PREVIEW: Kentucky hosts Alabama in first ranked series of season
No. 17 ranked Kentucky (24-4, 8-1) returns to Lexington this weekend for its first home series in two weeks.
On the docket? No. 13 ranked Alabama (22-7, 4-5), marking Kentucky’s first ranked series of the season.
The Cats have been one of the hottest teams in all of college baseball, winning 11 of its last 12 games. Kentucky is 8-1 in SEC play, sitting alone atop the SEC East. Alabama enters the weekend with a 4-5 conference record, tied for third in the SEC West.
With a win Friday night, Kentucky would tie its best start to conference play in the Nick Mingione era at 9-1.
The Bat Cats are currently projected to host a Regional as the No. 11 national seed in D1Baseball’s 2024 Midseason Field of 64 Projections. Alabama is squarely in the Field of 64 as well, sitting as a No. 2 seed in No. 7 Florida State’s Regional.
The Crimson Tide knocked Kentucky out of last season’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, blanking the Cats 4-0.
Alabama
Alabama enters the weekend winners of four out of its last five games, including a series victory over No. 22 South Carolina and a midweek win over Samford.
Through three SEC series, the Cats and Tide have played one common opponent; Georgia. Where Kentucky swept the Bulldogs, Alabama was swept by Georgia in Athens the following weekend.
Alabama is led offensively by junior third baseman Gage Miller (.450 BA, 13 HR, 39 RBI), senior second baseman Bryce Eblin (.365 BA, 4 HR, 16 RBI), and freshman phenom shortstop Justin Lebron (.354 BA, 5 HR, 18 RBI). Eblin however hasn’t played since March 23 due to a hamstring injury.
Gage Miller’s .450 batting average is second highest in the SEC and is 11th highest in the country. His 13 home runs are tied for 14th most in college baseball and fifth most in the conference.
Right-hander Ben Hess, who is starting Friday night’s game, struck out Wildcat 10 batters in 6 1/3 innings pitched in last season’s March 24 matchup against Kentucky.
The Tide are just 6-5 in games away from Tuscaloosa this season.
Kentucky
The Bat Cats haven’t played since last Sunday, as their midweek matchup against Louisville was postponed due to rain.
Hopefully this doesn’t cool off the red-hot Wildcats, who have opened SEC play with three straight series wins. This continued last weekend with their sweep of Ole Miss in Oxford.
Outfielders RS junior Nolan McCarthy (5-14, two HR, seven RBI) and RS sophomore James McCoy (7-12, two HR, double, five RBI) dominated the Rebels, both earning spots on D1Baseball’s Weekend Top Performers list.
Along with McCarthy and McCoy, grad transfer Nick Lopez continues to produce at a high level for the Cats offensively. Lopez’s .412 batting average ranks fourth in the SEC and his 12 doubles are tied for second most in the conference.
As a team, Alabama has slugged 56 home runs to just Kentucky’s 29. Interestingly enough however, the Cats have hit more home runs than the opposing team in two of their SEC series so far.
This includes against Georgia (who leads the country in home runs) and Ole Miss.
The Cats took the series in Tuscaloosa last season, winning two of three games. Winning all four of its first four SEC series would put Kentucky in prime position to host back-to-back Regionals in Lexington, and possibly even grab a Super Regional bid.
RS sophomore right-hander Travis Smith, who began the season as Kentucky’s Friday night starter, has transitioned into a bullpen role for the Cats. He made his first appearance out of the pen in the Wildcats’ win over Ole Miss last Friday night. Smith pitched two innings, allowing just one hit with a strikeout.
Grad transfer righty Trey Pooser will make his third start of the season for Kentucky Friday night. He’s been impressive through his first two starts, allowing just nine hits and three earned runs with 12 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings of work.
Junior right-hander Mason Moore will close things out on Sunday, looking for his SEC-leading seventh victory of the season. Moore currently boasts an unblemished 6-0 record with a 2.87 ERA in 37 2/3 innings pitched.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Alabama leads 66-45
Game 1: Friday, April 5, 2024 (Kentucky Proud Park – 6:30 p.m. EST) SEC Network+
UK: RHP Trey Pooser (2-0, 3.60 ERA, 25.0 IP) vs BAMA: RHP Ben Hess (3-1, 5.59 ERA, 29.0 IP)
Game 2: Saturday, April 6, 2024 (Kentucky Proud Park – 2:00 p.m. EST) SEC Network+
UK: LHP Dominic Niman (5-2, 4.42 ERA, 38.2 IP) vs BAMA: LHP Greg Farone (3-0, 2.93 ERA, 30.2 IP)
Game 3: Sunday, April 7, 2024 (Kentucky Proud Park – 12:00 p.m. EST) SEC Network+
UK: RHP Mason Moore (6-0, 2.87 ERA, 37.2 IP) vs BAMA: LHP Zane Adams (2-1, 4.13 ERA, 24.0 IP)
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