By Derek Terry

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UK baseball (9-3) is riding a seven game winning streak heading into this weekend’s four-game home stand with UMass, who has yet to play a game this season.

The Cats matchup with Wright State on Wednesday was canceled due to inclement weather, making it the fifth home game this year the team had to either suspend or cancel.

Led by strong starting pitching performances from freshmen left-handers Zach Logue and Brad Schaenzer on Tuesday, UK was able to keep the runs at a premium against Murray State, sweeping the Racers at home.

Logue went 6.2 innings in his first-ever start on the mound, allowing four hits and one run while striking out seven in 107 pitches. The freshman was able to earn his first win of the season with the outing as the Cats topped Murray State 4-1 in Game One.

Schaenzer threw 70 pitches for his first career start during Game Two, allowing five hits and one run while striking out three. The left-hander wasn’t able to pick up the win, however, because the score was tied 1-1 when he was brought out of the game after the fifth inning. UK rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Racers later on.

Junior catcher Zach Arnold was the star at the plate for the Cats, delivering a runs-batted-in-double in the first game to get UK on the board first. He later came on to provide the go-ahead run in the second game on a pinch-hit double down the left field line to score sophomore shortstop Connor Heady.

Junior centerfielder Kyle Barrett also had a productive series as he extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a four-hit performance on the day. Freshman first baseman Evan White extended his own hitting streak to 11 games at the end of Game One, but had it snapped when he left the second game due to a sore hamstring.

UMass has seen its own version of schedule changes this year as its slated March 3 season opener against Central Connecticut was canceled as well.

According to UMass’ athletic website, left-hander Conor LeBlanc is set to start on the mound in the first game of the series against the Cats on Friday. The senior started 13 games last season, finishing with a 3-3 record and an earned run average of 3.98.

First pitch is set for 5 p.m. on Friday.