LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky catcher Sean Coughlin has been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
The Morrison, Colo. native had a monster week, batting .500 (9-for-18) and driving in 12 runs. Coughlin plated nine times and blasted seven extra-base (6 2B, 1 3B) hits during Kentucky?s 5-0 week. The catcher ripped his first career triple in Sunday?s win over Wisconsin Milwaukee, part of a 4-for-5 day that included three doubles and five RBI. That was the second time during the weekend that Coughlin drove in five runs, doing so as part of a 2-for-4 performance at the plate in UK?s win over Wisconsin Milwaukee on Friday. During UK?s dominating week, Coughlin slugged with a .889 percentage and reached base at a .591 clip. He had a team-high 16 total bases during the week.
Coughlin improved his batting average to .347 on the season with the big week and increased his double total to seven two-baggers in just 12 games. Coughlin has now driven in a team-high 19 runs.
The SEC honor is the second for the Wildcat program this season, as freshman Jason Kipnis garnered SEC Freshman of the Week honors after his huge opening weekend at Furman. The SEC weekly honor is the third of Coughlin?s Wildcat career, as the backstop notched the award twice during the 2006 season.
South Carolina pitcher Harris Honeycutt tallied the Pitcher of the Week honor and Ole Miss first baseman Andrew Clark earned the Freshman of the week award.
UK Moves up to No. 18 in Collegiate Baseball Top-30
After opening the season with the second best start in the 103-year history of the Kentucky baseball program, the Wildcats have climbed as high as No. 18 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper weekly Top-30, the organization announced.
Kentucky (12-0) has annihilated the opposition through the first portion of its season, outscoring opponents 131 to 35. In 2006, Kentucky plated a school-record 500 runs during the historic Southeastern Conference Championship season.
The Wildcats began the season ranked No. 27 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason poll and have since climbed higher after dominating the early season slate. Kentucky is merely three wins shy of tying the record for the best start in school history, set by the 2000 club after they ran off 15 consecutive wins to start the campaign.
Kentucky Owns Longest Home Regular Season Winning Streak in Nation
The Kentucky baseball team has now won 22 consecutive games at Cliff Hagan Stadium during the regular season, believed to be the longest such streak in the nation.
The streak dates back to last year, when UK won its final 13 games of the season before hosting an NCAA Regional. So far into 2007, Kentucky has emerged victorious in nine home games to bring its total to the best nationally.
Florida State?s 16-game home winning streak to open the season ranks third behind the Wildcats and Virginia (19). On Saturday, North Carolina had its home winning streak snapped at 16 games.
Longest Current Home Regular Season Winning Streaks
Kentucky: 22 Virginia: 19 Florida State: 16 Texas A&M: 13 Duke: 12 Vanderbilt: 11 TCU: 11 UC Riverside: 11 Coastal Carolina: 10 Col. of Charl.: 10 Missouri: 10 Arizona State: 9 Oklahoma: 8 Stony Brook: 7
Season Ticket Sales Reach 1,400 Mark
With the stellar start to the 2007 season, the Kentucky ticket office has announced that season ticket sales have surpassed the 1,400 mark.
Kentucky enjoyed an unprecedented attendance spike after the 2006 SEC Championship season, as attendance increased 453-percent from the 2005-2006 seasons.
After an offseason Cliff Hagan makeover, designed improve the viewing atmosphere for baseball fans, fans have turned out to support an exciting baseball team with a home average of 1,780 fans per contest. A new videoboard and viewing deck highlight the modifications of the Kentucky baseball home.
Season tickets are still available at the low price of $25 and fans can contact the UK Ticket Office at (859) 257-1818, for more information.
