By Joshua Huff

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The start of the spring semester may carry over the frigid winter climate, but it also ushers in the prospect of warm weather and with that the start of the UK baseball and softball season.

As the UK baseball and softball teams gear up for a new season in 2015, both can reflect on a 2014 season that was one for the record books. The baseball team earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament after missing it in 2013; they squared off against Kent State, Kansas and Louisville in the Louisville Regional. Though the tournament was short-lived for the Cats (lost to Louisville in the regional final), their run through the SEC Tournament (making it to the semifinal as a No. 9 seed) and the rise of the National Player of the Year of first baseman/pitcher A.J. Reed churned out numerous headlines during the season.

Not to be outdone, the softball team ended the season with their highest final season rankings in program history as they roared through the NCAA Tournament in route to their first-ever appearance in Women’s College World Series.

Despite a heartbreaking loss to Baylor that eliminated UK from the World Series, the Cats ended the season ranked at No. 6 after defeating 15 ranked teams in 2014.

However, a new season brings new expectations to both teams in 2015. UK baseball brings in a recruiting class ranked No. 14 by Collegiate Baseball, replacing the key departures of Reed, center fielder Austin Cousino, third baseman Max Kuhn, catcher Micheal Thomas and pitcher Chandler Shepherd, all of whom were drafted to the MLB. This year’s recruiting class has four players that were drafted by the MLB, but chose to play at UK this season.

Heading the class is junior right-handed pitcher Dustin Beggs and freshmen right-handed pitchers Justin Lewis and Zach Pop.

The key for the Cats will be replacing Reed. The dual-threat junior led the NCAA in homeruns (23), slugging (.735) and on-base plus slugging (1.211). Reed was just as dominant on the mound with a 12-2 record and a 2.09 earned run average. The next man up for the weekend starting role will be junior Louisville Slugger third-team preseason All-American Kyle Cody. He posted a 4-0 record for UK in 2014 and tore through the Cape Cod League during the summer where he finished eighth in strikeouts and 10th in ERA.

Facing a much different dilemma will be a UK softball team that is returning key components from the 2014 season. A tough schedule awaits the Cats as they play 40 games against teams that finished in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI in 2014. The return of junior right-handed pitcher Kelsey Nunley alleviates some of the pressure, as she had a 30-11 record along with a 1.88 ERA last season. Nunley also led the Cats in the postseason as she won all 10 games she started.

Her counterpart on offense, senior infielder Lauren Cumbess, is coming off a 2014 campaign in which she earned the Offensive Player of the Year award. Replacing her bat will be key for the Cats as they enter this season. Senior catcher Griffin Joiner, named one of the three captains of 2015, will be the leading candidate to do so. Joiner hit 10 home runs and 39 RBIs last season while also earning a Defensive All-SEC award.

With those key cogs in place, a return to the World Series is more than a possibility, it is an expectation.