May 11, 1998
The Kentucky Wildcats will make their 10th appearance overall, their second in three years when they face Florida, in the SEC Tournament this week at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Birmingham, Ala. UK’s last trip to the tournament came in 1996 when the Wildcats advanced all the way to the semifinals before losing to eventual national champion LSU.
UK will face fourth-ranked and No. 1 seed Florida on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. CT in the final game of the first round. Depending on the outcome of its opening game, UK will face the winner-loser of the Auburn-Alabama game on Thursday. The eight-team double elimination tournament will use the “Omaha” format for the first time in tournament history. The top three teams in each division advanced to the tournament plus two wildcards. UK enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed.
UK clinched a berth in this year’s tournament by winning two of three from fourth-ranked South Carolina last weekend in Lexington. The Wildcats pulled out two consecutive come-from-behind wins thanks to dramatic extra-inning leadoff homers by Josh Loggins and Aaron McGlone. Loggins provided the heroics on Friday with a homer in the 11th inning and McGlone hit the game-winner in the 10th inning on Saturday. After getting off to a 3-13 start in the SEC, UK rallied to win nine of its last 15 SEC games. The Wildcats won two of three games in four of their last five SEC series. UK picked up two of its SEC series wins on the road at Mississippi State and Georgia.
UK enters the tournament hitting .315 with 85 home runs and a school-record 147 doubles. Junior catcher/right fielder Josh Loggins leads the Wildcats with a .380 batting average, including a team-leading 15 home runs and 63 RBIs. Loggins had a homer in all three game against South Carolina last weekend. Second basemen David Cheatle is hitting .355 with a team-leading .469 on-base percentage. Sophomore Josh Paxton leads the pitching staff with a 5-3 mark in 71.2 innings pitched.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:*Alabama Cable Network — Will carry Wednesday and Thursday games live. *Fox Sports South — Will carry both games on Friday, Saturday afternoon games and the championship game live.*Play by play of each game will be provided at www.secsports.com
Head Coach Keith Madison
Since becoming the Wildcats’ coach in 1979, Keith Madison has guided his team to 612 victories – more than any other baseball coach in school history and the second-highest mark among active coaches in Southeastern Conference games.
In his 19 seasons, 77 players whom Madison has coached have signed pro contracts, 15 of whom have played in the major leagues. Madison picked up his 600th career victory on April 11 at Mississippi State, where he started as a graduate assistant in 1979. With UK’s win over Tennessee on April 13, 1996, Madison moved into third place on the SEC all-time victories list. Against Ohio on March 12, 1996, Madison achieved another milestone by coaching in his 1000th career game. Over the last 19 seasons, UK has averaged 31 wins per season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1988 and 1993, with the team’s ’88 berth representing the school’s first NCAA appearance in 38 years. Madison took over a program in 1979 that had just finished last in the SEC Eastern Division. Madison guided his first team to a 29-18 mark, setting the school record for wins in a season. Madison improved that mark from 39 wins (1981) to 40 (1987) to 41 (1991).
Through all the success, Madison has coached eight All-Americans, 19 first-team All-SEC players, and 33 players to SEC academic honors. Madison has coached a first-or second-team All-SEC selection 18 of his 19 years at Kentucky.
On the national scene, Madison was named the fourth vice-president of the American Baseball Coaches Association in 1995. In the ABCA officer rotation system, Madison has moved up to third vice-president of the organization. He will assume the presidency of the organization in 1999.
Kentucky SEC Tournament HistoryYear Record Site Overall Record1979 0-2 Starkville, Miss. 29-181981 2-2 Starkville, Miss. 39-161987 1-2 Athens, Ga. 40-151988 1-2 Starkville, Miss. 38-251991 0-2 Baton Rouge, La. 41-201996 3-2 Birmingham, Ala. 35-24
Eastern Divison TournamentYear Record Site1993 3-2 Columbia, S.C. 38-231994 1-2 Lexington, Ky. 32-251995 3-2 Knoxville, Tenn. 29-32
DID YOU KNOW?
Junior Josh Loggins is the only UK player to start every game this season…Loggins has started 35 games at catcher, 19 in right field and one at first base…Loggins has started 104 of 108 games in his two-year career as a Wildcat.
Scouting the First-Round Opponent
No. 1-seed Florida heads into the tournament on a roll, winning 9 of its last 11 games. UF swept Georgia in the final week of the regular season to earn the SEC regular-season title. The Gators swept Kentucky last month in Lexington on April 3-5.
The Gators are hitting .334 as a team compared to their opponents .276. Senior left-fielder Casey Smith leads UF with a .402 batting average, including 11 home runs and 55 RBIs. Junior Greg Catalanotte is hitting .378 with 20 doubles and 56 RBIs. Josh Fogg leads the SEC with 11 saves and a 1.18 earned run average. Left-hander Brad Wilkerson, who is hitting .353 with 21 home runs and 62 RBIs, leads the pitching staff with a 9-3 mark.
Possible Second-Round Opponent
Win or lose, UK will face either Auburn or Alabama in the second round. The Wildcats lost two of three at Auburn two weeks ago and have not faced Alabama this season.
UK beat Auburn 10-7 in the series opener, but the Tigers limited the Wildcats to only five runs in the final two games as they reeled off two straight (14-3, 15-2).
A Recap of the South Carolina Series
Kentucky headed into the South Carolina series needing two victories to advance to the SEC Tournament and they accomplished it by winning the first two games of the series with extra-inning homers by Josh Loggins and Aaron McGlone. In addition to the series win, the Wildcats accomplished the following:
*Senior starter Matt Borne pitched a career-high nine innings in the series opener, the longest outing of the season by a UK pitcher. *Freshman John Wilson had a career-high four hits in the second game of the series.
*UK had 19 hits in the second game, a season high in SEC play. The Wildcats had 46 hits in the three-game set, a season high for an SEC series. *UK hit 12 homers in the three-game series, a season high for a conference series this season.
*Junior Josh Loggins went a solid 7-for-12 with a home run in all three games. Sophomore Andy Green finished the series 7-for-15 with seven runs scored, three home runs and seven RBIs.
*Jason Colemire and Aaron McGlone both hit two home runs in the second game on Saturday, the first time this season two players have accomplished the feat in the same game.
*McGlone not only hit the game-winning homer in the 10th inning to win Saturday’s game, he also pitched a perfect 10th inning of relief to pick up his second victory of the season.
A Look Back at the 1996 SEC Tournament
Kentucky entered the 1996 SEC Tournament as the sixth-seed and defeated three nationally ranked teams to finish third. UK opened play with a 7-5 win over Arkansas behind a complete game by pitcher Scott Downs. After losing 3-2 to Alabama on the second day, UK faced elimination against Mississippi State. Adam Milburn struck out nine in his first complete game as the Wildcats won 4-1 to stay alive.
UK returned the following day to face eventual national champion LSU. The Wildcats appeared to be heading home after trailing 8-2 and 11-5, but they scored seven runs in the final two innings to win 12-11. They were the last team to beat LSU before the Tigers won the College World Series. After the LSU victory, UK was forced to return that evening to play Alabama and the Crimson Tide eliminated the Wildcats with a 16-8 victory.
Final SEC Regular-Season Standings
Eastern Divison SEC Games All GamesTeam W L Pct. W L Pct*Florida 21 8 .734 41 13 .759South Carolina 19 10 .655 42 14 .750Kentucky 12 18 .400 26 29 .473Tennessee 11 17 .393 36 20 .643Georgia 8 21 .276 24 30 .444Vanderbilt 6 24 .200 25 28 .472
Western DivisionTeam W L Pct. W L Pct.LSU 21 9 .700 41 15 .732 Alabama 19 10 .655 40 14 .741Auburn 16 12 .571 39 15 .722Mississippi State 14 15 .483 35 18 .660Arkansas 13 14 .481 34 18 .654Ole Miss 13 15 .464 30 23 .560*SEC Champion
Wildcat Scratches
*Freshman John Wilson is hitting .478 in the last five games with three home runs and six RBIs.
*Josh Loggins has not went more than two games without a hit this season. *Loggins is hitting a team-leading .453 with runners in scoring position. *UK is 9-4 when freshman Brandon Webb is the starting pitcher. *UK had season-highs for runs (20), runs in an inning (10), total bases (42), hit batters (3) and home runs in its 20-3 win over Murray State on April 21.
*Jason Colemire, Justin Bunch and Josh Loggins are the only UK players to have 10 total bases in a game this season. *Jason Colemire has hit nine of his 15 homers and 16 of his 23 double in SEC play.
*Josh Loggins is hitting .380 in SEC play, 12th in the conference. *David Cheatle is tied for 5th in the SEC with 46 base on balls.
Senior outfielder Jason Colemire opened the year with a career-high 18-game hitting streak.
Here’s a listing of UK’s hitting streaks of 5 games or more: Jason Colemire (18 games: Feb. 6 – March 15) Josh Loggins (13 games: April 7 – April 25) Aaron McGlone (13 games: April 11 – May 1) Josh Loggins (10 games: March 3 – March 18) Jason Colemire (9 games: March 22 – April 3) Josh Loggins (9 games: March 25 – April 4) David Cheatle (9 games: March 14 -March 25) Andy Green (9 games: April 18 – May 1)David Cheatle (8 games: April 4 – April 14) John Wilson (8 games: March 17 – March 27) Justin Bunch (7 games: April 8 – April 22) David Cheatle (7 games: Feb. 6 – Feb. 27) Aaron McGlone (7 games: Feb. 6 – Feb. 27) Aaron McGlone (7 games: March 14-March 22) Andy Bendix (7 games: March 20- March 28) Andy Green (7 games: March 31 – April 8) Justin Bunch (6 games: March 1 – March 13) John Wilson (6 games: March 31 – April 7) Jason Colemire (6 games: April 28 – May 6) Andy Bendix (6 games: April 17 – April 22) Andy Green (6 games: May 3 – present)Josh Loggins (5 games: Feb. 15 – Feb. 28) Mark Murphy (5 games: Feb. 27 – March 4) Josh Loggins (5 games: May 5 – present)John Wilson (5 games: May 5 – present)
SEC Tournament Format Undergoes Changes
This year’s tournament will be a double-elimination tournament, similar to the one used at the College World Series. In the old format used the past two years, the #5 seed played the #8 seed and #6 seed played the #7 seed. The winners of the two games joined the other four teams in a double-elimination tournament. Prior to 1996, the Eastern and Western Divisions had their own tournament and all six teams in each division made the tournament.
Wildcats Experience Home Run Explosion
UK belted 21 homers and 15 doubles last week in five games, setting the school record for doubles in a season in the process. UK had a season-high seven home runs in the second game of the series against South Carolina, including two each by Jason Colemire and Aaron McGlone. The Wildcats had previously hit six home runs against Murray State and Cincinnati. They have hit nine homers in back-to-back games twice this season. Colemire is the only UK player to have two home runs in a game twice this season. McGlone joined freshman John Wilson as the only other Wildcats to hit two homers in a game.
Loggins Leads Wildcats
It would be fair to say UK coach Keith Madison is pleased that junior Josh Loggins decided to transfer to Kentucky after his freshman season at Purdue. Loggins, a West Lafayette native, has led the Wildcats offensively his first two seasons on campus. In 1997, Loggins led the team in six different categories and he’s on pace for the same results this season. At the conclusion of the regular season, Loggins led the Wildcats in eight different categories, including batting average (.380), hits (89), home runs (15), RBIs (63) and slugging percentage (.688). He was tied with David Cheatle with 54 runs scored.
Loggins, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 1995 amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, has surpassed all his totals for last season. He has not went more than two games this season without recording a hit and has posted hitting streaks of 13, 10 and 9 games. He also leads the team with a .349 average in SEC play with seven homers and 29 RBIs.
Wildcats Overall
This is the 102nd season of Kentucky baseball. The Wildcats have an all-time mark of 1281-1099-22 for a winning percentage of .533.
Paxton: SEC Pitcher of the Week
UK sophomore Josh Paxton was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of April 20-26.
Paxton, a Germantown, Tenn. native, did not allow a run in 7.2 scoreless innings of relief as the Wildcats downed No. 23 Arkansas, 15-5. Paxton entered the game in the second inning with the bases loaded in relief of starter Brandon Webb and Arkansas clinging to a 4-3 lead.
Five-Hit Club
Josh Loggins and Justin Bunch are the only Wildcats to have five hits in a game this season. Bunch went 5-for-5 in UK’s 15-5 win over Arkansas on April 25 at home, becoming only the seventh player in school history to accomplish the feat and only the second to do so in a SEC game. Loggins went a career-high 5-for-6 against Cincinnati on May 6 with a home run and two doubles. Loggins and Bunch also had 10 total bases in their respective games.
Andy Green Breaks Out of Slump
Sophomore Andy Green struggled at the plate in the first 41 games with his average never reaching over. 250. Things have changed in the last 14 games as Green has raised his batting average by 58 points to a season-high .292. Green went 2-for-4 with three runs scored against Murray State back on April 21 and has been hot ever since.
Green hit his first home run of the season against Eastern Kentucky on April 22. Against Arkansas two weeks ago, Green tied the game at 3-3 with a two-run double in the fifth inning that propelled the Wildcats to a 4-3 win. Here’s a closer look at the old and new Andy Green:
Hits RBI 2B HROld (first 41) 32 16 4 0New (last 14) 32 16 4 4
It’s Over After the Seventh
UK has posted an impressive 38-6 (.846) mark when leading after seven innings the past two seasons. The Wildcats were 19-3 in 1996 and 19-3 in 1998.
Wildcat Bats
UK enters the tournament hitting .315, its highest average since March 27. The Wildcats have an extra-base hit in 52 of its 55 games, including at least two homers in the last five games. UK pounded a season-high 23 hits against Cincinnati on May 6, the most since April 9, 1996 when the Wildcats had 26 against Marshall. UK had 19 hits against South Carolina in the second game of the series, the most in SEC play this season.
Cheatle Has Success Against Non-Conference Foes
Senior David Cheatle has assaulted non-conference competition the entire season, hitting a team-leading .489 (45-for-92). Cheatle has three hits seven different times in those 23 games. In the non-conference games, Cheatle has 30 runs scored, 10 doubles, one home run and 18 RBIs. His on-base percentage is a team-leading .590.
Borne Strikes Out Career-High 14
Senior Matt Borne had his best outing of the season in the series opener at Mississippi State on April 10, a game televised live by Fox Sports South.
Borne, a seventh-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds last season, struck out a career-high 13 batters in seven innings of work against MSU. Borne allowed eight hits and two earned runs despite picking up the loss. Borne had been primarily used out of the bullpen for the first half of the season, picking up his only two saves in the first two games of the season. The Lexington native leads the team with 62 Ks, 36 more than he had all of last season.
Colemire Streak Snapped at 18 Games
Senior Jason Colemire had his career-high 18-game hitting streak snapped against Toledo on March 18 with an 0-for-5 day at the plate. Colemire is hitting .323 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs.
UK Enters NCAA Record Book
The Wildcats turned six double plays against Toledo on March 18, becoming only the 12th NCAA Division I team to accomplish the feat. Three different teams have recorded a record seven double plays. The last team to turn six double plays was Indiana against Kent in a 13-inning game in 1995. Along with the Wildcats six double plays, Toledo recorded three which ranks second with a combined nine double plays. Georgetown and George Mason combined for 10 double plays in 1989.
Feel the Power
Andy Bendix experienced a power surge at Tennessee (March 20-22) and it continued the following week. Bendix had three homers in the three-game series at Tennessee, one in each game, and had a game-winning grand slam against IUPU-Fort Wayne on March 24. Bendix connected on two doubles against Austin Peay the following day. His homer against IUPU-Fort Wayne traveled over 400 feet. It was his first career grand slam. The senior from Eugene, Ore., is third on the team with 13 home runs.
Double Trouble
UK has connected on 147 doubles in its 55 games, breaking the school-record for doubles in a season set in 1994. The Wildcats are tied for tops in the SEC with 77 doubles in conference play.
Opponents Find it Difficult to Hold UK Scoreless
UK has put at least one run on the scoreboard the past 66 games. The last time the Wildcats were held scoreless was April 25, 1997 against Georgia.
Who’s on First?
Six different Wildcat players have seen action at first base this season. John Wilson (28 starts), Aaron McGlone (19 starts), Micah Plotts (3 starts), Robert Newton (2 starts), Mark Murphy (2 starts) and Josh Loggins (1 starts) have all started at least one game at first base.
UK Scores Runs in Bunches
UK has scored four or more runs in 26 different innings this season. The Wildcats scored six runs in the ninth inning to pick up its first SEC win of the season March 8 at Vanderbilt. The Wildcats scored a season-high 10 runs in an inning against Murray State on April 21. It was the most runs in an inning since the Wildcats put up 16 in the fifth inning against Marshall on April 9, 1996.
Two-Year Veteran
Senior Andy Bendix can be considered “the veteran” of this year’s squad. Bendix is the only player who has played more than one season at Kentucky. Bendix played in six games last year before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair torn labrum in his right shoulder. In 1996, Bendix hit .296 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. Bendix, who was granted a medical hardship, is hitting .293 this season with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs.
Cats on the Tube
Kentucky made its first apperance on television this season on April 10 at Mississippi State, losing 3-2 on Fox Sports South. UK’s 14-3 loss to Auburn on May 2 was also televised on Fox Sports South.
Madison Has Ties to Hall of Famer
1998 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame selection Larry Doby was the hitting instructor for the Montreal Expos in the Gulf Goast League in 1970 while current UK coach Keith Madison was a player in the Expos organization.
