PREVIEW: No. 8 Kentucky travels to Samford for midweek action
Kentucky Baseball, who is ranked inside the top 10 for the first time this season, takes its No. 8 ranking to Samford for a midweek matchup Tuesday night.
The Cats have been one the hottest teams in all of college baseball over the past month. They’ve won 15 of their last 16 games, including sweeps of Georgia, Ole Miss, and then No. 13 ranked Alabama.
Over its first four conference series, Kentucky is outscoring opponents a combined 114-43.
Kentucky looks to stay undefeated in midweek matchups, as they enter Tuesday night 7-0 on the season. They’re a near perfect 17-1 in midweek games against non-conference competition over the past two seasons.
Following Tuesday night’s game, the Cats will travel two hours northwest to Auburn for its fifth SEC series of the season this weekend.
Samford
Samford enters Tuesday with a 21-10 record and sits atop the Southern Conference with a 6-0 conference record.
The Bulldogs went 3-1 last week, which included a sweep of The Citadel and an 11-10 loss to No. 25 Alabama, who Kentucky swept over the weekend.
They boast three .400-plus hitters in seniors second baseman John Anderson (.430 BA, 7 HR, 35 RBI), shortstop Garrett Howe (.429 BA, 5 HR, 26 RBI) and outfielder Andrew Bennett (.409 BA, 9 doubles, 19 RBI). Bennett and Howe have both been named SoCon Player of the Week this season.
Samford made national headlines two weeks ago as three Bulldog pitchers combined to no-hit Longwood.
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Heath Clevenger will start on the mound for Samford. In 12 1/3 innings pitched this season, Clevenger boasts a 5.84 ERA. Tuesday will mark his second career start and first this season. He was named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2023.
The Bulldogs are 15-4 at home and 0-3 against teams from the SEC (Auburn, Mississippi State, Alabama).
Kentucky
No. 8 Kentucky looks well on its way to reaching back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history, sitting at 27-4 (11-1) solely atop the SEC East. The Cats were 27-4 through 31 games in 2023 and went on to host a Regional.
Kentucky and Samford last met all the way back in 2002, where the Cats downed the Bulldogs 9-1 in Birmingham.
Grad transfer Ryan Nicholson hit two home runs in Sunday’s series finale against Alabama, taking over the team-lead in long balls (six). Although the Cats are tied for 12th in the SEC (Vanderbilt) in team home runs (34), they’ve hit more home runs than their opponent in three of their four conference series.
Four Wildcat batters are above the .300 line, including designated hitter Nick Lopez (.393 BA, 13 doubles, 23 RBI), second baseman Emilien Pitre (.336 BA, 4 HR, 33 RBI), shortstop Grant Smith (.319 BA, 20 RBI), and left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt (.310 BA, 16 RBI).
Redshirt freshman right-hander Drew Lafferty will be making his seventh start of the season Tuesday night. In 17 2/3 innings pitched, Lafferty holds a 1-0 record with a 3.06 ERA. He however pitched just the first inning in his last start against Miami (OH).
ALL-TIME SERIES: Series tied 2-2
Tuesday, April 9, 2024 (Joe Lee Griffin Stadium – 8:30 p.m. EST) ESPN+
UK: RHP Drew Lafferty (1-0, 3.06 ERA, 17.2 IP) vs SAM: RHP Heath Clevenger (0-0, 5.84 ERA, 12.1 IP)
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