Cats ready for Florida after 10-5 win over Morehead
Junior infielder Javon Shelby (5) hits the ball during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 in Lexington, Ky. Kentucky won the game 8-4. Photo by Hunter Mitchell | Staff
March 22, 2016
UK Baseball won its third straight game Tuesday, picking up a 10-5 victory over the Morehead State Eagles.
The Cats jumped on the Eagles early, plating four runs in the first inning. Riley Mahan, Luke Becker and Zach Reks each picked up RBI in the inning.
Storm Wilson and Evan White singled to lead things off in the first and they continued to thrive in their roles this year for UK. Wilson has now reached base safely in 80 of his 91 career starts and White extended his hitting streak to 13 games and has reached safely in 66 of his 72 career starts.
The Cats added another run in the second and two in the third after a Tristan Pompey 2-RBI double increased its lead to 7-1 after three.
Pompey is now up 19 RBI on the year which is good for third on the team behind only White and Gunnar McNeill. McNeill also extended his hitting streak to 15 games Tuesday with a single in the first, he has also reached in all 20 games that he has appeared in this season.
“When I step in the box I’m confident,” McNeill said regarding his successes at the plate. “I’m just trying to put my A swing on it.”
The Eagles were able to cut the Cats 8-2 lead in half in the seventh when they plated three runs. However the Cats responded adding another run in the bottom half bringing the score to 9-5.
UK would go on to add one more in the eighth and close the door in the ninth capping off the 10-5 victory. The Cats will now turn their attention to No. 1 Florida who pays a visit to Lexington this upcoming weekend putting its 16 game winning streak on the line.
Led by top-20 prospect, centerfielder Buddy Reed, the Gators have a potent offensive attack which averages 6.7 runs per game. The Gators also boast one of the most talented pitching staffs in the nation led by top prospects Logan Shore and A.J. Puk.
The Cats will look to counter the Gators talented pitching and after scoring 35 runs in its past three games, UK is heading into the weekend thriving offensively. White, McNeill and JaVon Shelby lead the thriving Cats offense into the weekend and if the Cats get big contributions from those three, it could turn out to be a very good weekend.
The pitching matchups are very intriguing with Zack Brown set to face off against Shore in a battle of top prospects Friday night. Saturday’s matchup is perhaps the best of the three with undefeated Dustin Beggs set to face off against the veteran Puk. On Sunday, Kyle Cody is set to face off against Alex Faedo in a matchup that could prove to be the deciding game of the series.
The Cats, with their 15-5 record look to upset the No. 1 Florida Gators (22-1) starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
