Down and out Xavier may help Cody improve
Sophomore pitcher Kyle Cody celebrates the win following the game between the University of Kentucky baseball team vs. University of Louisville at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Ky.,on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. Photo by Michael Reaves
April 21, 2015
By Derek Terry
Fresh off its first SEC series sweep in three seasons, UK baseball will need to lean on its offense to avoid a let down on Tuesday against a struggling Xavier team.
The Cats rank fourth in the SEC in hitting with an average of .300 through 38 games under first-year hitting coach Rick Eckstein.
One of the big reasons the Cats are ranked so high offensively is because of centerfielder Kyle Barrett. The junior lefty is batting .370 on the season, but is hitting .392 through 17 league games. His 61 hits on the season is also good for second place overall in the conference, leaving him just four hits behind league- leader Anfernee Grier of Auburn.
Barrett said the play against Xavier needs to focus on mental sharpness.
“We have to come in with the same mindset that we had against Tennessee,” Barrett said. “We have to be hungry. I believe we’re throwing Kyle Cody and he’s going to come out and do what he does best.”
UK will look to get Cody back on the right track after having some difficulties in his last few appearances. The junior right-hander has not pitched since April 12 in a loss to Arkansas. He was given the loss after lasting just 2.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits.
Cody is 2-4 on the season with a 6.37 earned run average. His last win was on March 8 against Northern Kentucky in a game where he pitched seven innings and struck out eight batters.
Despite Cody’s struggles, Barrett still knows that the pitcher is capable of turning it around.
“Kyle’s a great pitcher. I still have all the faith in the world of him. He just needs to go out there and have fun. I believe that he’s been thinking about things too much and pitching against Xavier is going to help him out a lot,” Barrett said. “It’ll give him some more confidence to get back to the way he was pitching last summer and the way he had in previous years. Hopefully it’ll get him mentally ready to get back into weekend games because he’s definitely one of the best pitchers in the country regardless and I believe in him, he just needs to believe in himself.”
Xavier enters Tuesday’s game losers of 13 of its last 15 games. Playing on the road is nothing new for the Musketeers as 25 of their 39 games have been away from Hayden Field. They hold a 5-20 record in those games.
First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
