Kentucky Wildcats Baseball VS. Florida Gators Preview
Starting today at 2pm, the University of Kentucky Wildcats baseball team takes on the Florida Gators in the final game of this three game series. The Wildcats are looking to avoid getting swept as they have already lost to the Gators in the first two games of this series. With those two losses to Florida, Kentucky moved from a first place tie in the SEC East with South Carolina, to a 2nd place tie with the Gators. This game is crucial to the Wildcats as they want to avoid dropping from 1st place to 3rd place in one series. Meanwhile, in the SEC West, LSU has won 2 in a row, so if UK loses today, they will have gone from tied for the best record in the SEC, down to 4th place in the SEC. If the Wildcats want to continue to be considered one of the best teams in the nation, they are gonna need to pick it up down the stretch of the season, starting with today’s game.
Here’s a preview of today’s game:
Projected Starting Pitchers:
Kentucky Wildcats- Corey Littrell
Littrell is the Wildcats’ ace and will look to shut down the Gator bats early in this game. Littrell is 6-0 with a 2.44 ERA. He has 56 strikeouts to only giving up 18 walks on the season, and he has only given up one homerun the entire season.
Florida Gators- Jonathon Crawford/Brian Johnson
The Gators have not released who will be starting today on the hill but I would have to say that it would be one of these hurlers. Jonathon Crawford is 4-1 with a 3.67 ERA. Brian Johnson has started 12 games on the hill with a 5-3 record and a 4.50 ERA.
Now let’s take a look at what batters will be the key in today’s game:
Kentucky Wildcats- Luke Maile
Luke Maile is the heart of the Wildcat lineup and is their primary source for RBI. However, Maile only has 1 RBI so far in this series, despite having 3 hits in 7 at bats. Maile has also struck out twice so far in this series which is uncharacteristic of him, with one of the lowest strikeout totals in the starting lineup. Look for Maile to have a break out game today.
Kentucky Wildcats- Austin Cousino
The freshman phenom Austin Cousino has been the motor that starts the offense for the Wildcats all year. In this series, Cousino is only 1-6 at the plate, which may be the reason why the Wildcat offense has been struggling. Cousino is going to need to find a way to get on base more in today’s game for the Wildcats to have a shot.
Florida Gators- Preston Tucker
Gator right-fielder Preston Tucker is the 3 hitter for in the lineup and has been solid all season long. He is 3-7 with 3 RBI in this series, and seems to come up in the big spots for the Gators. Florida will rely on him to get the job done in clutch situations.
Florida Gators- Casey Turgeon
Gator 2nd basemen Casey Turgeon has been on fire as of late and this series is no different. So far in this series, he is 4 for 6 with a walk and no strikeouts. Turgeon is a spark farther down in the order for the Gators.
The first pitch is at 2pm, so tune in to watch or listen as the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Florida Gators in the final game of this big SEC series.