UK baseball sweeps Eastern Michigan
March 3, 2014
By Kevin Erpenbeck
The cold temperature over the weekend did not cool down the UK bats as the Cats swept Eastern Michigan University in their first home series of the season.
Building off of an 8-2 series-opening victory on Friday, No. 30 UK (9-2) blasted the Eagles with 22 runs in a doubleheader on Saturday, continuing their hot start to the season.
Sophomore outfielder Ka’ai Tom said he noticed some changes in the approach of the Eastern Michigan pitchers as they were adapting from Friday’s game.
“They were going changeup a lot from the outside in the last game,” Tom said. “They mixed it up today, going fastball on the inside and outside (of the plate). So I just sat on the fastball and it came my way.”
He finished with three RBIs on the game and went 2-for-4 from the plate.
The game was put further out of reach for the Eagles as the Cats scored three more runs in the seventh inning, eventually winning 9-5.
Junior pitcher Chandler Shepherd had a dominate game of his own, throwing a career-high eight innings on the day while allowing three unearned runs.
Shepherd, who has become a regular weekend starter this season, said he feels stronger in his delivery with each start notched under his belt.
“It’s a thing of just being older and conditioning longer since I’ve been here,” Shepherd said. “Getting more innings under me and throwing more … I’m getting stronger as the season goes on.”
The second game saw the Cats get off to a quick start, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. They continued to pour on the offense in the third inning by adding four more runs, capped off with a two-run homer by senior A.J. Reed. It was his SEC-leading seventh home run of the year.
UK would complete the sweep with a final score of 13-2.
Head coach Gary Henderson said he has been impressed with his team’s dominance at the plate, but knows success will not always come so easy later on.
“It was a good weekend for us and certainly a good doubleheader,” Henderson said. “We’ve got a lot of guys seeing (the ball) well and putting good swings on it. When league-play rolls around, you’re going to see a different level of arm and competence with more experienced opposing pitchers. It’ll be tough, but we’re in a good place right now.”
The Cats will travel to the University of Cincinnati on Tuesday as part of a home-and-home series with the Bearcats.
