May 13, 1999
The Kentucky Wildcats’ baseball team (24-28, 12-15 SEC) will travel to Baton Rouge, La., to play the LSU Fighting Tigers (34-18-1, 16-10-1 SEC) for the final SEC series of the season.
Friday’s game will mark the 33rd meeting between the schools with LSU holding a 22-10 advantage over the Wildcats. Coach Keith Madison is 10-19 lifetime against the Fighting Tigers. LSU swept Kentucky last year in Lexington.
Kentucky enters the weekend after two exciting midweek games. The Wildcats defeated the Murray State Thoroughbreds, 10-9, in 11 innings and beat the Butler Bulldogs in the second game of the evening, 8-7, on a ninth inning rally.
Sophomore John Wilson is currently leading the SEC with 23 home runs, including hitting three on Wednesday. He is tied for first place in UK’s record books for most home runs in a season. Jeff Abbott set the record in 1994. Junior Aaron McGlone is tied for second place in the SEC with 16 home runs on the season.
Kentucky’s starting pitching has gotten stronger as the season has progressed. Junior Nathan Kent will take the mound for the Wildcats on Friday. The Frankfort, Ky., native has thrown five complete games this season and defeated the Auburn Tigers on Friday, May 7 in Lexington. Kent gave up no earned runs and picked up his fifth win of the season in the 10-1 rout of the Tigers.
The Wildcats are currently one game behind Florida in the SEC Eastern Division. UK needs to win one game more than the Gators this weekend in order to qualify for the SEC Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., on May 19-23.
Kentucky at LSU
May 14-16, 1999
Where: Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge, La.
Game Times: Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 5 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.
TV/Radio: Fighting Tiger Radio Network (all three games)
The Series: LSU leads 22-10
Last Meeting: LSU swept the Wildcats last season in Lexington
Kentucky Wildcats (24-28, 12-15 SEC)
Probable Lineup:
2B – Andy Green (.269, 1 HR, 19 RBI)
CF – Beau Moore (.277, 7 HR, 25 RBI)
1B – Aaron McGlone (.327, 16 HR, 51 RBI)
C – John Wilson (.375, 23 HR, 53 RBI)
DH – Robert Newton (.368, 4 HR, 20 RBI)
SS – Vince Harrison (.291, 7 HR, 29 RBI)
RF – Breck Price (.303, 11 HR, 30 RBI)
3B – Will Crumbaugh (.268, 3 HR, 13 RBI)
LF – Taylor McInnis (.238, 0 HR, 7 RBI)
Starting Pitchers:
Friday: Nathan Kent (Jr., RHP, 5-5, 4.50 ERA)
Saturday: Ben Shaffar (Jr., RHP, 5-5, 5.65 ERA)
Sunday: Brandon Webb (So., RHP, 3-6, 5.61 ERA)
Rankings: None
Coach: Keith Madison (636-508-4 in 21 years at UK)
LSU Fighting Tigers (34-18-1, 16-10-1 SEC)
Probable Lineup:
2B – Ryan Theriot (.337, 2 HR, 27 RBI)
CF – Jeremy Witten (.329, 5 HR, 37 RBI)
LF – Trey McClure (.318, 15 HR, 43 RBI)
1B – Jeff Leaumont (.342, 14 HR, 63 RBI)
3B – Blair Barbier (.305, 12 HR, 41 RBI)
C – Brad Cresse (.288, 9 HR, 33 RBI)
RF – Brad Hawpe (.362, 7 HR, 21 RBI)
DH – Eric Hendrickson (.303, 10 HR, 40 RBI)
SS – Josh Dalton (.311, 2 HR, 32 RBI)
Starting Pitchers:
Friday: Kurt Ainsworth (So., RHP, 9-5, 3.84 ERA)
Saturday: Brian Tallet (So., LHP, 3-2, 4.11 ERA)
Sunday: Brandon Bowe (Sr., RHP, 8-3, 5.83 ERA)
Rankings: No. 19 in Baseball Weekly
Coach: Skip Bertman (767-285-2 in 16 years at LSU)
Game Notes:
John Wilson is tied for first place in UK’s record books with 23 home runs this season and is leading the SEC in home runs.
Aaron McGlone is tied for second place in the SEC with 16 home runs.
