The UK baseball team beat Mississippi State 5-1 in the SEC tournament quarterfinals Thursday.

Racking up eleven hits on offense, the Cats also got a strong pitching performance from junior Jerad Grundy. In six innings, Grundy gave up just one run on four hits while striking out a career-high nine Bulldog batters.

The UK offense was led by senior Thomas McCarthy, who went 4-5 with three doubles and three runs scored.

The win marks the first time in school history that UK has advanced to the semifinals of the SEC tournament. The Cats will get a day  off tomorrow before taking on LSU/Ole Miss winner at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Many people know that Kentucky has a very thriving horse industry. However, some do not realize that the University of Kentucky has one of the best and most accomplished women’s polo teams in the nation, even though they aren’t fully funded by the athletic administration.

There is an immense amount of effort put forth by both players and staff in order to ensure that the polo program at UK continues to stay strong.

This year, the women’s polo team made it all the way to the regional finals where they ultimately lost. However, they have always been a very strong athletic club and will continue to be strong.

The women’s polo team is a club team, a fact that does not deter potential members from joining the team. “the fact that it is a club team ensures that people are very dedicated to the sport.” former UK polo player Beth LeBow said. Because there are no scholarships available, people are on the team solely because they truly love the sport.” LeBow also states that in 2010, the team won the national championship.

Playing polo at in a city that has an extensive history with horses also presents many advantages for the players. If anyone ever has questions, there are many people who are willing and able to answer the question.

Current UK polo player Annie Hickey has been playing polo for most of her life. Hickey said that most of the young women on the team, “already know how to play, but every year there are four or five people who join just to learn how to ride horses and play.”

Polo is a very expensive sport. Since it is not funded by the athletic administration the team relies on donations. “The majority of the team’s equipment, like saddles and helmets, are donated by polo clubs and other players around Kentucky,” Hickey said.

Players have to pay their own dues, which averages roughly $700 a semester. However, compared to other schools, this is relatively low. Those dues are mainly used to pay for horses. Since the entire team does not travel to games, the players that travel typically cover the majority of their own expenses.

The women’s polo team has also recently upgraded barns. This provides many advantages and will ultimately help further strengthen the program.

A steady combination of consistent performers and new talent helped put the Lexington Legends past the West Virginia Power 4-0 on Wednesday night, cementing a 2-1 series win.

Big for the Legends was starting pitcher Luis Ordosgoitti, now 1-1 on the season. By the time Murilo Gouvea came in to relieve Ordosgoitti, he had pitched seven and one-third innings, allowing only four hits and striking out four batters. He allowed zero earned runs for the game, improving his 8.49 ERA to 5.20 for the season. This follows the current May trend of fantastic Legends pitching; the team ERA for the month being 3.20 through 19 games.

Driving in two runs for Lexington was Matt Duffy, who has been a constant for this team in 2012. On two hits he recorded two RBIs, as well as making some phenomenal defensive plays at third base.

Also performing well on defense was first baseman Jesse Wierzbicki, who joined the Legends on May 22nd, one day prior to the game.

When injuries pulled players out of the lineup, “[Wierzbicki] was the best man available,” said Manager Ivan DeJesus.

Other than one miscommunication that caused Wierzbicki to collide with Ordosgoitti as they both tried to field a pop fly, the new first baseman gave a flawless fielding performance.

Also driving in runs for the Legends were second baseman Delino DeShields Jr. and right fielder Drew Muren, both of whom have batted well for the season and in the series.

The Legends recorded zero errors, while the Power committed two, one of which allowed Matt Duffy to reach first in the 4th inning. That would eventually turn into a run on a Muren sacrifice fly.

West Virginia’s pitchers struggled, with starter Robby Rowland pitching four innings, allowing four hits and two runs, and Porfirio Lopez pitching three and allowing two runs before Rinku Singh came in to finish the game.

The Legends improved to 24-21 on the season, and will travel to North Carolina to take on the Hickory Crawdads, starting at 7:00 p.m. on May 24.

John Calipari announced the return of the North Carolina series on Wednesday, as well as a few other new non-conference games.

The UNC series will return in the 2013-2014 season, to be played at the opposite site of the Louisville series (UNC home, UofL road, vice-versa).

Calipari also announced a 2013-14 men’s and women’s doubleheader with Baylor at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

“…we’re going to pull off another one of those ‘Only at Kentucky’ moments when we do a first-of-its-kind doubleheader with our women’s program at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas…The tickets will be split down the middle for that game, and we hope to set the NCAA attendance record.”

In return, Baylor will come to Lexington to play the Cats in Rupp Arena this coming season.

Also, Calipari said he has been in discussions with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski for a multi-year, neutral site series to be played at various sites around the country.

“The games would take place on the same weekend every year and be THE GAME to watch.”

With all this in place, here is how the non-conference schedule, as far as we know, looks for the next two seasons:

2012-2013 – Maryland (Barclays Center in Brooklyn), Baylor (Home), Louisville (Road), Duke (Georgia Dome) and SEC/Big East Challenge (Road, team TBA)

2013-2014 – Louisville (Home), North Carolina (Road), Michigan State (United Center in Chicago), Baylor (Cowboys Stadium in Dallas)

The Lexington Legends defeated the West Virginia Power 3-2 in a Tuesday night showdown at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Legends improved to 23-21 on the season while the Power dropped to 14-31, the second worst record in the South Atlantic League.

Legends starting pitcher Nick Tropeano “pitched good” according to manager Ivan De Jesus. Tropeano struck out eight batters, including a stretch of four in row, while allowing only one earned run on four hits in six and one-third innings.

“He reached his pitch count, and that’s the reason he came out,” De Jesus added.

Power pitcher Zach Dodson started a bit slower, walking three of the first four batters he faced and allowing the Legends to take the early lead. Dodson calmed down after that striking out five batters himself.

Through six innings, the Legends held a 1-0 lead before allowing the Power to score two runs in the top of the seventh on a double steal and a two-out RBI triple. The Legends answered right back, regaining the lead on Drew Muren’s two-run blast to right field.

“We got the hits when we needed them,” commented De Jesus following the win. “We battled.”

The Power looked to threaten again in the ninth, as a leadoff single and an errant pick off throw put the tying run in scoring position. However closer Jason Chowing came to the rescue, striking out the next three Power batters and getting his eighth save in nine tries.

The Legends look to win the series Wednesday night, first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The UK baseball team opened the SEC tournament Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Ole Miss in Hoover, Ala.

Freshman A.J. Reed threw 5.2 scoreless innings in his first start since April 10.

Coming off three consecutive losses to Mississippi State this past weekend, UK bounced back with a sound game in all aspects of the game. Reed also starred at the plate, banging out a career-high four hits in four at-bats with an RBI and run scored.

Senior starting pitcher Taylor Rogers relieved Reed, his second career relief appearance, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings to complete the shutout.

UK awaits the winner of LSU and Mississippi St. The winner will take on the Cats on Thursday. Game time is to be announced.

UK baseball coach Gary Henderson was named SEC Coach of the Year on Sunday.

In his fourth year as the Cats head coach, Henderson has guided his team to a 41-15 record in which they reached the No. 1 national ranking for the first time in program history.

UK will continue into postseason play on Tuesday when they play Ole Miss in Hoover, Ala. First pitch is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

Entering the final day of the SEC season Saturday, the UK baseball team needed to beat Mississippi St. and get some help from LSU and Florida.

LSU won and Florida lost. The Cats got the outside help they sought. However, they couldn’t take care of their own fate.

Leading 2-0 after three, the Bulldogs got three in the fourth and five in the fifth to run away with the game and the series, 11-2. UK was plagued by three errors which fueled the MSU rallies.

With the loss, UK finished a game behind conference champion, LSU. They received the #4 seed in next week’s SEC tournament.

The Cats opening game of the postseason will begin on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. against Ole Miss. UK took two of three from the Rebels in Lexington in April.

The UK baseball team succumbed to a great pitching performance as they lost their series-opening game 3-1 to Mississippi St. on Thursday.

Bulldogs’ ace Chris Stratton gave up one run and struck out eight in 6.1 innings.

The Cats were led by junior Luke Maile, who had two doubles, one of which led to UK’s only run.

Entering the final weekend of regular season play tied for the lead in the SEC standings, UK now needs to win the final two games of the series in order to take the regular season title. The two other first place teams, USC and LSU, play each other.

Friday night’s game in Starkville starts at 8 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3 (subject to blackout).

The Cats (29-28) open play Friday at 4:30 in Louisville against the Michigan Wolverines (39-15). The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

The Cats lost to Michigan, a team they defeated in the NCAA last season, at the FAU Tournament 0-3 in February.

“Michigan is always a tough matchup. They’re one of the best teams in the nation,” UK head coach Lawson said. “They have a lot of speed. The top of their order is very good. Then they come with a couple of big hitters in the middle of their lineup. They are very diverse.”

Also competing in the double-elimination opening regional are Valparaiso (42-17) and Louisville (53-3). The Cats dropped two games to the Cardinals this year, by scores of 0-1 and 0-2.

“Louisville is a very emotional team. They are doing great right now,” Lawson said. “They have great pitching, their hitters know what to do. They are a good team and they’re playing at home. It is a challenge, but a challenge we like. We like being the underdog. We love that.”

“It’s hard to beat a team three times, so we have an advantage there,” senior pitcher Chanda Bell said.

With a record barely above .500, but an RPI rating in the low 30s the Cats were getting concerned about being selected for the tournament.

“I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone, but in the back of my mind I was a little nervous,” senior Brittany Cervantes said. ” To see our names up there all four years is very exciting for us. It going to be a great regional.”

Lawson was happy for the seniors on the team.

“Any time you can do it four times in a row, it’s great, especially with this senior class. They’re the class that came in and turned everything around for Kentucky softball,” Lawson said. “If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where we would be. We’ve had a lot of good players come through here, but this was the group that made it all gel.”

Lawson said that senior leadership and a strong work ethic has helped the team overcome a slow start to earn the NCAA bid.

The fact that we were able to make that run the last two weeks shows the character of this team,” Lawson said. “The last two weeks was like tournament play. We’ve already experienced that as a group. They never gave up.”

Louisville Regional – May 18-20 at Louisville, Ky.
No. 15 seed Louisville* (53-3) vs. Valparaiso (42-17)
Kentucky (29-28) vs. Michigan (39-15)

NCAA Regional Schedule
Friday, May 18
Game 1 – Kentucky vs. Michigan – 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN3)
Game 2 – Valparaiso vs. Louisville – 7:00 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN3)

Saturday, May 19
Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 1:00 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN3)
Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN3)
Game 5 – Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 – 6:00 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN3)

Sunday, May 20
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 – 1 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN3)
Game 7 – (If necessary) – 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN3)

Ticket Information
Adult All-Session $25.00
Child All-Session $15.00
Student/Senior All-Session $15.00
Adult Single Session $10.00
Child Single Session $7.00
Student/Senior Single-Session $7.00
Group and berm: $5.00 Single Session only

The top-ranked player in the 2013 high school class, Jabari Parker, is featured on this week’s Sports Illustrated cover, which hit newsstands on Wednesday.

A picture of the 6’9″ junior on the shore of Lake Michigan, the cover reads:

“The Best High School Basketball Player Since Lebron James is…

Jabari Parker

But There’s Something More Important to Him Than NBA Stardom:

His Faith”

Rivals.com includes several teams on Parker’s list, including UK, Duke, Kansas, Michigan St. and North Carolina.

Here is the cover and a short exerpt from the Chicago Tribune.

The UK baseball team lost 7-3 to Murray State Tuesday night in their last non-conference game of the season.

After Murray got out to a 2-0 lead, a home run by junior Luke Maile, his team-leading twelfth of the year, tied the game after four innings.

Still tied in the eighth, the Racers got a bases loaded double to break the game open. UK freshman A.J. Reed was tabbed with the loss.

However, the Cats (41-12, 18-9 SEC) focus truly lies on this weekend’s final SEC series with Mississippi St. Entering the weekend tied for first place in the conference standings with LSU and USC, UK needs to take at least two of three to maintain the tiebreaker they hold over both other first place teams.

Game one in Starkville, Miss. is on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

From there, the Cats travel to Starkville, Miss., to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs (31-20, 13-14 SEC) in a Thursday – Saturday three-game series.

Following the series in Starkville, the Cats will immediately travel to Hoover, Ala., for the SEC Tournament.

UK Baseball schedule

Regular Season SEC title and NCAA seeding hang in the balance
The Cats go into the weekend series against Mississippi State with a half-game lead over South Carolina in the East and a full-game lead over West-leading LSU. Those two teams end the season playing each other at South Carolina – also in a Thursday – Saturday series.

Related link: Sec standings

In addition to a second regular-season SEC title in program history, the Cats are also playing for the right to host NCAA regionals and super-regionals. The latest projections by ESPN have the Cats hosting 1st and 2nd round games, but competing on the road beyond that. The Cats need more wins to impress the selection committee and have an more friendly road to the College World Series.

Related link: ESPN baseball bracketology

The Cats are ranking No. 2 the Collegiate Baseball poll, No. 4 by Baseball America and No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

Mahar wins award
UK reliever Sam Mahar won the SEC Freshman of the Week award for his two-save effort last week .

He appeared in three games last week, tossing four shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out three.

Mahar has a 2.75 ERA, with a 3-3 record in the 20 games he has appeared.

The 29-28 Cats will take on the Michigan Wolverines in a region that will be covered by ESPNU on Friday.

UK lost to Michigan early in the season, 3-0, during the Florida Atlantic Tournament.

Julius Mays, a junior transfer from Wright State, committed to UK Sunday night, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com reported.

The tweet from Goodman:

“Julius Mays told CBSSports that he has committed to Kentucky. Has one year left and can play ASAP.”

- @GoodmanCBS

Mays played two years at N.C. State and was reportedly close to UK guard Ryan Harrow, also a former Wolfpack guard, before switching to Wright State before last season.

A 6’2″ combo guard, Mays averaged 14.1 points per game last season, while shooting 42.4 percent from the 3-point line. He had several noteworthy games last season, including 33 points against UIC and 21 points at Florida.

He will help Harrow and freshman Archie Goodwin fill a relatively thin backcourt for the Cats next season.

UK swept Alabama in a double-header Saturday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium to take a half-game lead in the SEC East.

Game One

The Cats took an early lead, before allowing five runs in the sixth and seventh innings. “We gave them four extra outs,” UK head coach Gary Henderson said. “We were fortunate that they didn’t do more damage.”

The Cats bounced back in the bottom of the seventh. Matt Reida led-off the inning with a single, and the team followed his lead providing four more crucial hits that brought in five runs – retaking the lead from Alabama.

Alabama added one in the eighth, but Alabama pitcher Josh Rosencrans walked three straight batters allowing the go-ahead run to score, and giving the Cats the 7-6 win.

“We have a tough group of guys, and I’m very proud to be their coach,” Henderson said when asked about the comeback win.

Game Two

The Cats dominated from start to finish. UK starter Corey Littrell pitched six and two-thirds innings allowing one run and striking out seven Alabama batters.

During the sixth inning the Cats hitting came to life, led by Senior Michael Williams. Williams led-off the sixth with a huge blast over the left field wall that seemed to rejuvenate the rain soaked crowd. The Cats pounded a couple more hits, and an attempted squeeze bunt by senior Thomas McCarthy brought in Adams – giving the Cats a 4-1 lead.

The Cats continued their successful offense in the seventh pounding out 3 more runs including a two-run home run by Junior Brian Adams. Adams was making only his fourth start of his career but really made the most of it.

“ My swing feels the best it’s ever felt,” Adams said following the doubleheader. “ I knew off the bat it felt pretty good, but when I heard it hit off the top of the scoreboard I was pretty pumped.”

Freshman Austin Cousino finished off the scoring, with a home run in the eighth, providing the final score of 8-1.

Cats lead NCAA in wins
The Cats sweep of the Tide provided wins number 40 and 41 on the year, leading the NCAA.

The Cats now head into next week a half-game ahead of South Carolina for first in the SEC East.

“We are in a great position right now, we just have keep playing.” Henderson said .

The Cats will enter next weekend’s series against Mississippi State no worse than tied for first in the SEC East and a chance to win their first conference title since 2006.

UK Men’s team defeated Indiana Saturday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex, advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the third year in a row.

UK scored the doubles point by winning two close matches. The team went on to win three singles matches, beating the Hoosiers 4-0.

“I thought we came out and played our best doubles point of the year,” said UK head coach Dennis Emery. “I thought that really set the tone of the match.”

After losing the first set, UK’s sophomore Tom Jomby made a comeback to defeat IU’s Stephen Vogel, scoring 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Sophomore Grant Roberts defeated Dimitrije Tasic 6-4, 6-3, claiming another win for the Cats.

“I thought we played with a lot more effort, I thought we were playing a better team and that made it tougher,” Emery said, comparing this match with Friday’s 4-0 win against Radford.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better way to go out,” said Senior Eric Quigley (No.3) of his last home match at UK. “I’m really happy and proud of the whole team.”

Quigley, the SEC Player of the Year, was the first r to finish a singles match. He beat Isade Juneau 6-1, 6-0, in a quick 45 minute match. This put his season record at 24-2 and his career record at 167-45.

“He’s probably one of the most productive players we’ve ever had,” Emery said of Quigley. “There’s no way you can describe what he’s done for our program. You know, we had a good culture, but now we have a championship culture.”

The remainder of the NCAA tournament matches will be played in Athens, Ga. UK’s next match is scheduled for May 18.

“It means a lot- Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA is not easy, and to do it three years in a row is pretty impressive,” Quigley said.

Towards the end of a season in which young talent has come up big, it was the veterans that helped UK baseball defeat  Alabama 4-2 Friday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

The Cats were previously 3-5 in series openers in the SEC this season. The fact that they are still near the top of the conference and the top of the NCAA speaks to their ability to climb out of holes to win series, but there was no such hole dug on Friday, as they were able to hold onto an early 4-2 lead behind the arms of junior starting pitcher Taylor Rogers and senior reliever Alex Phillips.

Rogers struggled initially, allowing two hits in the first inning and two runs in the third. He settled down, allowing seven hits and two runs overall, with one walk and four strikeouts over 96 pitches in seven innings pitched. He picked up the win to advance to 6-3 for the season.

Phillips came on in the eighth inning to pick up his sixth save on the season. It was  efficient performance from the  closer, as he threw only six pitches to end the eighth inning, and struck out three straight batters in the ninth to end the game.

Both pitchers had the benefit of pitching to a struggling Alabama lineup, which featured five players batting under .200 for the season.

On offense, the Cats missed an opportunity to score in the first, but succeeded in the second and third innings, scoring two runs in each. Senior third baseman Thomas McCarthy came up big in the bottom of the second. After catcher Luke Maile and designated hitter Michael Williams advanced to scoring position via a walk, an error, and a wild pitch, McCarthy hit a huge two-out double to bring them both in.  The double came after a lengthy at-bat in which eight pitches were thrown.

This was a big game for McCarthy, as his second inning double ended an 0-for-17 batting slump that coincided with a nasty hiccup in the Wildcats’ season, during which SEC series were lost to Vanderbilt and Florida. “Seeing that double drop definitely helps the psyche a little bit,” said McCarthy of his batting performance on Friday. He went on to credit the win to a solid team effort and “getting hot at the right time” with the series-finale win against Florida series and Wednesday’s extra-innings victory at Indiana.

After Maile and second-baseman J.T. Riddle recorded RBI’s in the bottom of the third inning, Alabama starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull was pulled from the mound and replaced by Justin Kamplain. Closer Jay Shaw finished the game for the Tide.

Prior to Friday’s game, the Cats were 15-9 in the SEC, trailing South Carolina and LSU, who shared the best records in the conference at 16-8. All three teams recorded wins to start the weekend and the race remains tight, as it likely will be for the remainder of the season. Wildcats Head Coach Gary Henderson spoke about moving forward into the last games of the season, stating that winning three in a row against Florida, Indiana, and now Alabama allowed the team to “go into [the coming games] with confidence.”

Saturday, May 12, is Senior Day for the Wildcats, with the second game of the Alabama series starting at 2:00 ET. Due to expected rains on Sunday, the third game of the series will also be on Saturday as part of a double-header.

The 29-28 Cats trailed the Bulldogs by five runs when the top of the seventh inning got underway.

Facing a new pitcher, Georgia sophomore Morgan Montemayor, the Cats pounced.

Senior Rachel Riley opened the inning with a single to the left side. Freshman Griffin Joiner mimicked her elder teammate, but each runner advanced on a passed ball.

A double to the gap in right-center by junior Alice O’Brien drove in the two runners to cut UK’s deficit to three runs.

Following the inning’s first out on a groundout, sophomore Ginny Carroll reached on a fielding error by Georgia’s third baseman.

A couple of teases by UK’s batters along the left field foul line kept the opportunities coming. After coming up short on more than one occasion, Bulldogs senior Brittany Hubbard made a diving grab in left field to put Georgia one out away from advancing.

Following the inning’s second passed ball, sophomore Emily Jolly hit a single to the third baseman that scored O’Brien from third to make the score 6-4.

Once the top of the order returned, Georgia reverted back to the game’s starting pitcher senior Erin Arevalo to closeout the game.

Arevalo elected to not pitch around senior Brittany Cervantes, who scored UK’s lone run until the seventh on a solo home run.

Cervantes reached on another single to third, but junior Kara Dill was called out moments later on her chopper to the second baseman.

Sunday’s selection show will determine the fate of UK’s current group of seniors. While they are only a game over .500, the Cats have the No. 32 RPI in the nation.

ESPNU will cover the selection show Sunday at 10 p.m. EST.

Eric Quigley leads the Cats to a 4-0 victory over Radford in the NCAA 1st round

By Holly Brucken

The UK men’s team (27-5) breezed over Radford (20-6) in the first round of the NCAA Championship at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. The victory advances the Cats to the second round where they will face Indiana.

UK secured the doubles point, followed by the first three singles matches, breezing through a 4-0 victory.

“We won three matches fairly comfortably,” said UK head coach Dennis Emery of the match, but asserted that the team needs to play better tomorrow.

Fans enter the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex to watch NCAA first round action

UK junior Anthony Rossi (No. 22) won his match 6-2, 6-0 over Stijn Ogrizek, and sophomore Alejandro Gomez defeated Radford’s Joe Mills 6-2, 6-1.

Senior SEC Player of the Year Eric Quigley (No. 3) defeated Nick Sayer 6-2, 6-1.

“We need to pick up the intensity against Indiana,”  Quigley said, explaining that the team must change their body language, yell to teammates  and be more vocal. “I think we’ll do that pretty well tomorrow.”

“We’ve been the team that we wanted to be all year,” said Emery. “We want to get back to where we have that momentum and we feel like we’re out working the other teams and out competing the other teams.”

UK's Alex Musialek defeated Radford's Igor Ogrizek in the NCAA first round

The Cats will face Indiana on Saturday, a team they previously beat 7-0. That match was more of a challenge than the score shows, however, and the Cats need to go into the match Saturday with improved intensity.

“I don’t think the score reflects how close it was,” said Quigley of this last game.

“We are going to have to do more, one to beat Indiana and we’re going to have to do more if we’re going to achieve our goals,” Emery said.

The second round will be played 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center for a spot in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

“It’s gonna be a battle tomorrow,” Quigley said.

Bracketology - NCAA Tennis style

The UK baseball team recovered from an early deficit to beat Indiana University in 12 innings on Wednesday.

Tied at four entering the twelfth inning, the Cats scored a run on an RBI single by junior Cameron Flynn. But, the Hoosiers answered, scoring on a single to match UK and extend the game.

After a leadoff single in the twelfth, freshman Austin Cousino scored on a balk with two outs to plate the eventual winning run, as the No. 7 Cats won 5-4.

Freshman A.J. Reed pithed 5.1 innings of relief, only giving up one run on four hits with six strikeouts.

The Cats (38-11, 15-9 SEC) welcome Alabama to town this weekend for three game series. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Santos, who played under UK head coach Matthew Mitchell during his tenure as assistant coach at the University of Florida, spent two seasons as assistant coach at the Illinois State Redbirds.

Santos fills the void created when assistant Kyra Elzy left to join the staff at Tennessee.

“This is an exciting time for UK Hoops,” Mitchell said in the release. “Danielle is a versatile coach with many talents but it’s her high character that stands out and makes her immediately valuable to our program. Communication and strong relationships are absolutely essential in our program. Danielle is an excellent communicator and a strong builder of relationships. She has the right kind of energy we need on our staff and I look for her to make a positive impact on the future of UK Hoops. We are happy to welcome her as the newest member of the UK Hoops family.”

Santos was a four-year letter winner at Florida, and began her coaching career in 2006 as an assistant coach at Hofstra University.

“I am extremely proud and honored to be a part of this Wildcat family and the Big Blue Nation,” Santos said in the release. “I have great respect for Coach Mitchell and his staff and how they’ve been able to build Kentucky to one the top programs in the country. The SEC is a special place to me and returning to the league to reunite with Coach Mitchell is an incredible opportunity and I can’t wait to get started.”

Drawing of new UK softball complex

UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart updated the athletics committee of the Board of Trustees on the status on the new softball complex Tuesday morning.

Barnhart said ground should be broken on the new facility by July 1, and that it should be ready for action by next February.

Barnhart said that the Cats will use the new complex to serve as hosts for the 2013 SEC Tournament next May.

“This gives the team a really special place to call home,” Barnhart said.

Related link: Athletics Association votes to dissolve board of directors

Barnhart said that athletes at the university are excelling, “academically, socially and competitively.”

Related link: Athletics Committee members named

He singled out on-the-field performances in men’s and women’s basketball, rifle, baseball, softball and men’s tennis.

Bell detailed the specific components of the NCAA Academic Progress Rate rankings.  She reported that UK and Vanderbilt are the only two SEC schools to not have received a single NCAA APR penalty.

“Every player was here through last Friday, got to class and is doing well academically,” Bell said in reference to UK basketball players that will soon be entering the NBA draft.

We are going through things that no other program in the history of college basketball has gone through. No other program is losing five or six players a year. We are facing issues and having to make decisions with the thought of what’s next and where are we going, which includes our schedule.

When we schedule, there are three factors my staff and our administration must take into consideration: (1) preparing our players for the postseason, (2) our fans and (3) the financial component.

You can read Coach Calipari’s full text here.

What are your thoughts on the proposed changes to the schedule?

UK senior pitcher Chanda Bell pitched a no-hitter Sunday, helping the Cats finish off a three-game weekend sweep over the No. 22 LSU Tigers.

“Oh my goodness,” Bell said when asked about her emotion following the final out, which was a strikeout to secure the no-hitter, the UK 1-0 win and the series sweep. This was Bell’s fourth career no-hitter.

The game was another close one as both pitchers went the distance. LSU starting pitcher Rachel Fico got off to a rough start, after allowing a lead-off double to senior Brittany Cervantes, Fico hit the next batter and then walked the following batter to load the bases with no outs. After that she settled down striking out the next two batters and forcing the third to pop-out to center-field.

There was little offensive production until the sixth inning, when the Cats were finally able to scrap together a run. Freshman catcher Griffin Joiner walked and was knocked in by junior outfielders Alice O’Brien with 2 outs.

The one UK run was all Bell would need. Bell took the mound in the seventh ninning and forced the first two batters to ground out before striking out the third to secure the no-hitter. The win clinched the Cats the fifth seed in the SEC tournament next week in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“Every team in this conference is awesome,” UK head coach Rachel Lawson said. “You have to prepare for every game the same due to the level of competition we will be facing.”

“Perfectly scripted,” Lawson said in characterizing the weekend. “Sweep was great, a first for our program.”

The series win over LSU was the first in program history, and so was the sweep. The Cats will face the Georgia Bulldogs Thursday at 4 p.m. in the first round of the SEC tournament. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

The No.3 UK baseball team rode sophomore starting pitcher Corey Littrell’s left arm to a 2-1 win against the No. 5 ranked Gators at Cliff Hagan Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Littrell described his performance as, “The longest pitching experience of my life.” Littrell threw eight scoreless innings before allowing a lead-off home run in the ninth, allowing nine hits and striking out five on his way to his seventh win of the season.

The win gives the Cats a 15-9 record in conference play, and with South Carolina’s loss on Saturday that puts them only a half-game behind the Gamecocks for first in the SEC East.

“All 11 teams in this conference have gone through a slump, we just hope this is the end of ours so we can gain some momentum heading into the postseason,” UK head coach Gary Henderson said when asked about the Cats’ recent slump.

The game was a pitching battle from the start with both hurlers keeping the game scoreless until the bottom of the fifth. That’s when UK sophomore shortstop Matt Reida drove an single up the middle to bring in Michael Williams, breaking the scoreless tie.

It wasn’t until the eighth inning that the Cats gained their insurance run coming off a couple of errors and some hustle by freshman outfielder Austin Cousino. “The insurance run created a small margin of error, and little more comfort for our guys,” Henderson said. “If we didn’t score that run I don’t send Corey back out there.”

Following the lead-off home run in the ninth, Littrell was replaced by sophomore reliever Trevor Gott. Gott earned the save, which set the record for most saves in a single season (9) by a UK pitcher. “It’s an honor to be among the UK record books,” Gott said, “Honestly I didn’t even know I was close to the record.”

The Cats will next be in action Wednesday as they travel to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers, and return to Lexington next weekend for a three game series against Alabama.

Grundy pitched seven and a third innings, allowing just six hits and two earned runs, but that was all the offense the Gators would need.

“It was probably my best outing of the year,” Grundy said. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the defense, they made an unbelievable amount of plays behind me.”

After exchanging first inning runs, Grundy and Florida starter Karsten Whitson both settled into a groove for much of the game. Karsten last four and two-thirds innings, allowing six hits of his own and just the one first inning run. Steven Rodriguez pitched two perfect innings to close the game and record his second save in as many nights (and his only two saves for the season).

First baseman Luke Maile’s RBI single in the first inning represented UK’s only run on the evening. The Cats had no trouble putting guys aboard, patiently taking walks and choosing their moments to strike base hits. But the Cats stranded a runner in scoring position in five of the first seven innings of the game, failing to take advantage of opportunities the Gators were giving them.

“We missed a bunch of opportunities. We have for about a week now,” Maile said. “If there’s any group of guys that’s going to stick with it, it’s this group. We’re fine, it’s a very small piece of a very big puzzle. We’re just going to try and stay positive.”

Maile said the high number of runners left on base is frustrating, but also shows the team hasn’t been completely shut down offensively. Surely a silver lining and the positive attitude Maile alluded to, but the Cats will need to find some timely hitting if they wish to salvage game three of the weekend series Saturday.

“There’s no magic,” Henderson said. “You just keep showing up, stay as positive as you can, you keep working as hard as you can… You do the absolute basics, that’s all you can do. Stay as positive as you possibly can.”

There are various reasons why a rivalry discontinues. It can be money, controversy, a coaching feud or one team simply isn’t very good anymore.

None of those reasons explain what happened today.

Next year’s college basketball season will be the first in 43 years that doesn’t feature a UK-IU game. The rivalry between the two storied programs was postponed after the two sides failed to agree on whether to play the games on campus or at neutral sites for the next two years.

Whether it’s true or not, UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart said today that the two sides “verbally agreed in principle” to play on neutral courts for the next two seasons, a fact IU failed to disclose.

This is a conclusion that has been plausible in many people’s minds ever since Christian Watford sent Bloomington into euphoria last December.

But, what this decision ultimately shows is a status difference between the two programs.

Under the direction of John Calipari, UK has been to three straight Elite Eights, back-to-back Final Fours and are a month removed from winning its eighth National Championship.

They have nothing to prove to anybody. If Calipari doesn’t want to play in Bloomington in 2014, he won’t. It’s as simple as that.

IU, on the other hand, is on their way back up. After a decade of mediocrity, the Hoosiers made a Sweet 16 run last season and return almost everyone to a team projected to be No. 1 in the country at the start of next season. They long for teams like UK to play them in their gym; it’s the verification they need that they’re back among the elite of college basketball.

But, are the Cats scared of the Hoosiers? Did UK discontinue this rivalry because they are afraid IU will trample them mercilessly for years to come?

Not exactly.

But there is one clear point to make here: Assembly Hall is the only arena, the only one, that Calipari knows his fans can’t dominate.

The IU fans were incredible last December. The school did a great job of making sure they kept the blue out. That game  was the only really hostile environment the Cats played in all year.

With the platform he has in Lexington, Calipari knows he doesn’t have to accept that.

And clearly, he won’t.

They say they’ll revisit the issue in the future, but I don’t see it happening soon. IU wants that big game in Assembly Hall. They need it. The city lives for those games. They want nothing to do with a game in Indianapolis.

But, UK doesn’t need to play in Assembly Hall. They would rather collect the big paycheck from a neutral site game and be done with it. They don’t want Dec. 10, 2011, to happen ever again.

That’s where the series lies. Two sides, with two very different agendas, trying to play a game for very different reasons.

And I’d be shocked if that changes any time soon.

UK freshman Anthony Davis and President Barack Obama hold up the first UK national championship ring made, presented to Obama as a gift during the UK National Championship Celebration in the East Room of the White House, in Washington D.C., May 4, 2012. Photo by Brandon Goodwin | Staff

By Becca Clemons

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said when he filled out his bracket on ESPN, he had UK in the championship game, but was skeptical because so many freshmen were in the starting lineup.

“Michael Kidd-Gilchrist couldn’t even vote yet,” he said.

Obama chose North Carolina to win the title, but he redeemed himself before a Big Blue audience Friday at the White House, with jokes about freshman Anthony Davis’ height and the fact that senior Darius Miller could have a good chance at winning the Kentucky governor’s seat.

Obama said this year’s Cats were successful in winning the program’s eighth national title because they played as a team. He said Davis was a prime example of that cohesiveness, as he was named most valuable player without shooting a lot of field goals.

But, he said, that’s what happens when you grow 8 inches between your sophomore and senior years of high school.

“In fact, he has grown an inch since he got to the White House. … Just got a new suit.”

The president also added to head coach John Calipari’s joke that Miller — the first UK player to be named Mr. Basketball, win a high school state championship and win a national title with UK — would “do all right in Kentucky” if he decided to run for governor.

Obama recognized Miller and fellow senior Eloy Vargas for getting their diplomas Sunday and for participating in community service around Lexington and around the state.

A beaming Calipari said his players, immediately following their eighth championship win, weren’t saying, “We did it! We won!” but rather “We’re going to the White House!”

“Because they wanted to meet you,” Calipari told Obama.

Miller presented Obama with a No. 1 jersey — his for four years — that has the president’s name on the back. Senior Eloy Vargas gave Obama a ball signed by all the team’s members. Davis gave Obama a national championship ring.

About his ESPN bracket, Obama said: “And what I’ve learned is that if I make the right picks, I look like a genius. But if things go the other way, then a team like Kentucky gets to come to my house and remind me, in person, that I was wrong.”

As the team exited, the audience erupted into the familiar “C-A-T-S” chant. This year’s Cats temporarily made the White House their home.

See a video from the White House YouTube account below: