March 11, 2002

LEXINGTON, Ky. –

Ohio State Notes in PDF Format

The University of Kentucky will head north across the Ohio River on Tuesday, March 12, as the Wildcats travel up to Ohio State for a non-conference doubleheader at OSU’s Buckeye Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

UK (13-8) is coming off an 8-5 loss to Kent State in the Wildcats’ final game of the 2002 UK Invitational Tournament, which ended UK’s season-best five-game winning streak. Junior second baseman Nikki Jones currently leads the Wildcats offensively with a .394 batting average while freshman Meghan Cooper’s 1.67 ERA leads the UK hurlers.

“We are excited to get back out on the field as we look to bounce back from our loss to Kent State,” UK Coach Kirchner said. “Ohio State is a very good team and they are of the same caliber of teams that are in our conference.”

Ohio State is currently 13-4 and are receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll. OSU has won three straight after having lost three in a row at the Worth Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. Jennifer Link leads the Buckeyes with a .423 batting average while the trio of Wendy Allen, Kristi DeVries and Katie Chain have a combined 2.07 ERA.

The Buckeyes and Wildcats have clashed once before with OSU winning, 5-4, during the 1999 UKIT.

The double-header is UK’s final tune-up before starting Southeastern Conference play on Saturday, March 16, at Florida.

-UK-