Wednesday Wildcat Wood 'n' Leather Update (Worth the Wait)

I’ve been away for a while, traveling the world and blogging about baseball on Thursdays (which is soooo not worth it this time of year) but now I’m back on the normal day, with a well-tanned and oiled version of your weekly baseball update. I’m excited to show off my beach blogging bod so let’s get into the news.
After a somewhat rocky start to the conference schedule the Cats’ road did not get any easier as Gator country came into town for a three game series, followed by non-conference Western Kentucky”

4/16 v #7 Florida (L 10-8)- Anyone that was in Lexington Friday knows that we got some wet weather, and the weather came a little too late to cool off the Gators. At the time of the game delay the Gators had a 10-6 lead after a three-run blast from Florida’s Austin Maddox in the seventh. Before the strong half of the inning before the rain, the game had been tied 6-6 with Marcus Nidiffer putting two home runs over the wall and Andy Burns chalking a solo shot earlier in the game. Starter Logan Darnell went for six innings but was struggling for most of the game, allowing 6 runs with 4 earned. After the two hour rain delay the Cats returned and attempted a comeback with two runners in scoring position and no outs, but only scored two runs in the inning and went down in the 9th.

4/17 v #7 Florida (L 6-3)- Weekend Wildcat Killer Austin Maddox continued his hitting display with two doubles and a home run during the Saturday game as the Cats could not muster as much offense as the night before and lost the series against the Gators. Hitting was not a problem for the Big Blue as Andy Burns, Gunner Glad, Chad Wright, Cory Farris, and Marcus Nidiffer all had hits, but the Cats left 14 runners on base and couldn’t mount a comeback. Uk starter Taylor Rogers had a decent outing in almost seven innings, earning four runs and striking out four.

4/18 v #7 Florida (W 6-5)- Winning on Sunday meant preventing the series sweep against the Gators and maintaining position in the SEC East, and the Cats played like they knew it. Gary Henderson called on freshman Walter Wijas to make the start and, combined with fellow frosh Jordan Cooper, allowed only two runs in six innings and six K’s. Wijas retired the first 10 batters he faced, holding a perfect game into the 4th until the Gator bats started connecting. That brought out reliever Jordan Cooper, who threw another three innings and struck out three. Closer Matt Little ended the game with a little drama, allowing a two run homer to All-SEC 2B Josh Adams, but closed out the game for the win. Wijas’ performance earned him Bluegrass Baseball’s Freshman of the Week.

4/20 v #26 WKU (L 24-8)- Yeah, that score is correct. I’ll tr to go into as little detail as possible but this was a bloodbath. With the first 16 batters reaching base without an out and 16 runs scored in the 2nd inning, the BatCats has been declawed and demoralized. The inning is second in most runs allowed in a collegiate game since 1984 when Wichita State scored 21 in an inning against Friends University (seriously). The one bright sot from the game is that, in the last two games (both starts), junior Lance Ray is now 7-8 reaching the base safely. The second win of the season for WKU gives them a series sweep of the Cats and bragging rights for baseball in the state.

The Cat’s have a few days off before traveling down to Auburn University on the 23rd for a three game swing. I think I speak for all of us when I say thank God for the break. Check back in next week and we’ll see how they have responded.

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