PREVIEW: Kentucky to host Wofford in final tune-up series

Kentucky Baseball will host the Southern Conference’s Wofford this weekend in its final non-conference series before SEC play opens on March 14.

The ‘Cats were slated to host Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, but the game was canceled and not rescheduled due to weather. Those teams met on Tuesday in Richmond, where Kentucky run-ruled the Colonels 16-0 in just seven innings.

Due to the cancellation, Kentucky and Northern Illinois came together to schedule a midweek game on Tuesday at Kentucky Proud Park.

Following this weekend’s series and the midweek game against NIU, the reigning Co-SEC Regular Season Champions will venture into SEC play on the road at No. 5 Georgia. This weekend will be used as a final rehearsal for the games that really matter.

Wofford Terriers (11-2, 0-0)

Wofford will be the best team (record wise) Kentucky will face prior to SEC play beginning on March 14. The Terriers bring an 11-2 record to Kentucky Proud Park, with their two losses coming by a combined three runs.

They had won eight consecutive games until their 4-3 loss to Presbyterian College on Tuesday.

This is the second season of the J.J. Edwards era at Wofford, and the first one was a doozy. In Edwards first season, the Terriers won the Southern Conference Tournament for the first time in program history and made the 2024 NCAA Tournament. They were placed in the Chapel Hill Regional, where they defeated LIU before dropping two games to LSU, thus being eliminated.

Junior right-hander Branton Little heads the Wofford pitching staff, which boasts a team 4.14 ERA. Little, who will start Friday’s series opener, boasts a 3.18 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched this season. Freshman right-hander Cullen Condon and senior left-hander Dylan Rhadans will start the final two games of the weekend. Junior right-hander Champ Davis, who has been used as a relief pitcher this season, has a stellar 0.60 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 15 innings.

Condon in particular will look to bounce back, as he was dinged for three earned runs in the first inning of last Saturday’s game against Le Moyne. He was replaced after recording just one out.

On the offensive side, Wofford scores 7.6 runs per game and is led by sophomore second baseman Harrison Campi (.405 AVG, 2 HR) and sophomore shortstop Ryan Wynn (.304 AVG, 14 RBI). Campi and Wynn are one of six players with at least a .300 average with more than 30 at-bats. Wynn hit for the cycle, the programs third ever and first since 2013, in Wofford’s 13-12 win over Ohio on Feb. 16.

This team, which boasts a team .313 batting average, can flat out hit.

Kentucky Wildcats (11-1, 0-0)

Kentucky’s offense has slowly been getting better and better, but the real story of the season so far for the ‘Cats has been their pitching.

Through 11 games, the staff boasts a 1.80 team ERA and a 11.1 K/9. In particular, senior right-hander Nic McCay and sophomore left-hander Ben Cleaver have been absolutely unstoppable through their first three starts of the season. The duo, which will start Friday and Saturday’s games, has totaled a combined 0.84 ERA in 32 1/3 innings with 36 strikeouts.

The relief pitching has been stellar as well, as senior leaders right-hander Scott Rouse and left-handers Jackson Nove and Evan Byers have been absolute nails. The trio has allowed just one earned run with 34 strikeouts in 21 innings. The staff has pitched shutouts in three of their 11 games, and have held teams to one or fewer runs in six.

On the offensive side of the ball, Kentucky’s everyday lineup is truly starting to shake out. Sophomore Ethan Hindle has seemingly nailed down the DH spot, while Devin Burkes and Raphael Pelletier are beginning to get in the groove of alternating games at the catcher position. Carson Hansen, who has belted a team-leading three home runs this season, has emerged in right field alongside left field partner Cole Hage, whose .486 average ranks fifth among SEC hitters.

BACK-TO-BACK AND BELLY-TO-BELLY (h/t @Darren_Headrick) as @Colehage_33 hits a baseball to nearby Buccee's.

105 exit velo, 410 feet into the night sky.

T5 | UK 14, EKU 0

📺https://t.co/0gdg6uX8k1 pic.twitter.com/PQzKrY1xLh

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) March 5, 2025

Kentucky is coming off its dominant 16-0 win over Eastern Kentucky, in which five players recorded an extra-base hit.

The ‘Cats better be on alert, as this weekend strikes a familiar feeling to their final non-conference series before SEC play started last season. Kennesaw State came into Kentucky Proud Park and won the first two games of the weekend series, outscoring Kentucky 23-3.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Kentucky leads 3-2

Friday, March 7, 2025 (Kentucky Proud Park – 4:00 p.m. EST)
UK: RHP Nic McCay (2-0, 0.59 ERA, 15.1 IP) vs WOF: RHP Branton Little (2-0, 3.18 ERA, 17.0 IP)
Saturday, March 8, 2025 (Kentucky Proud Park – 1:00 p.m. EST)
UK: LHP Ben Cleaver (2-1, 1.06 ERA, 17.0 IP) vs WOF: RHP Cullen Condon (0-0, 6.97 ERA, 10.1 IP)
Sunday, March 9, 2025 (Kentucky Proud Park – 1:00 p.m. EST)
UK: LHP Ethan Walker (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 6.2 IP) vs WOF: LHP Dylan Rhadans (0-0, 3.18 ERA, 11.1 IP)

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