LEXINGTON ? The 11th-ranked Kentucky baseball team, winners of nine of its last 10, returns home this weekend to host No. 17 Ole Miss in a three-game series that pits the two hottest teams in the Southeastern Conference against one another.
The series kicks off on Friday at 6:30 p.m. with game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. The weekend concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Rebels have won 11 straight games, including back-to-back series sweeps of LSU and Tennessee, to climb into second place in the SEC Western Division with a 13-8 league mark. Meanwhile, UK swept No. 7 South Carolina two weeks ago before winning two of three at No. 21 Vanderbilt last weekend. The Wildcats are tied for first in the SEC East at 13-8.
It is the first meeting between the two schools since 2003 after a two-year break in the series as the teams rotated off each other?s schedule. For the renewal of the series, Kentucky sends senior left-hander Aaron Tennyson (4-2, 3.91) to the mound against junior southpaw Craig Rodriguez (3-1, 3.76).
Saturday features two more lefties as UK senior Craig Snipp (4-3, 3.39) squares off with freshman Brett Bukovich (4-3, 3.55). On Sunday, both teams send a right-hander to the hill. Sophomore Greg Dombrowski (8-1, 2.55) goes for his ninth win of the season, which would move him into fourth place in school history. He?ll face freshman Lance Lynn (4-2, 4.55).
The pitching staff will have a big task trying to shut down two of the most powerful offenses in the SEC. Kentucky leads the conference in runs scored at 8.62 per game. Meanwhile, the Rebels have scored 10 or more runs in nine of their last 11 games.
Fans have the opportunity on Sunday to purchase $1 sundaes in a collectable UK baseball mini-helmet while supplies last.
Records
Kentucky ? 34-11, 13-8 SEC
Ole Miss ? 31-15, 13-8 SEC
Rankings
Kentucky ? No. 11 Baseball America
Ole Miss – No. 17 Collegiate Baseball
Schedule (times Eastern)
Lexington, Ky. (Cliff Hagan Stadium ? 3,000)
Friday, May 5 vs. Ole Miss * 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 6 vs. Ole Miss * 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 vs. Ole Miss * 1 p.m.
Tickets
Available for $2 at the gate or by calling the UK ticket office at (859) 257-1818.
Radio
Friday ? WLAP 630-AM in Lexington
Saturday ? WXRA 1580-AM in Lexington
Sunday ? WXRA 1580-AM in Lexington
Television
none
Pitching Match-Ups
Friday vs. Ole Miss
LHP Aaron Tennyson, Sr. (4-1, 3.30) vs. LHP Craig Rodriguez, Jr. (3-1, 3.76 ERA)
Saturday vs. Ole Miss
LHP Craig Snipp, Sr., (4-3, 3.50) vs. LHP Brett Bukovich, Fr. (4-3, 3.55 ERA)
Sunday vs. Ole Miss
RHP Greg Dombrowski, So., (7-1, 2.25) vs. RHP Lance Lynn, Fr. (4-2, 4.55 ERA)
Projected UK Line-Up (Avg-HR-RBI)
C (L) Sean Coughlin (.322-10-40)
-or- (R) Justin Scutchfield (.227-0-8)
1B (R) Ryan Strieby (.351-14-64)
2B (R) John Shelby (.286-12-46)
3B (L) Michael Bertram (.338-4-30)
-or- (R) Matt McKinney (.312-2-14)
SS (S) Ryan Wilkes (.265-1-19)
LF (R) Shaun Lehmann(.223-6-21)
CF (L) Antone DeJesus (.340-2-23)
RF (R) Collin Cowgill (.321-11-44)
DH (L) Billy Grace (.279-6-26)
Quick Notes
? At No. 11 in the latest Baseball America poll, Kentucky has earned its highest ranking in school history. The Wildcats have been ranked each of the past seven weeks after not cracking the polls since the 2000 season.
? Winners of nine of its last 10, Kentucky has moved into a first-place tie in the SEC Eastern Division with South Carolina with a 13-8 league mark.
? At 34-11, Kentucky has tied the 1991 team for the best start in school history. The 13-8 SEC record is the best since 1988 when UK started 15-6. Kentucky has won five league series this year, one shy of the six the team won in 1988, the year Kentucky finished one win shy of the College World Series.
? Kentucky has won four straight series over ranked opponents at Cliff Hagan Stadium dating back to last year.
? Of the 14 main statistical categories, Kentucky leads the SEC in eight, including runs per game at 8.62. UK is also first in on-base percentage, slugging, RBIs, home runs, doubles and walks.
? In 21 conference games this year, Kentucky has only outhit its opponent in four.
? Second baseman John Shelby is riding a 10-game hitting streak in which he is batting .419 with seven doubles and four home runs. He has scored 14 runs and driven in 15 in that span.
? First baseman Ryan Strieby has hit six home runs in the last three SEC series, hitting two in each.
? Ryan Strieby is the only players in the SEC to rank in the top 12 in the league in each of the traditional triple-crown categories of batting average (12th), home runs (t-3rd) and RBIs (1st).
? After enduring a 2-fo-37 slump with 17 strikeouts, Ryan Wilkes is batting .333 with six extra-base hits and eight RBIs in his last 12 games.
Kentucky head coach John Cohen quotes
On Ole Miss ?
?Ole Miss is obviously playing very good baseball right now. They?ve won 10 in a row and I think they?re playing as well as anyone in the country right now. But at the same time, I think we?re playing as well as anyone right now also. So, it should be a great match-up for the fans to come out and see.?
On Ryan Strieby ?
?Ryan is doing it all for us right now. He?s really focused and seeing the ball well. I think his approach at the plate the past few weeks has been excellent. He can be 0-for-3 in a game and then come up and hit a home run, that?s just kind of the way he?s swinging it. Having a player of his caliber in the middle of the order makes everybody in the line up, from one to nine, better.?
On returning home ?
?It?s always nice to be playing at home because going on the road in this league and winning is extremely difficult. The atmosphere that we?ve created here the past few weeks and the fans that have come out and supported has been tremendous as well. They?ve really been like a 10th man for us and I hope we can get some big crowds again this weekend.?
On the potential of an offensive series ?
?Both teams have really been swinging well and scoring a lot of runs. But, when you face the caliber of pitching a team like Ole Miss has, you can?t assume you?re going to score 10 runs a game. I think they probably feel the same way about us. We just have to take it one at bat at a time and bring a good approach to the plate.?
