Kentucky – 3-0, 0-0 SEC
Arkansas State ? 4-5, 0-0 Sun Belt
Lamar ? 3-1, 0-0 Sun Belt
Michigan State ? *22-31, 10-18 Big Ten
* denotes 2005 record
Schedule (times Eastern) – Games at Beaumont, Texas (Vincent-Beck Stadium – 9,000)
Friday, Feb. 24 vs. Arkansas State * 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25 at Lamar * 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25 vs. Arkansas State * 8 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26 at Michigan State * Noon
Pitching Match-Ups
Friday vs. Arkansas State
LHP Aaron Tennyson, Sr. (1-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Joel Boeschner, Jr. (0-0, 2.08)
Friday vs. Lamar
TBA vs. TBA
Saturday vs. Arkansas State
TBA vs. TBA
Sunday vs. Michigan State
TBA vs. RHP Jeff Gerby, Sr. (*1-3, 3.24)
* denotes 2005 stats
Projected UK Line-Up
C (L) Sean Coughlin (.625-1-2, 1.700 OPS)
-or- (R) Justin Scutchfield (.000-0-0, 1 SH)
1B (R) Ryan Strieby (.200-0-3, 2 2B)
2B (R) John Shelby (.125-0-1, 1 BB)
-or- (R) Mike Brown (.000-0-1, 1 R)
3B (L) Michael Bertram (.444-0-0, 2 2B)
-or- (R) Matt McKinney (.000-0-0, 1 SH)
SS (S) Ryan Wilkes (.125-0-1, 3 BB)
LF (R) Collin Cowgill (.333-0-2, 1 3B)
-or- (R) Shaun Lehmann (.250-0-0, 1 2B)
CF (L) Antone DeJesus (.417-0-6, 3 2B)
RF (L) Billy Grace (.400-1-4, .800 Slg.)
DH (R) Brian Hastings (.300-0-4, 2 R)
Why to Watch Out for UK
? Kentucky is 3-0 on the season with all three wins coming over 2005 NCAA Regional opponents. UK?s average margin of victory is 7.3 runs with its smallest margin by six runs.
? Kentucky?s offense lit up second-team All-American Nick Hill (LHP, Army) for six runs in just five innings last weekend.
? The explosive offense has at least one big inning (four or more runs) in all three games played this year.
? The Wildcats pitching is much improved from 2005, as evident by two quality starts in three games and the bullpen not allowing a run in 10 innings.
Quick Notes
? Kentucky heads to Beaumont, Texas, this weekend for four games at Lamar. It is the Wildcats second straight weekend to visit the Lone Star State.
? UK is 3-0 for the first time since 2000 and just the second in 15 years.
? The Wildcats have won nine straight games against non-conference foes dating back to last season.
? Sophomore outfielder Antone DeJesus has a 10-game hitting streak dating back to last year. This past weekend, he hit .417 with six RBIs and four runs scored from the leadoff spot.
? Senior Michael Bertram has a hit in all three games while senior Brian Hastings has an RBI in all three.
? Newcomer Sean Coughlin is 5-for-8 with a home run in two games.
? Kentucky pitchers struck out 22 and walked just two in 27 innings of work last weekend.
Kentucky head coach John Cohen quotes
On what the team needs to work on this weekend ?
?We were really disappointed to have a game cancelled last weekend, so we?re hoping to get a lot of guys some action this weekend to make up for it. This is a time of the year where you really want to play a lot of people and work on different combinations on the field. I?d like to have the chance to see our more of our pitchers, which we didn?t have the opportunity to do last week because we lost that game.?
On how UK looked in its opening weekend ?
?We did a lot of things well. I thought we hit the ball hard. We hit line drives all over the place, they just didn?t fall some of the time. Our pitching was solid. Aaron Tennyson threw a great ballgame and the bullpen was tremendous. I think we made the routine plays on defense and made some spectacular ones as well. It was about as much as you could hope for the first week of the season.?
On the team?s offense last weekend ?
?I really like the makeup of our club offensively. I think we have 13 or 14 guys who deserve to play, so it allows us to adapt to the team we?re facing and the type of pitcher that is on the mound. Last weekend we did a lot of things well which turned into some big innings. I?m a big believer in bunting and doing things to set yourself up for a big inning. We work on that every day and it really paid off for us.?
On the pitching staff ?
?(Pitching coach) Gary Henderson has done a remarkable job with our pitchers. Aaron Tennyson has become a guy that we think can be a very effective top of the rotation pitcher in this conference and he showed that last weekend. Probably the biggest thing for us has been improving the depth in the bullpen. I think we have a solid group of guys who can come in with the game on the line and get the job done. That?s something that Kentucky has been missing for a few years, but we?re very confident in now.?
