Baseball hosts Morehead State
April 8, 2014
STAFF REPORT
Fresh off of a weekend series win over Florida, UK baseball will take to the field again Tuesday as it hosts Morehead State.
No. 12 UK (22-10, 6-6 SEC) scored 36 runs against SEC foe Florida en route to two wins against the top-15 team. Over the season, the Cats are 7-4 against top-15 teams, with three of the wins coming against No. 1 teams.
A.J. Reed, the SEC Player of the Week and Midseason National Player of the Year, and the Cats accounted for 50 hits against a Florida team that entered the game with a 2.94 earned run average. Out of the 50 hits were 15 extra-base hits and seven home runs, three of which came from Reed.
Morehead State (15-16) will have a tough task as it faces Reed and UK, the SEC leader in batting average (.318), slugging (.476), runs (284), home runs (30) and runs batted in (247).
The Eagles head into Cliff Hagan Stadium off of a series win against Eastern Kentucky, but will face the daunting task of corralling the Cats’ offense.
Morehead State’s pitching staff has a combined 6.37 ERA and has allowed 18 home runs.
Standing in front of the Eagles is a UK lineup led by juniors Reed and Austin Cousino. Reed leads the team with a .377 average, 12 home runs and 39 RBIs. Cousino is batting .355 with three home runs and 25 RBIs.
Senior catcher Micheal Thomas has hit .349 with six home runs and 33 RBIs. Junior third basemen Max Kuhn has belted four home runs and driven in 30 runs to go with his .333 average.
Throughout the Cats’ lineup are hitters who can change the course of the game. Junior Thomas Bernal has been on a tear, hitting .333 with 15 RBIs. Freshman JaVon Shelby hit .500 with seven RBIs last week.
The Eagles will rely on junior lefty Luke Schneider (1-2, 6.60 ERA) to slow down UK. The Cats will counter with sophomore lefty Ryne Combs (1-1, 3.54 ERA).
First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
