Kentucky Baseball Hosts Murray State, Ohio in Midweek Games

Fresh off a sweep over Indiana State (their first of the season), the 9-2 Bat ‘Cats welcome the Murray State Racers and Ohio Bobcats to Kentucky Proud Park for a pair of midweek non-conference games. The matchup against Murray will be Kentucky’s second against in-state competition this season after ending Morehead State’s undefeated season with an emphatic 15-1 victory in their first one.

The Racers and Bobcats haven’t exactly gotten off to hot starts this season. Murray State currently sits at 4-8 after a series victory over Northern Kentucky. Things have been worse for Ohio however, as the Bobcats fell to 2-8 following a Southern Illinois three-game sweep. The Salukis will make their way to Kentucky Proud Park on Friday for a three-game weekend series.

Kentucky is currently riding a five-game winning streak, their longest of the short season. The Bat ‘Cats are gearing up for a busy week, as they play every day except Thursday from Tuesday through Sunday. Five games in six days will have the Wildcat bullpen feeling brittle on Sunday. Look for Kentucky to ride their starting pitching to preserve their relievers in such a busy week of action.

Murray State Impact Players

Sophomore 3B Carson Garner and graduate student 1B Brennan McCullough lead the Racers into battle on Tuesday. Garner leads the Racers in batting average (.342), RBI (11), triples (one), total bases (23) and slugging (.605%). He is also tied for the team lead in hits (13) and home runs (two). Garner is Mr. Racer and looks well on his way to making an All-MVC team at the conclusion of the season. McCullough has been solid as well, batting .308 with 12 hits in 39 at-bats this season. Garner is off to a very hot start and will obviously be the player to watch out for.

The Racer pitching staff has been all over the place this season. While Murray State has six pitchers who have an ERA lower than 4.00, they have nine with an ERA higher than the mark. Their most consistent starter has been redshirt junior RHP Jacob Pennington, who has a 3.71 ERA in 17 innings pitched. The Murray pitching staff has allowed 97 hits to 99 strikeouts, a less-than-stellar ratio.

Tuesday afternoon’s first pitch at Kentucky Proud Park between the ‘Cats and the Racers is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EST. Kentucky Baseball is 21-7 all-time against Murray State.

Ohio Impact Players

Ohio OF AJ Rausch is one of the best players in the entire Mid-American Conference. Rausch is batting .385 with hits in 15 of his 39 at-bats, one of the best averages in the entire conference. 1B Alec Patino is right up there with Rausch with an impressive .361 average, including 13 hits in 36 at-bats. He leads the Bobcats with 15 RBI. After those two heavy hitters, the Bobcats have struggled offensively. Their top three batters are hitting above .300, but there is soon a large drop-off. More than half of the Ohio starting lineup is batting below .240, struggling to provide run support for a pitching staff that has labored more than the offense to this point.

The Bobcats flaunt a 9.15 team ERA, which ranks dead last in the MAC. The Ohio staff has given up 17 more hits than the second-closest team in the conference and opposing batters are hitting .361 through 10 games. In their third game of the season, the Navy Midshipmen scored 27 runs against the Bobcats, the sixth-most in a game in all of college baseball this season. Average offense and poor pitching will sink your ball club faster than the Titanic.

The Bobcats make their way to Kentucky Proud Park on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EST.

Kentucky Impact Players

Redshirt senior OF Ryan Waldschmidt has been on a tear as of late. After entering last weekend’s Indiana State series with just five hits on the season, Waldy recorded seven in three games. Waldschmidt was 4-4 with two doubles and two RBI in Sunday’s walk-off victory, even scoring the game-winning run on a Jase Felker single. 2B Émilien Pitre has bolstered his batting average to .436 after a strong weekend, notching 17 hits in 39 at-bats. 1B Hunter Gilliam has recently got going as well, knocking a game-tying home run in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game, instilling some confidence in the Longwood transfer.

In a week that will showcase much of the Kentucky pitching staff, Wildcat starting pitchers RHP Travis Smith, RHP Logan Martin, LHP Tyler Bosma, and RHP Zack Lee may have longer leashes than normal. Smith, who has been operating on a pitch count to start the season, is Tuesday’s probable starter and will likely throw more pitches than he has all season. Head coach Nick Mingione’s pitching staff has been strong through their first 11 games, sporting a 3.03 team ERA and a 117: 67 K:H ratio. They will look to continue that success against two offensively challenged teams in their midweek contests.

Midweek Outlook:

Game 1: Tuesday, March 7th, 2023 (Kentucky Proud Park – 4:00 PM) Kentucky vs Murray State
Game 2: Wednesday, March 8th, 2023 (Kentucky Proud Park – 4:00 PM) Kentucky vs Ohio