Kentucky ? 5-1, 0-0 SEC
Evansville ? 6-3, 0-0 MVC
Cincinnati ? 4-5, 0-0 Big East
Schedule (times Eastern) – Games Lexington, Ky. (Cliff Hagan Stadium ? 3,000)
Tuesday, Feb. 28 vs. Evansville * 3 p.m.
Wednesday, March 1 vs. Cincinnati * 3 p.m.
Pitching Match-Ups
Tuesday vs. Evansville
RHP Greg Dombrowski, So. (1-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Kai Tuomi, Jr. (0-0, 1.80)
Wednesday vs. Cincinnati
RHP Matt Robinson, Sr. (0-0, 12.00) vs. TBA
Projected UK Line-Up
C (L) Sean Coughlin (.421-2-5, .789 Slug.)
-or- (R) Justin Scutchfield (.364-0-3, 2 2B)
1B (R) Ryan Strieby (..286-0-3, 4 2B)
2B (R) John Shelby (.167-0-1, 3BB)
-or- (R) Mike Brown (.000-0-1, 1 R)
3B (L) Michael Bertram (.316-0-0, 3 SH)
-or- (R) Matt McKinney (.000-0-0, 1 SH)
SS (S) Ryan Wilkes (.316-0-2, .440 OBP)
LF (R) Collin Cowgill (.400-2-10, .800 Slug.)
-or- (R) Shaun Lehmann (.091-0-0, 1 SB)
CF (L) Antone DeJesus (.400-0-7, 6 R)
RF (L) Billy Grace (.368-1-4, .455 OBP)
DH (R) Brian Hastings (.222-0-5, 1 2B)
Why to Watch Out for UK
? Kentucky is 5-1 with three wins over 2005 NCAA Regional Teams.
? The Wildcats have scored nine runs or more in four of six games and is averaging nearly eight per contest.
? UK starters have three quality starts in six games and have not allowed more than four runs in any outing. The team ERA is just 2.33 and the Wildcats are giving up an average of only 2.7 runs per game total.
? Kentucky?s defense has turned seven double plays in six games and raised its fielding percentage 12 points from last year.
Quick Notes
? Kentucky opens a 16-game homestand this week with games against Evansville and Cincinnati. It is the longest homestand in UK history.
? Kentucky was 20-6 at Cliff Hagan Stadium last season, its best record there since 1991.
? When getting a quality start, Kentucky is 3-0 this year after going 8-1 in those games last year.
? Kentucky has won 11 of its last 12 against non-conference foes.
? Lexington native Collin Cowgill is hitting .400 with 10 RBIs. He has two doubles, one triple and two home runs in six games. Cowgill has a hit in six straight games and an RBI in five straight.
? Antone DeJesus has a hit in 12 straight games dating back to last season.
? Sophomore Greg Dombrowski is 2-0 in two career starts with a quality outing each time.
? Michael Bertram needs four sacrifice bunts to break the school record currently held by Andy Green.
Kentucky head coach John Cohen quotes
On the weekend ?
?We really like the way our club has performed for the most part. Friday was a little bit of a hiccup. We knew it was going to be a low scoring game because our hitters hadn?t had a live at bat in five days. I kind of did that to them with our schedule. But, I?m really pleased with where our club is defensively, our ability to run it down in the outfield and convert some double plays in the infield. We need to keep getting better at some small things, like every other team in the country. But I?m excited about this group.
On pitcher Craig Snipp ?
?The thing about Craig is he is so valuable out of the bullpen. But with our situation with Andrew Albers, we need Craig to start. Coach Henderson kept talking about talking about if we needed to take him out of the game, but he felt great and kept making pitches. He pitches at a velocity where there is a comfort level and not a whole lot of stress.?
On the offense ?
?The neat thing about our club ? and we?ve been trying to get this done for two years ? is that we have tremendous competition within our team. That?s what drives a baseball team. We sat Antone DeJesus yesterday because we wanted to give Shaun Lehmann a chance to play and he was an All-SEC player last year. I don?t think those things have happened at Kentucky for a while. The competition level is huge at every position and we want to keep it that way. We want to keep a lot of players involved. I?m really pleased with that part of it. But there are several small ball situations we need to get better at and I?m sure we will.?
On getting started at home ?
?I think the weather is huge and we?d love people to come out. There?s going to be 50s and 60 degree temperatures and that will help. Sleeping in your own bed and getting into a rhythm in your own ball park is huge. I?d like to see us come out and play really well.?
On the non-conference schedule ?
?When you play outside of the SEC you?re going to take a team?s best shot. Everybody wants to beat a team in the SEC and you see that when you look around the league. There is an adrenaline from opponents because they want to beat SEC teams. We have to be on our guard and play well because we are going to get every team?s best shot.?
