Cody’s strong outing helps UK bury Xavier

By Kevin Erpenbeck

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The 2015 season hasn’t gone quite the way UK junior Kyle Cody envisioned it would. The right-hander was named a third-team preseason All-American and was rated as the 19th-best prospect available in the MLB Draft at the beginning of the year.

But since then, Cody has logged a six-plus earned run average and watched as opposing hitters smacked a .280 batting average against him. The starter’s year-long struggle resulted in his demotion from the weekend-starter job.

That’s why getting a strong outing on Tuesday against Xavier was so important to Cody.

“Obviously, those numbers are not what I’m capable of,” Cody said. “I just had to go out there and prove it and prove to my teammates that I can go out and have (good) outings.”

And prove it he did. Cody allowed just one hit and a walk over four scoreless innings as UK topped Xavier 6-1 for its fourth consecutive win.

“Nice to get a midweek win. Really nice to see Kyle go out and pitch well for four innings,” head coach Gary Henderson said. “He just had a little bit of a hiccup there for a couple of outings. But he’ll be right back doing what he needs to do.”

In his previous four appearances, Cody was tagged with 18 total runs while giving up five home runs. But a pitching performance like Tuesday goes a long way in curing all ails.

“Big confidence booster for me being able to go out there and put up some zeroes,” Cody said. “Haven’t really been able to do that in the past month or so, but I’m trying to get on the right track here. Tonight was the start of what I would say is getting on the right track.”

UK got a zero spot from five of its six pitchers on Tuesday, holding the Musketeers to just six hits in the game. The only blemish for the Cats came in the fifth inning when junior right-hander Taylor Martin allowed a run on three hits and a walk in his short appearance after relieving Cody.

But fellow junior Dylan Dwyer was able to come in and get the Cats out of a bases-loaded jam, preserving UK’s lead.

“We walked a couple of guys out of the bullpen, but for the most part, we came in and threw strikes and got outs,” Henderson said. “Obviously Dylan Dwyer did a great job. To get (Zach) Strecker to come in and get three outs on nine pitches, and Zach Pop come in and retire the side in ten. Good night for the ‘pen.”

Ka’ai Tom added his support at the plate, going 3-for-4 on the day while collecting an RBI. JaVon Shelby also recorded an RBI, while Storm Wilson and Kyle Barrett had two apiece.

UK (23-16, 8-9 SEC) will carry its winning confidence into Gainesville, Fla., when it takes on No. 6 Florida on Friday.

“Been a while since we’ve won four in a row,” Henderson said. “Confidence will start with starting pitching. If we get good starting pitching, we’ll maintain our confidence.”