It can be hard to keep up with everything going on in the University of Kentucky’s 22 varsity sports. With that in mind, we will highlight the best from around Kentucky sports each week. We’ll recognize the best performances from Wildcat teams and players, we’ll show you the coolest videos and photos that you may have missed and we’ll mix in some new stuff along the way. Here are your award winners for this week:
Team of the Week: Baseball wins three of four, takes series from No. 1 LSU
In what could be considered one of the biggest weeks in UK baseball history, the No. 2 Wildcats came through in a big way. After taking down UC earlier in the week 7-0, Kentucky fell to No. 1 LSU in Friday’s opener of the three-game series.
Per usual, Kentucky bounced back and took the final two games of the weekend as it has in every SEC series since sweeping defending national champions South Carolina in the opening weekend of SEC play. The Wildcats dominated the top-ranked Tigers 8-1 on Saturday to even the series, and won a nail-biter in the finale, 7-6.
Kentucky (35-6, 13-5 SEC) has yet to lose an SEC series this season, and with the two wins over LSU, holds a one game lead in the conference. The big weekend, despite less than ideal weather conditions, broke a weekend series record for attendance with 9,496.
Players of the Week – Rossi, Jomby named to SEC All-Tournament team
Kentucky junior Anthony Rossi and sophomore Tom Jomby were named to the All-Tournament team this weekend. The Wildcats fell to Georgia in the final of the SEC Tournament, losing their first match in conference play.
Rossi recorded big wins this weekend in the tournament, defeating Jeff Offerdahl 6-4 to take the set and clinch the match against Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals. He was also in position to win his match against Mississippi’s Jonas Lutjen, leading 5-1, when play was suspended and Kentucky had clinched a birth into the tournament championship.
Jomby was key in doubles play all weekend, getting wins along side Alejandro Gomez against Vandy and Ole Miss. The sophomore also won singles matches Vanderbilt’s Blake Bazarnik (6-3, 7-6) and Mississippi’s William Kallberg (6-3, 6-3) before falling in the championship to Georgia’s Ignacio Taboada.
Game of the Week – Baseball takes series over LSU with 7-6 win in rubber match
The top two teams in the country and SEC split the first two games of their weekend series in Lexington, Ky. this weekend, forcing a decisive game three for conference superiority. Both Kentucky and LSU entered the series with an 11-4 mark in the SEC, and the winner of Sunday’s game would hold a one-game lead in the conference.
In a see-saw battle, the Tigers and Wildcats exchanged jabs with some of the best talent in the country, but despite LSU’s best effort, Kentucky came out on top. It was a total team effort for the Cats, as a balanced offensive attack along with a huge bullpen effort staved off the Tigers while earning a 7-6 win.
After Kentucky had fallen behind 5-4 in top of the sixth inning, they answered with three runs on four doubles in the bottom of the frame. Zac Zellers, Matt Reida, J.T. Riddle, and Austin Cousino each recorded doubles that inning. Meanwhile, the bullpen duo of Tim Peterson and Alex Phillips combined for 3.1 innings of one-run baseball to close the game out and finish of the Tigers.
Video of the Week – Highlights from baseball’s series clincher
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Alumnae of the Week – Brandon Knight scores career-high 28 in win over Cleveland
Brandon Knight, one of a long line of successful point guards to play for John Calipari, put up a career-high 28 points in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night.
In Detroit’s 116-77 blowout of the Cavs, Knight shot 11-of-12 from the field while adding 7 assists. In an up and down season for the first-year point guard, Knight is ending the season on a high note. Knight is averaging 18.3 points and 5.5 assists in the last six games and 15.1 ppg and 3.8 apg in his rookie campaign.
