Overall Record: 6-0, 0-0 SEC
Record Last Week: 3-0, 0-0 SEC
[B]Recent Results[/B]
Friday, Feb. 24 * defeated Buffalo, 13-5
Saturday, Feb. 25 * defeated Buffalo, 9-5
Sunday, Feb. 26 * defeated Buffalo, 7-6
[B]Upcoming Schedule (times Eastern)[/B]
Tuesday, Feb. 28 * vs. Morehead State * 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 29 * vs. Xavier * 4 p.m.
Friday, March 2 * vs. UIC * 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 3 * vs. UIC * 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 4 * vs. UIC * 1 p.m.
[B]PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE[/B]
[B]Zac Zellers[/B]
6-0 * Jr. * CF * St. Louis, Mo. (Rockwood/Heartland CC)
Week Stats: .667 (6-for-9), 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB, 2 HBP, 0 SO, 1.667 SLG%, .750 OB%
[B]Notes[/B]: Junior outfielder Zac Zellers turned in a breakout week at the plate for the Wildcats, leading UK to a series sweep vs. Buffalo in the home-opening series … The right-handed hitter led UK with a .667 average (6-for-9), with a double, triple, two homers and five RBI … Zellers reached base safely in 9-of-12 plate appearances during the weekend, with a .750 on-base and a 1.667 slugging percentage … He drew a walk and got hit by two pitches without striking out … In the series opener on Friday, Zellers launched his first career home run as part of a 1-for-3 day … On Saturday, UK star freshman centerfielder Austin Cousino was pulled from the lineup after starting 2-for-2 due to a minor injury, with Zellers coming off the bench to go 3-for-3 with two runs, a double and his second homer … Became the first UK player to homer in back-to-back games since Taylor Black against Alabama in 2010 … In the series finale, Zellers went 2-for-3 with a triple, walk and hit by pitch, driving in three runs … Zellers’ big hit came as the go-ahead, three-RBI triple in the sixth inning to give UK a lead … After UK allowed the game-tying runs in the ninth inning, Zellers led off the bottom half of the inning with a walk, scoring the walk-off run with two outs … On the year, Zellers leads UK with a .583 average (7-for-12).
[B]TEAM NOTES[/B]
The Kentucky baseball team posted three wins on the weekend to sweep Buffalo in the home-opening set at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Wildcats return to action with home midweek contests vs. Morehead State (Tuesday) and Xavier (Wednesday) at 4 p.m. ET, before hosting Illinois-Chicago in a three-game series Friday-Sunday at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Kentucky (6-0) is off to its best start to a season since opening 19-0 during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The Wildcats have utilized a balanced approach with a .341 team average, a 3.50 team ERA and a staggering .996 fielding percentage. UK has made just one error on the year, coming on an attempted pickoff attempt at second base.
The Wildcats will seek wins over Morehead State, Xavier and UIC this week, playing a total of eight games in a 10-day span. UK is in the midst of an 18-game homestand after opening up the season in Spartanburg, S.C., at Wofford, vs. Eastern Michigan and at USC Upstate.
UK has been led offensively by junior outfielder Zac Zellers, who has hit .583 (7-for-12) with a double, triple, two homers and five RBI. Freshman centerfielder Austin Cousino owns a .435 average (10-for-23) with four doubles, one triple, one homer and five RBI, while leftfielder Lucas Witt owns a .400 (8-for-20) average). Cameron Flynn and Luke Maile have each launched two homers, while freshman A.J. Reed leads the team with 10 RBI through his first six collegiate games.
On the mound, UK has used a weekend rotation of Taylor Rogers (2-0, 3.00 ERA), Jerad Grundy (1-0, 4.66 ERA) and Corey Littrell (1-0, 2.77 ERA). In the pen, Tim Peterson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) has appeared in a team-best three games, while Alex Phillips (0-0, 0.00 ERA), Sam Mahar (0-0, 0.00 ERA), Chris Garrison (0-0, 3.86 ERA), Walter Wijas (1-0, 5.40 ERA) and Trevor Gott (1-0, 9.00 ERA) have each appeared in two games.
