Baseball Hosts Pair of Midweek Tilts
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Winners
of four consecutive games to open its home schedule, Kentucky will return to
action with a pair of midweek games, starting on Tuesday with Cincinnati at 4
p.m. ET at Cliff Hagan Stadium. UK will then host Murray State at 4 p.m. ET on
Wednesday.
Kentucky (7-3)
will start junior left-hander Zach Logue (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Cincinnati. It
marks the first start of the year for Logue, who has appeared in three games in
relief in 2016. UK has not yet announced a starter for the Murray State
matchup, but the Breds’ will turn to junior right-hander Austin Dubsky.
The two games will
be broadcast live on the UK Sports Radio Network and the Tuesday game will be
televised live on SEC Network +. Fans in Lexington can hear the pair of games
on the radio, on Fox Sports 1580-AM or online at UKathletics.com.
In honor of
National Pancake Day on Tuesday, fans can purchase $2 short stacks at the Cliff
Hagan Stadium concession stand. In addition, Tuesday is Taco Tuesday at The
Cliff.
Kentucky
opened its home schedule with a comeback win vs. Austin Peay on Wednesday,
rallying from behind with two runs in the eighth inning to take a 3-2 lead, with
freshman righty Sean Hjelle – a 6-foot-11, 200-pounder – earning his first
career save. Luke Becker provided the go-ahead RBI with a two-out knock in the
eighth inning to lead to the comeback win.
In
Friday’s win, junior righty Zack Brown took center stage with seven innings
without allowing an earned run. UK got the first homer of the year from Evan
White in the opener. Dustin Beggs fired seven strong innings in a win on
Saturday, with White and Gunnar McNeill each charting a 4-for-4 game at the plate.
Sunday, UK fell behind 8-0 after the top of the third inning to Buffalo, before
rallying behind to even the game by the fifth inning. A standout relief outing
from Logan Salow (4.2 shutout IP) and freshman Justin Lewis (3.1 shutout IP),
allowed the bullpen to first eight straight shutout innings as UK won it in the
10th inning on a Zach Arnold walk-off single with two outs, scoring Becker.
The
Wildcats have hit .319/.396/.540 as a team through 10 games, with 72 runs, 22 doubles,
four triples, 16 homers and 17 steals. UK has fielded .967 as a team, turning
seven double plays and nabbing three runners attempting to steal. On the mound,
UK has a 3.74 team ERA in 89 innings, allowing just 74 hits, walking 38 and
striking out 92, with opponents hitting .223.
At
the plate, UK has been led in average by sophomore switch-hitting second
baseman Luke Becker, who has sported a .433 (13-for-30) average in his NCAA
debut, with three doubles, three RBI, a .514 on-base percentage and two steals.
Sophomore first baseman Evan White has hit .386 (17-for-44) with three doubles,
one triple, one homer and 12 RBI, stealing five bases. Sophomore shortstop
Riley Mahan has batted .378 (14-for-37), with four doubles, two triples, two
homers and six RBI, stealing two bases. Junior DH Gunnar McNeill has hit .366
(15-for-41) with a double, two homers and nine RBI. Junior corner outfielder
Zach Reks has hit .346 (9-for-26) with a double and three RBI. Junior third
baseman JaVon Shelby has hit .333 (12-for-36) with five doubles, three homers
and six RBI, stealing two bases. Junior centerfielder Storm Wilson has hit .269
(7-for-26), with a .472 on-base percentage, three doubles, one homer and three
RBI, stealing four bags. Freshman outfielder Tristan Pompey has hit .273
(9-for-33) with a double, triple, four homers and 12 RBI. Freshman catcher Kole
Cottam has hit .250 (4-for-16) with a homer and five RBI. Junior outfielder
Marcus Carson has batted .158 (3-for-19) with a homer and four RBI.
UK
has used the weekend rotation of junior righty Zack Brown (3-0, 1.29 ERA) on
Friday, senior right-hander Dustin Beggs (3-0, 1.29 ERA) on Saturday and senior
righty Kyle Cody (1-1, 8.03 ERA) on Sunday. Freshmen Sean Hjelle (0-0, 0.00
ERA) and Justin Lewis (1-0, 1.29 ERA) each have saves, with senior righty Zach
Strecker (1-0, 1.42 ERA), freshman lefty Daniel Tillo (0-0, 2.70 ERA), junior
southpaw Logan Salow (0-0, 3.68 ERA), sophomore lefty Zach Logue (0-0, 5.40
ERA) and sophomore southpaw Brad Schaenzer (0-0, 10.80 ERA) have each appeared
in three games in relief.
