LOUISVILLE — When the first pitch of the 2014 Louisville Regional is delivered Friday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium between Kansas and Kentucky, thoughts will be racing through the minds of everyone across the Bluegrass State about the potential matchup between Kentucky and Louisville. However, the Wildcats have a more immediate — and more important — task at hand. It also happens to be one that has escaped UK in its NCAA Tournament history.In UK’s last four NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wildcats have lost the opening game of the regionals in all four games, including 2012 when UK fell in 21 innings to Kent State — another potential matchup in game two of this regional. Kentucky is making its eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history, while looking to record only its second-ever opening game win in a regional. In the seven previous NCAA Regional opening-game appearances, UK’s lone win came in 1988 vs. Rutgers.For Kentucky to be successful, the Cats cannot afford to look past a team that enters its first NCAA Tournament since 2009, while riding a recent hot streak.Kansas makes the trek to Louisville having won its last nine Big 12 conference regular-season games before entering postseason play, including 11 of its last 15 games overall. Prior to reeling off nine straight Big 12 regular season wins, the Jayhawks sat at 23-20 on the season with slim hopes of making the NCAA Tournament, but that’s the funny thing about baseball: Any team can get hot at any time of the season. For KU, it couldn’t have happened at a better time.”To win nine games in a row in any good league is hard, mathematically it’s really hard if you just look at the statistics or percentages,” said Kentucky head coach Gary Henderson. “They’ve got an older group. They got hot. They’re playing well. They deserve to be here.”Friday’s matchup on the diamond will mark the first between the two programs who have rich traditions on the hardwood. The two head coaches realize just how important that first game of the regional is. It can set the tone for the remainder of the regional or it can put you in a hole from the very beginning.”I’m not sure I have a word other than, really important,” said Henderson. “The only thing I can tell you is you have to win that game. Is it impossible if you lose? No, it’s not impossible. As a coach, you know what you need to do to make that path as likely or as easy as you can, and it’s winning the first game.”Two years ago the Wildcats were facing a similar situation in the Gary Regional with Purdue as the No. 1 seed. UK was matched up with Kent State in game one, while a potential Purdue tilt awaited if both teams took care of business. The unexpected happened in most people’s eyes. Kent State outlasted the Wildcats in a marathon 21-inning contest that saw Kent State advancing to face the Boilermakers and UK already in a hole to face Valparaiso.Henderson is making it a point to not let history repeat itself once again in 2014.”Two years ago we’re talking about Purdue,” Henderson explained. “We don’t need to talk about Purdue. We need to talk about Kent State and then the next day you’re not playing Purdue anyway. You’re playing Valpo. We need to do everything we can to play well tomorrow at 2 p.m. and then whoever we have is whoever we have.”Henderson’s players have echoed the same statement. Current UK standouts Austin Cousino and just-named Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year A.J. Reed were freshmen on that 2012 team that fell in the opening game of the Gary Regional. They are determined to not let that happen as juniors.”We have to win the first one and whoever it may be after (Kansas), I think you just have to go out and play regardless of who the team is and who they are pitching,” Cousino said. “We just have to come out ready.” “The first game is obviously the most important one,” Reed said. “We don’t want to start out in a hole and have to work our way back and beat a team twice to win the regional, so the first game is the most important and we’re confident having Kyle (Cody) out there. He’s going to give us a good effort and we’re going to come out and play good defense and swing the bats well and our bullpen guys are going to do well, so we feel good about it.” Sophomore righthander Kyle Cody has the task of taking the mound in game one in hopes of starting Kentucky on a positive note. The Chippewa Falls, Wis., native enters Friday’s start at 4-0 on the season with a 2.65 ERA, while coming off an impressive 4-2 win in the SEC Tournament vs. the top-seeded Florida Gators.”I’ve been pitching well since Georgia and Hoover (for the SEC Tournament) was a big confidence-booster for me and I just want to keep things rolling for the team,” Cody said. “I just have to go do my part. We have to win game one because it’s a big deal to get here in the first place. I just have to have full confidence in myself and go up there and give a good start for the team.”UK’s season won’t end after Friday’s game either way, but a win will go a long way in determining just how far the Wildcats can go, and if you didn’t get the hint: Game one is a pretty big deal.