Before the season, there was much ado about the head coaching change for UK’s baseball team. Gary Henderson in, John Cohen out. Change was coming.
Small ball, reliance on pitching and a whole new look seemed to be the outlook for the 2009 season. If the first eight games are any indication, we were all fooled.
The Cats have scored five runs or less only twice — both losses. In their last two games, UK used a power seventh inning to sweep Western Michigan in three games over five days and a walk-off home run Wednesday to defeat Eastern Kentucky.
Small ball, huh?
Oh, and that reliance on pitching, balanced on All-Southeastern Conference pitcher Chris Rusin, doesn’t look so hot either. Rusin is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two games and stud freshman pitcher Alex Meyer has a 7.84 ERA.
That 6-2 conference record seems retro as well, both losses are from No.22 Coastal Carolina, a flashback from the past few years, where the Cats beat anyone except ranked teams.
That’s what the early return on UK baseball looks like. But that’s not how UK baseball is going to finish.
With three games canceled so far this season and the cold weather still hovering over Lexington, the Cats are just starting to shake off the winter rust. Half of the starters are either freshmen or are experiencing their first season starting for the Cats.
The sky isn’t falling and the UK baseball team is hardly in any groove — good, bad or ugly. It’s early.
Wait until the Cats travel down to Baton Rouge, La., to kick-off their SEC slate before any assumptions can be made. If the pitching isn’t solid, if the games are still as tight as Wednesday’s against EKU, then the wailing can begin.
Because once basketball finally ends its misery, that’s when the worrying about the baseball team can occur.
The newcomers are coming along just fine. Thursday’s walk-off home run was hit by sophomore infielder Chris Bisson, who spent the majority of last year on the bench. Freshman Cory Farris is hitting .310 with seven RBI, and senior utility player Spencer Korus, who hasn’t seen much more than spot duty during his time as a Cat, is hitting .400 and has seen action in all eight games. On the mound, juniors Tyler Henry and James Paxton are leading the charge.
It’s too early to give any definite answers on this year’s baseball team. The early returns are a little worse than in years past, but Henderson also decided to book a tougher opening schedule.
The idea was that the harder opening schedule would prepare UK for an SEC run. In a week, we’ll find out if Henderson’s plan was spot on.
Kenny Colston is a journalism junior. E-mail kcolston@kykernel.com.
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