LEXINGTON, Ky. — Having claimed 22 consecutive non-conference wins, the No. 17 Kentucky baseball team kicks off a five game road-swing, traveling to state rival Louisville for a Tuesday tilt, with first pitch at Jim Patterson Stadium slated for 6 p.m. ET.
Kentucky (30-9, 9-9 Southeastern Conference) has not lost a non-conference game since a May, 2007 setback at Evansville. The Wildcats are fresh off a 4-1 week, highlighted by a series win over No. 24 Florida at Cliff Hagan Stadium. UK won the first game in come-from-behind fashion, 11-7, and after dropping game two, won the series with a 10-inning, 3-2 win on Sunday.
Earlier this year, UK won the first meeting between the two clubs, 7-6 in a thrilling, 12-inning epic in Lexington. Kentucky has dominated the series with the Cardinals, claiming wins in six of the past seven meetings, with the lone blemish coming last year in Louisville, a 8-1 setback. UK leads the series 62-30-1, including a 21-14-1 mark in Louisville. Keenan Wiley?s walk-off home run to lead off the bottom of the 12th inning marked his first career home run and gave UK the win.
The game can be heard live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with the Voice of UK Baseball, Neil Price calling the action. Fans in Lexington can hear the action live on WLAP 630-AM and in Louisville on WKJK 1080-AM.
Kentucky will send sophomore southpaw James Paxton (3-2, 3.82 ERA) to the hill for his sixth start of the season. A hard-throwing Canada native, Paxton made his first career SEC start on Saturday, allowing four runs while recording just four outs in the game. UL will send Lexington native Thomas Royse to the moud for his first career start. Royse, a Dunbar graduate, has earned a 2-0 record and a 4.94 ERA in 17 games out of the bullpen in 2008.
The Wildcats lead the league in 10 offensive categories, including average (.335), slugging (.544), on-base percentage (.433), runs scored (344), hits (442), RBI (310), total bases (719), hit by pitches (67), sac bunts (50), and sac flies (28). UK ranks second in the league in ERA (3.51) and fielding percentage (.974).
Nationally, UK ranks sixth in on-base percentage, sixth in slugging, sixth in OPS (0.978), 10th in batting average, eighth in hit-by-pitches, third in sacrifice flies, second in sacrifice bunts, and 10th in wins.
UK has been led at the plate by its two National Player of the Year candidates, Sawyer Carroll and Collin Cowgill. Carroll ranks as the league leader in batting average (.465), hits (67), on-base percentage (.551) and RBI (56). Cowgill ranks third in the league in average (.399), third in slugging (.818), third in on-base percentage (.524), second in runs scored (57), 10th in hits (57), fourth in RBI (45), second in home runs (15), third in total bases (117) and fifth in walks (32). Cowgill has swiped 16 bases, good for fifth in the league.
In the NCAA rankings, Carroll ranks sixth in on-base percentage, sixth in slugging, fourth in OPS (1.377), fifth in average, 10th in hits, fifth in RBI and seventh in total bases. Cowgill ranks ninth nationally in slugging, eighth in OPS (1.342), third in runs scored, 10th in hits, sixth in home runs and ninth in total bases.
Freshman shortstop Chris Wade, senior Ryan Wilkes, Wiley and senior Brian Spear have all been fixtures in the potent Wildcat offensive attack. Wade, who broke the school record for sacrifice bunts in a season (14), has hit for a .316 average, with 13 doubles, four home runs and 40 RBI. Wilkes ranks third on the club with a .369 average, ripping seven doubles, five home runs and 18 RBI. Wiley, UK?s speedy offensive sparkplug, has hit .364, with seven doubles, a triple, and a home run, driving in 23 and stealing five bases. Spear has hit for a .293 average, with 13 doubles, six homers, 35 RBI and 29 walks.
Louisville (23-15, 8-7 Big East) enters the mid-week showdown after claiming a series victory over Villanova during the weekend, winning the first two games of the series before dropping the finale. UL has been led at the plate by All-American third baseman Chris Dominguez, who is hitting for a .380 average, with 12 home runs and 43 RBI, drawing 13 walks to a team-high 34 strikeouts. Andrew Clark (.342, 3 HR, 35 RBI), an Ole Miss transfer, and Justin McClanahan (.383, 16 2B, 7 HR, 24 RBI) have boosted a Cardinal offense that has hit for a .311 average. On the mound, Justin Marks (2.15 ERA, 4-1), Zach Pitts (4.32 ERA, 5-3), and B.J. Rosenberg (4-3, 4.97 ERA) have led the way for the Cardinals on the mound, just a year removed from a College World Series appearance.
