[B][I]Wildcats Put 21-Game Winning Streak to Test in First of Four-Game Road Swing[/I][/B]
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Off to the best start in school history and sitting just two wins shy of equaling the Southeastern Conference record for the most consecutive wins, No. 2 Kentucky puts its streak on the line in a midweek tilt at Cincinnati, with first pitch on Wednesday set for 4 p.m. ET at Marge Schott Stadium.
Kentucky (21-0, 3-0 SEC) is just two wins away from equaling the SEC record for the longest winning streak, set during LSU’s 2009 NCAA Championship run, a 23-game span. A win at Cincinnati on Wednesday would tie UK for the second-longest streak in the storied history of the conference, as South Carolina ran up a 22-game streak in 2000.
The game will be broadcast live on the UK IMG Radio Network, with the Voice of UK Baseball, Neil Price, calling the action. Fans in Lexington can hear the game live on WGVN 1580-AM and online at UKathletics.com.
UK will send freshman right-hander Chandler Shepherd (1-0, 3.10 ERA) to the mound for his third career start. Shepherd is coming off five shutout innings in a start vs. Murray State last Wednesday at Cliff Hagan Stadium, a 2-1 UK win. In his first three career starts with four appearances, Shepherd has tossed 14.1 innings, with five walks and nine strikeouts. Cincinnati has yet to announce a starter for Wednesday.
UK’s 21-game winning streak has eclipsed the previous school-record of a 19-0 opening to the 2007 and 2008 campaigns. The Wildcats set the new school-record with their historic sweep of the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks – the two-time defending NCAA Champions – over the weekend. UK stands alone as the only unbeaten team in the nation, leading the NCAA in wins.
On Monday, UK’s weekend sweep and 21-0 start was honored throughout the nation, as Kentucky moved up as high as No. 2 in the latest weekly polls. Collegiate Baseball tabbed UK No. 2, while the USA Today/ESPN coaches top-25 had UK No. 6, Baseball America ranked UK No. 16 and No. 13 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America top-30. UK’s No. 2 national ranking is its highest since Collegiate Baseball tabbed UK No. 2 on March 17, 2008. In addition, UK freshman two-way standout A.J. Reed was named SEC Freshman of the Week after two wins on the mound and a .526 (10-for-19) average during UK’s 5-0 week.
Kentucky has been paced by the most prolific offense in the nation, as UK enters the week ranked as the NCAA leader in on-base percentage (.433), ranking fifth in slugging (.497), third in OPS (.930), fifth in runs scored (172), seventh in hits (235), 10th in doubles (47), sixth in total bases (351) and second in hit batters (43). UK has the No. 4 overall RPI in the nation according to the latest projections on BoydsWorld.com.
The Wildcats have hit a league-leading .333 as a team, with 21 homers through 21 games, stealing 24 bases. On the mound, UK has a 2.95 ERA, with five saves in 189 innings, striking out 200. UK is fielding at a .978 clip, ranking third-best in the SEC.
Individually, UK has been led by a host of hot bats, including outfielder Zac Zellers’ team-high .393 average, adding six doubles, one triple, three homers and 11 RBI. Reed has hit .386 with seven doubles, two homers and a club-best 28 RBI. Freshman centerfielder Austin Cousino owns a .382 average with nine doubles, one triple, one homer and 14 RBI, while catcher Luke Maile owns a .360 mark with five doubles, five homers and 27 RBI, anchoring the middle of the lineup. Reed currently leads the lineup with a 12-game hitting streak.
On the mound, UK’s weekend rotation of Taylor Rogers (4-0, 4.03 ERA), Jerad Grundy (3-0, 2.73 ERA) and Corey Littrell (2-0, 2.45 ERA) has thrived through five starts. In the bullpen, UK has been paced by a pair of dominating right-handers, with Tim Peterson (2-0, 0.87 ERA) appearing in a club-best 11 games, striking out 16 and allowing only six hits in 10.1 innings. Trevor Gott (1-0, 2.08 ERA) has five saves in 10 relief outings, striking out 16 in 8.2 innings. Junior Walter Wijas (2-0, 4.97 ERA), left-hander Alex Phillies (2-0, 2.40 ERA) and lefty Sam Mahar (0-0, 1.93 ERA) have each appeared in at least eight games.
Cincinnati (8-9, 0-0 Big East) has hit .282 as a team through 17 games, with eight homers, a 63-136 walk-strikeout ratio and 30 stolen bases. On the mound, UC has a 3.89 ERA as a staff, with four saves in 155 innings, walking 55 and striking out 134, fielding .973 as a club. The Bearcats have played some Big Ten programs, facing Indiana, Purdue, Penn State and Michigan State through the early non-conference slate.
Individually, UC has been paced at the plate by Justin Glass, who owns a .408 average with five doubles, eight RBI and nine steals. Joey Bielek has hit .373 with seven doubles, and 13 RBI, while Jake Proctor has a .284 average with two homers and a team-leading 18 RBI, stealing eight bags.
In the bullpen, Thomas Gentile (1-0, 1.64 ERA) has appeared in six games with 25 strikeouts in 22 innings. Zach Isler (0-1, 2.00 ERA) leads the club with eight relief outings, saving three games in nine innings, walking four and striking out 10. Cory Hough (0-0, 1.50 ERA) has appeared in seven games in relief, with Jason Pascuzzi (0-0, 2.16 ERA) and Matthew Lathuras (0-0, 5.87 ERA) each making six relief outings.
In the meeting last year, UK posted a 4-2 win, as the Wildcats plated single runs in the second and fifth innings for a 2-1 lead. UK added two runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 4-1 lead, with UC plating a run in the ninth and brining on UK’s Braden Kapteyn to close the game with three strikeouts. UK started Littrell, who worked six innings, allowing eight hits and one run, walking two and striking out four. Thomas Gentile started for UC< going six innings, allowing six hits and two runs, walking four with four strikeouts. UK was led at the plate by Riddle, who went 3-for-4, with Williams adding a 3-for-4 game with a triple and double. [B][U]Records[/U][/B] Kentucky – 21-0, 3-0 SEC Cincinnati – 8-9, 0-0 Big East [B][U]Rankings[/U][/B] Kentucky: No. 2 (Collegiate Baseball), No. 6 (USA Today/ESPN coaches), No. 13 (NCBWA), No. 16 (Baseball America) Cincinnati: not ranked [B][U]Schedule (times Eastern and subject to change) – Cincinnati, Ohio[/U][/B] Wednesday, March 21 * at Cincinnati * 4 p.m. [B][U]Radio (UK IMG Radio Network with Dick Gabriel)[/U][/B] Wednesday: WGVN 1580-AM in Lexington, online at UKathletics.com [B][U]Internet Coverage[/U][/B] Live audio and stats on UKathletics.com [B][U]Tentative Pitching Matchups[/U][/B] [B]Wednesday at Cincinnati[/B] Fr., RHP Chandler Shepherd (1-0, 3.10 ERA) vs. TBA
