Baseball hosts No. 15 Indiana in final home game

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By Tom Hurley | @TomHurleyKernel

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UK baseball runs onto the diamond at Cliff Hagan Stadium for the final time in 2013 on Tuesday when the Cats host No. 15 Indiana.

Senior left-handed pitcher Jerad Grundy (6-5, 5.02 ERA) will get the start against Indiana freshman left-handed pitcher Will Coursen-Carr (2-0, 1.30 ERA).

Grundy gave up one run on five hits in his last start, a 4-1 victory over Wright State on May 7.

Indiana (38-11, 15-6 Big Ten) enters Tuesday’s game two days removed from a 2-1 series win over Northwestern in Bloomington, Ind.

UK and Indiana two sides go into the border battle with contrasting forms.

Twelve wins in the last 15 games has enabled the Hoosiers to get within touching distance of their first regular season championship since 1949.

A series sweep at Ohio State this coming weekend will give Indiana the 2013 Big Ten regular season title.

The Cats have lost 13 or their last 17 games, including losing three contests to No. 1 Vanderbilt in Lexington this past weekend.

Freshman outfielder Kyle Barrett has been a bight note for UK in recent play with the first-year player riding a UK season-high hit streak of 14 games.

Barrett leads the Cats in hitting with a .351 batting average in 41 appearances (34 starts) in his first season at the collegiate level.

Sophomore first baseman A.J. Reed will have the chance to reach a milestone if he picks up an RBI on Tuesday.

Reed is batting .286 on the year and his 49 RBIs and 12 home runs leads the team in both categories.

Indiana’s offense is led by a trio of left-handed hitters.

Junior infielder Dustin DeMuth boasts a team-high .417 average on the season, sophomore catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber leads the team with 13 home runs, while sophomore infielder Scott Donley leads the Hoosiers in RBIs with 49.

The last game at Cliff Hagan Stadium of 2013 will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in front of the Fox Sports South television cameras.

Follow @TomHurleyKernel on Twitter for live updates throughout Tuesday’s game.