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.

McAlister’s and Graeter’s have had an impact on more than just their customers. While the restaurants have been experiencing success in their new locations, local businesses have been enjoying the increased foot traffic the two stores bring to the area as well.

McAlister’s

The location on the corner of Euclid and High has been occupied by many different companies, but none of them ever really stuck. This is until a group of investors got together and brought the famous McAlister’s deli to Lexington.

This is the first McAlister’s to open in the Lexington area, but not the last. The investment group intends on expanding in Central Kentucky with an overall goal of having six stores, according to Jason Nickel, the restaurants general manager.

Nickel said that their store prides themselves on customer service and how they attempt to optimize the customers dining experience.

Known for their “World Famous Sweet Tea” McAlister’s is also known for having incredible menu items, such as the stuffed spud, a potato filled with various toppings.

The general response during the opening months was very positive. “It was overwhelming. The first month of business for us was crazy, we only have 100 seats, but during the lunch rush we were packing out at around 140 people at a time” Nickel said.

Curt Vernon, 28, is a fan of the popular deli, and a regular customer. “McAlister’s is to the Lexington restaurant scene what Anthony Davis has been to Kentucky Basketball, redemption,” Vernon said.

In addition, you can try the Southwest Chicken Griller or the Reuben sandwich.

“We are happy to be a member of the Chevy Chase area and are very glad to be here” Nickel said.

Graeters

Right next door to McAlister’s is another local favorite, Graeter’s ice cream.

Graeter’s ice cream parlor returned to Lexington with an overwhelming response from the public. Since all of the stores had left town, there had been a desire to bring the franchise back to Lexington. Graeter’s reopened in March and according to Shawn Rose, a Graeter’s employee, the response has been fabulous.

According to Rose, there has been a constant rush and people have been overwhelmingly supportive of their business. The store has been well received by other shops in the Chevy Chase area.

Black raspberry chip tends to be the most popular flavor ice cream. “Every time I get to eat black-raspberry-chip my day gets a little bit better” Brenn Arbra, 20, said.

“We are just glad to be back, the response from our customers has been outstanding,” Rose said. The Lexington public will be pleased during these upcoming summer months to be able to get a cold ice cream treat.

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)

Summer is the season of relaxation, recreation and entertainment.

During this time of the year, many UK students elect to stay in Lexington to take classes, find jobs or simply as an excuse to avoid going home.

Whatever the situation, finding ways to stay active and engaged can sometimes be challenging.

However, there are numerous ways to stay active in Lexington and on campus during the summer.

One opportunity students have is to spend their afternoons at the Arboretum, which is 100-acres of botanical gardens with walking paths. It is located on Alumni Drive right behind Commonwealth Stadium.

The gardens and paths are open year-round from dawn to dusk no matter the weather.

Emma Trester-Wilson, an employee at the Arboretum, said the most common age group varies.

“We see babies in strollers all the way up to their grandparents,” she said.

The main walking and fitness path is two miles long.

“With admission into the Arboretum being free, there is no better way to spend a beautiful day outside enjoying Mother Nature while getting exercise and being active,” said Arboretum veteran Julie Collette.

An alternative to the Arboretum is the Johnson Center, located on the south campus of the university. It is open during the summer months.

The fitness class schedule is posted on its website.

The Johnson Center offers numerous types of fitness classes. Outdoor boot camp is being offered in the summer four-week session outside the fitness studio in rain or shine, on Monday evenings and Friday mornings.

Cathy Rose, facilities director for the JC, said there will be another group fitness schedule posted online after June 3 for the eight-week summer session.

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.

Tryouts were held for the UK dance team earlier this month, deciding the two teams for next year’s season.

The program selects a group of girls to fill both the blue squad, which attends all football and men’s basketball games, and the white squad, which attend all football and women’s basketball games.

“Now that we are nationally ranked in pom and hip-hop, those types of dancers are starting to come here,” said head coach Dawn Walters. “This year we had a lot of extremely talented dancers, which made it hard to cut half of them to make the two teams.”

In order to tryout for the teams, dancers had to submit a video of themselves dancing. Dancers also could have received a “video by pass,” which are given to dancers who attend clinics throughout the year so that they don’t have to send in a video.

Between video, “video by pass” and previous squad members, the tryout started with 110 girls, cutting down to 80 for in-person tryouts.

Walters said there were enough talented dancers to make three teams.

The blue squad consists of 23 dancers and the white squad has 24, totaling 47 UK dance team members.

“Both teams will be amazing and we are excited to get the year started,” Walters said.

Christie Horan, a third year returning member of the blue squad and UK junior, said they have had great teams in the past.

“But the amount of talent joining each team this year is outstanding,” Horan said. “My UK dance journey keeps getting better and better.”

The teams will be dancing at all home football halftime shows, along with endzone timeouts.

“During the past several years, the teams have been able to get more involved with the university and at games,” Walters said. “We also have received a great response from the university, earning more respect and gaining more fans.”

Car doors slam in the parking lot surrounding UK’s Commonwealth Stadium and passengers are quickly confronted with a sea of hot-pink t-shirts and Smashmouth’s hit “All Star” blaring through a large set of amps.

As the tune segues into Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” photographers snap shots of girls with short tulle tutus over their shorts, spray-painting their ponytails in a variety of colors.

All this excitement before 7:30 a.m. this past Saturday.

The scene was Girls on the Run of Central Kentucky’s Spring 5k, and it was just getting warmed up – pun intended.

Girls on the Run is an organization focused on “educating and preparing girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living,” according to the Central Kentucky chapter’s website. Also called GOTR, the organization was started in Charlotte, N.C. in 1996 by four-time Hawaii Ironman triathlete Molly Barker.

Barker also counseled, specifically addressing factors affecting women such as depression, eating disorders and alcohol and substance addictions, according to the site.

The programs offered by GOTR are available for third to fifth-grade girls, and a portion called Girls on the Track is available for sixth to eighth-grade girls, Heidi Guckenberger, Council Director for GOTR Central Kentucky, said. Different programs are offered for girls of different age groups because of the program’s overall focus.

“It’s (GOTR) not just running,” Guckenberger said. “It’s also basic skills the girls need to not give in to peer pressure and bullies in junior high.”

Guckenberger added that she believes that GOTR is especially needed at that particular age range of the girls’ lives because they “face gossip and bullies every day.” A portion of her job is to coordinate teams within schools and community centers in the Central Kentucky area.

The 5k event serves as an end-of-season hurrah for the girls that participated during the 12-week program. To complement this idea, the atmosphere is nothing short of a party for the girls.

Around 8 a.m., registration for Saturday’s event was closing and the young runners were prepping for the 5k.

Near the race registration tent, a group of girls asked each other what music they will listen to while they run. Three girls quickly repiedy in unison, “Justin Bieber!”

The next step in preparation was to come together as a group and do the GOTR cheer. A high-pitched chorus of “Girls on the Run is so much fun! Girls on the Run is number one!” echoed across the parking lot before girls walked parade-style across it with decorated posters bearing the names of their teams.

Teams, along with their coaches and running buddies, approached the start line as a bass-filled version of the “Rocky” theme song played.

Coaches “motivate, educate and inspire” girls during the 12-week program, according to the website. Head coaches lead the twice-weekly, hour-long programs.  Running buddies attend as many sessions as possible, and are paired with a particular runner to encourage them to achieve their goal during the race.

GOTR is always looking for new volunteers to fill these positions. Forms to apply are located on the website at http://gotrcentralky.org/volunteer-info/. Guckenberger said internships are available, and University of Kentucky students would be great applicants to potentially fill these spots.

As the girls lined up near their running buddies and coaches, a couple balloons escaped the pink-and-green balloon arch that the runners started and finished beneath. Girls of all ages chatted with one another near the starting line, showing the program’s unity.

Guckenberger believes the work done by GOTR positively affects the girls that participate, and it shows in the fact that many program participants are returning members.

“We are in our eighth season and there are girls that have been here every season,” Guckenberger said.

After the race began and runners turned left to round the stadium, volunteers and coordinators alike seemed to sigh a small breath of relief. The hard work put into the past 12 weeks finding sponsors, promoting the event and ultimately working to empower the girls clearly came to fruition when the girls crossed back under the balloon arch. Sometimes out of breath, but always smiling.

Guckenberger says she fell in love with GOTR after being a coach for only one year. She knows the aims of the program focus on bettering the lives of young girls and teaching them to grow up mentally and physically strong.

GOTR costs $150 per girl, but 75 percent of the girls are on scholarships. Scholarships are obtained through donations and a program called Sole Mates in which outside members compete in sporting events and raise $262 to be used to sponsor girls. The number 262 relates to the length of a marathon, which is 26.2 miles.

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 crowd was treated to a two-hour, 18-plus song set. The band ripped through new songs with the same vigor as their hits from the early ’90s.

It was one of the larger crowds to see a rock show at Buster’s in recent months, and the band fed off the crowd’s energy.

One of the highlights of the show was during the song “Arrow,” as lead singer Kevin Martin talked about the Seattle grunge scene and the ’90s, which led to a medley of hits from bands that influenced the band, such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Van Halen.

“Great crowd. Amazing, amazing time,”Candlebox drummer Scott Mercado said after the show. “One of the most fun shows we’ve had. Very active crowd — very loud, knew the songs and sang along. ”

Martin mentioned during the show that in Candlebox’s 22 years together as a band, it had never played Lexington.

“Great town,” Martin said after the show. “We’ll be back.”

Candlebox Setlist:
1 – Don’t You
2 – Believe In It
3 – Underneath It All
4 – Change
5 – Blossom
6 – No Lights
7 – She Come Over Me
8 – Breathe Me In
9 – Arrow w/medley including covers of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” and Van Halen’s “Unchained”
10 – Stand
11 – Simple Lessons
12 – Bitches Brewin’
13 – Sweet Summertime
14 – Miss You
15 – Cover Me
16 – Far Behind
Encore
17 – You
18 – Rain – very lengthy bluesy jam at end

Acidic opened the show with a blistering 40-minute, 11-song set.

I met Acidic lead singer Michael Gossard at the front door of Buster’s as I arrived for the show. He greeted every fan as they entered the venue, giving them a business card with a code to download some of their music.

“Every time you get in front of people you have never met, you have to stand at the door and give everyone some free stuff, say you name and say hello,” Gossard said, explaining his philosophy. “That’s what I am doing. ”

After five songs, I was struck that a lead singer that had so engaged a crowd prior to the show had done very little to engage them once the show started.

That changed quickly, as Gossard took to the Buster’s floor to join the crowd in a rousing rendition of The Beatles’ “Come Together.

Gossard said after the tour with Candlebox is over, his band will hit the studio to produce its third album. He has more than 45 songs written for the project already.

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

All Lextran buses have bike racks which can hold two bicycle on the front of each bus, according to a release from UK Parking & Transportation Services

Additional Resources:

Lextran

League of American Bicyclists

Bike Lexington

Dr. Randall Rowland, director of the Markey Cancer Foundation speaks at event announcing the $6.25 million grant and gift to fund MDS research.

The UK Markey Cancer Center announced Tuesday that it is receiving grants and gifts of $6.25 million to fund research myelodysplastic syndrome, a deadly blood and bone marrow disease often caused by chemotherapy or radiation treatments.

A $5 million grant from the Edward P. Evans Foundation will be spread over five years, and will fund five research labs, including three at UK. A $1.25 million gift was given to the Markey Cancer Foundation anonymously.

“Our researchers are some of the best in the country, and receiving the Evans grant and the gift are further proof of that,” said Dr. Mark Evers, director of the UK Markey Cancer Center. “The $6.25 million in funding has the potential to help us make a huge difference in the lives of those patients who are most at risk for developing myelodysplastic syndrome.”

MDS impacts the way the blood cells are produced, preventing the maturation of blood stem cells. Anemia and infection may occur due to fewer blood cells being available. Once MDS is developed, it can progress into a largely untreatable version of leukemia.

“One of our first steps will be to figure out what can cause these changes in bone marrow that lead to myelodysplastic syndrome,” said Gary Van Zant, director of the Clinical Stem Cell Laboratory for the UK Bone Marrow Transplant Program. “From there, our focus will be how we can predict which patients may be at a higher risk to get the disease.”

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.

The band is currently touring in support of its 2012 release Love Stories & Other Musings.

Doors open at 8 p.m., with the show schedule to start at 9 p.m. No opening act has been announced. The show is ages 18 and over, with tickets $25 at the door (cash only).

Related link: Buster’s Billiards and Backroom

Candlebox’s self-titled debut album in 1993 sold over 4 million copies and included hits such as You, Far Behind, Change and Cover Me.

The band took a six-year hiatus partially due to a contract dispute with its record label.

Love Stories & Other Musings is the second studio release by the band since reforming.

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.