cowgill drew 49 walks in 2008.
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked third in walks (37).
• Junior left-handed starter Corey Littrell
  led UK starters with a 3.72 ERA, leading the team with six wins, 94.1 innings pitched and 77 strikeouts.
  • Worked a team-high nine quality starts in 2013.
  • Littrell finished 2013 with a 21-13 career record in 46 games and 43 starts, tossing 261.2 innings, striking out 215 and hurling 23 quality starts.
  • Ranked sixth in career history in wins (21), ninth in winning percentage (.618), tied for eighth in innings pitched (261.2) and ninth in strikeouts (215).
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked first in pickoffs (seven), sixth in innings pitched (94.1), 10th in strikeouts (77) and 14th in wins (six).
• Sophomore A.J. Reed led the team in hits (60), homers (13), RBI (52) and slugging (.519), also making 14 starts on the mound to open weekends.
  • Reed’s 13 homers marked the most for a UK player since Sawyer Carroll and Collin Cowgill hit 19 in 2008, two years before the bat standard changes.
  • Ranked fourth among NCAA sophomores in homers.
  • Led the team with 16 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games, including one five-RBI game and two four-RBI outings.
  • Worked seven quality starts in 2013.
  • Was given 4.43 runs per game in his starts, including 2.44 runs per game in his last nine starts, the lowest starting pitching run support for UK in 2013.
  • Worked a starting pitching career-long 8.1 innings in a no decision vs. Georgia.
  • Entered the final two starts of the season ranked among the SEC leaders with a 2.84 ERA, before allowing 14 runs in two starts vs. No. 1 Vanderbilt and Missouri to finish with a career-worst 4.04 ERA.
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked eighth in slugging (.519), fourth in RBI (52), fourth in homers (13) and ninth in total bases (111).
• Junior shortstop
  Matt Reida
  started all 55 games and dating back to 2011, has made 126 straight starting assignments in the middle infield.
  • Laid down a club-high nine sacrifice bunts, the ninth-most in UK single-season history.
  • Now have 24 sacrifices in his career, ranking tied with Antone DeJesus (2004-07) and Andy Green (1997-00) for fourth-most in UK history.
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked 11th in sacrifice bunts (nine) and sixth in defensive assists (174).
• Junior
  J.T. Riddle
  started all 55 games at second base and has now started 121 consecutive games, including 120 at second base and one game in rightfield.
  • Riddle finished his three-year UK career with 15 sacrifice bunts, ranking tied for 10th in UK career history.
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked fifth in defensive assists (177) and seventh in double plays turned (44).
• Sophomore
  Chandler Shepherd
  appeared in 26 games with one midweek start, owning a 5-0 record and a team-leading 2.77 ERA.
  • Shepherd made his first career appearance at the plate in the series opener at No. 16 Ole Miss, seeing three pitches and striking out swinging on a ball in the dirt, forcing a throw to first base for the out in the top of the ninth inning.
    • It marked the second consecutive season that a UK full-time pitcher made his first career at bat in a late-inning jam, as Trevor Gott appeared at the plate in the 21-inning NCAA Tournament game in 2012.
• Senior right-hander
  Walter Wijas
  appeared in a team-leading 27 games in relief.
  • Wijas’ 27 relief outings marked the 12th-most in UK single-season history, tied with Brock Baber (2005) and Adam Milburn (1995).
  • In his four-year career, Wijas appeared in 81 games with one start, ranking tied for fifth in UK career history with Andrew Albers (2005-08).
  • Wijas completed his career with a 3.69 ERA and a 7-1 record with his first career loss coming in his last career pitching appearance.
  • IN THE SEC: Ranked 13th in games in relief (27).

Final Season Notes – Awards

• OF
  Kyle Barrett
  (All-SEC Freshman OF)
• CF Austin Cousino
  (ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award, All-SEC Defensive Team, USA Collegiate National Team)
• C
  Greg Fettes
  (All-SEC Freshman C)
• RHP
  Trevor Gott
  (NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List)
• LHP/1B A.J. Reed
  (first-team All-SEC DH, USA Collegiate National Team)
• SEC Weekly Awards:
  J.T. Riddle
  (2/19), Reed (3/3)