No. 6 Kentucky Hosts Xavier Seeking 20th Home Win of Season

LEXINGTON, Ky. – With just a month remaining in the regular season and teams across the country jockeying for postseason position, No. 6 Kentucky comes off a most impressive week where it went 3-1 against Top 10 teams, entering the Top 10 in the major polls and rising to fifth in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. Staring at the potential to be a national seed in the NCAA Tournament and host postseason games, the Wildcats look to take care of business in a midweek affair with a Xavier club that is no stranger to top-flight competition.

The Cats (28-13, 12-6 SEC) silenced any remaining doubters by outscoring No. 2 Louisville and No. 8 LSU by a combined score of 36-18, letting the relentless offense continue to wear down those two pitching staffs. Junior infielder Riley Mahan earned SEC Player of the Week honors after hitting .688 and reaching base 14 times in 19 plate appearances for the week, which somewhat overshadowed impressive weeks from senior outfielder Zach Reks (.563), junior infielder Luke Becker (2 HR, 9 RBI), sophomore catcher Kole Cottam (2 HR) and senior first baseman Evan White (.444). Sophomore righty Justin Lewis threw his first career complete game, while sophomore Friday starter Sean Hjelle earned his sixth win.

UK will be seeking its 20th victory at Cliff Hagan Stadium this season, where it currently owns the second-best home record in the SEC behind Arkansas (23-3). The Cats’ only defeats have been Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and LSU, all ranked teams.

Riley Mahan is the Southeastern Conference co-Player of the Week after a blistering week at the plate against Top 10 opponents. It is Mahan’s second SEC Player of the Week honor this season, also earning the honor for the week of March 6.

The junior infielder was the key cog in Kentucky’s 3-1 week against No. 2 Louisville and No. 8 LSU, batting .688 (11-for-16) and reaching base in 14 of his 19 plate appearances. The Cincinnati, Ohio native had a .737 on-base percentage and 1.000 slugging percentage for the week with four runs scored, six RBI, two doubles, a home run, a hit by pitch and a pair of intentional walks.

In the series win over LSU, Mahan was 9-of-12, including the opener when he ripped a career-high five hits (5-for-5) with two doubles, a run and three RBI. He capped his big weekend with a home run on Sunday and a highlight reel double play turn at second base.

Mahan is now hitting .335 on the season in 41 games with 35 runs scored, 17 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 41 RBI and six steals. He ranks among the SEC leaders in doubles (2nd), total bases (4th), slugging percentage (4th), RBI (6th) and hits (10th).

UK – Zack Thompson (Fr., LHP) – 10 games, 9 starts; 4-2, 4.79 ERA, 41.1 IP, 35 H, 22 ER, 26 BB, 51 K

Xavier – Brad Kirschner (Sr., LHP) – 18 games, 2 starts; 3-1, 4.96 ERA, 32.2 IP, 36 H, 18 ER, 15 BB, 26 K

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 26 (7 p.m.)

Location (Facility): Lexington, Ky. (Cliff Hagan Stadium)

Series History: Kentucky leads 31-8

Radio: UK Radio Network; 630 AM WLAP (Lexington); ukathletics.com (Neil Price)

TV/Online: SEC Network (Taylor Zarzour and Ben McDonald)