Wednesday Wildcat Wood 'n' Leather Update
By Paul Jordan
…S**t. That all that can be said when summing up the last weekend of UK baseball. This season’s schedule was brutal, playing 30 ranked teams in 56 games. That would be like the football team playing 6 ranked teams, which is reasonable if you have National Title hopes in your sight, but losing the top two starters in your rotation for a few weeks in the middle of the season will hurt, as well as not having the firepower that you had hoped for. Still the Cats put up a decent record, even stringing together a respectable winning streak around the end of the season. Coming off a strong series win over LSU the team was in control of their destiny, fighting for 2 spots in a 4-way tie for 7th and 8th places in the SEC . They had one weekend series left to be assured of a spot in the conference tourney and beyond that, the NCAA tournament. Georgia was unranked and 3-22 in the SEC, good for last place. Formula for a favorable weekend right? Judging by the first word of this post, you can see how this one went.
5/20 v Georgia (L 8-6)- Rotation topper Alex Meyer was looking to keep the 5-game SEC winning streak going against the Bulldog Thursday, but gave up 5 runs in the first 2 innings and was quickly benched. Reliever Walter Wijas lasted 4 innings and gave up 3 runs to end the scoring, but the Cats could not muster enough to finish the comeback. After a relatively mild day at the plate, the Cats sparked in the 6th and put up 6 runs in the next 3 innings, but Taylor Black’s two-run blast in the top on the 9th was the last mark the Cats would notch on the scoreboard. There were several players with 1 hit, but Chris Bisson stole his 30th base of the year, making him the first Cat to do so since 1996.
5/21 v Georgia (L 20-0)- In the game that the Cats had to win or drop out of the postseason race, they put up a goose egg. Jordan Cooper, Matt Little, and Braden Kapetyn all lasted 2 or less innings and gave up 4-6 runs apiece. This makes me feel ill writing about this so we’re going to move on. Just know that it was bad.
5/22 v Georgia (W 14-11)- Awakening from their soggy slumber, the Cats put together a decent game and Georgia gave them on right back, tying the game at 11 in the eighth before senior Gunner Glad ripped off a 2-out, 3-run homer in the 9th for the winning margin. Freshman Brian Adams was one double away from hitting for the cycle and knocked in 6 RBI’s, making the future look brighter for the scholarship footballer. Lance Ray, Keenan Wiley, Marcus Nidiffer, and Chris Bisson all got at least 2 hits, with Bisson tallying 3. Nick Kennedy picked up the win despite only pitching 2 innings, but they were the important two innings.
The cats have a strong RPI that puts them in the top 46 for potential inclusion in the NCAA tournament, but as for right now, all they can do is practice and wait. Shout-out to Chris Bisson, who was voted All-SEC second baseman by coaches of the conference.
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