Overall Record: 9-2
Record Last Week: 4-0
Recent Results
Tuesday, Feb. 25 – won vs. Wright State, 7-1
Friday, Feb. 28 – won vs. Eastern Michigan, 8-2
Saturday, March 1 – won vs. Eastern Michigan, 9-5
Saturday, March 1 – won vs. Eastern Michigan, 13-2
Upcoming Schedule (times Eastern)
Tuesday, March 4 – at Cincinnati – 4 p.m.
Wednesday, March 5 – vs. Cincinnati – 4 p.m.
Friday, March 7 – vs. Ball State – 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 8 – vs. Ball State – 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 9 – vs. Ball State – 1 p.m.
Player of the Week nominee
Austin Cousino
5-10 – Jr. – CF – Dublin, Ohio (Dublin Coffman)
Week Stats: .500 (9-for-18), 7 R, 3 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, 2 HBP, 3-3 SB, .550 OB%,
.778 SLG%
Notes: Junior centerfielder Austin Cousino helped spark Kentucky to a four-game
sweep of its opening week at Cliff Hagan Stadium … Cousino hit .500 (9-for-18),
with three doubles, one triple, four RBI and three steals … He came to the
plate 20 times during the four-game week, reaching base safely 11 times with a
.550 on-base percentage … In UK’s home opener vs. Wright State on Tuesday,
Cousino went 3-for-4 with a double and two steals … In a series-opening
win over Eastern Michigan, Cousino collected one hit, before going for two hits
and a steal in the second game of the set with EMU … In the series finale,
Cousino extended his hitting streak to six games with a 3-for-5 outing, with
two doubles, one triple and three RBI, scoring three runs … On the year,
Cousino – a member of the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List – has hit
.438, with six doubles, three triples, one homer and eight RBI, stealing six
bases … In his career, Cousino has hit .302 (156-for-517) in 128 games, with 38
doubles, four triples, 16 homers and 76 RBI, stealing 35-of-37 bases.
Team notes
The Kentucky baseball team ran its winning streak to seven games while opening
its home schedule with a midweek win over Wright State (7-1) and a series sweep
over Eastern Michigan (8-2, 9-5, 13-2), a team that beat No. 13 Clemson on
opening day.
The Wildcats – ranked last week No. 30 by the National Collegiate Baseball
Writers Association and No. 25 by Perfect Game – will return to action with a
two-game series with Cincinnati, traveling to the Queen City on Tuesday at 4
p.m. ET, before hosting the Bearcats on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET at Cliff Hagan
Stadium. UK will then host Mid-American Conference power Ball State for the
final three-game non-conference series before Southeastern Conference play
begins, starting on Friday at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Kentucky (9-2) extended its winning streak to seven games with its four-game
week to open the home schedule. UK wrapped up its season-opening, season-long,
seven-game road swing with a three-game sweep at the Old Dominion Tournament,
before opening its home schedule with a 7-1 win over Wright State on Tuesday.
The Wildcats then posted an 8-2 win over EMU to open the series on Friday, with
the teams playing a doubleheader on Saturday to avoid inclement weather on
Sunday. UK swept its first twinbill test of 2014, with a 9-5 win in the opener
and a 13-2 result in the nightcap.
UK’s numbers during the four-game week saw UK hit .353 as a team, drawing 23
walks, getting hit by six pitches, stealing 12 bases and striking out just 14
times. On the mound, UK owned a 0.75 ERA in 36 innings, holding opponents to a
.188 average.
On the year, Kentucky has hit .326 with a .439 on-base percentage, slugging 28
doubles, two triples and nine homers in 11 games, stealing 27 bases. On the
mound, UK has a 2.77 team ERA, with 36 walks and 68 strikeouts in 97.1 innings,
with UK fielding .965 with 12 double plays turned and five steals allowed
defensively.
Individually, junior A.J. Reed is off to a blistering pace to the season,
batting .429 (18-for-42) with four doubles, seven homers and 20 RBI, also owning
a 3-0 record and a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings on the mound. Junior centerfielder
Austin Cousino – who hit .500 over the week – has a team-high .438 average
(21-for-48), with six doubles, one triple, one homer and eight RBI, stealing
six bases. Junior third baseman Max Kuhn has hit .347 (17-for-49) with four
doubles and 10 RBI, with fifth-year senior catcher Micheal Thomas hitting .345
(10-for-29) with three doubles and seven RBI, owning a .500 on-base mark.
Rightfielder Kyle Barrett has hit .340 (16-for-47) with a homer, 11 RBI and six
steals, with leftfielder Ka’ai Tom hitting .324 (11-for-34) with three doubles,
five RBI and four steals, drawing four walks without striking out to open his
NCAA career. Senior shortstop Matt Reida has hit .250 (10-for-40) with nine RBI
and a .388 on-base percentage.
On the mound, UK’s weekend rotation of Reed, Chandler Shepherd (2-0, 3.32 ERA)
and Kyle Cody (2-0, 1.35 ERA) has combined in nine games for a 7-0 record, a
1.97 ERA and a .210 opponent average. In the bullpen, junior Spencer Jack (0-0,
0.00 ERA) has appeared in a team-high five games with eight innings, with
freshman Logan Salow (1-0, 0.00 ERA) working in four games with nine strikeouts
in six innings. Sophomore Zach Strecker (0-1, 0.00 ERA), sophomore Ryne Combs (1-0,
2.16 ERA), junior Andrew Nelson (0-0, 2.70 ERA), freshman Zack Brown (0-0, 3.00
ERA), sophomore Matt Snyder (0-0, 6.75 ERA) and sophomore Taylor Martin (0-0,
9.82 ERA) have each appeared in three games in relief.
