UK Baseball Takes Series Against Ole Miss

After riding the offense much of the season, the UK baseball team used a mix of offense and pitching while taking the second game and the series against Ole Miss tonight.

The Cats downed the Rebels 9-0, sealing the series and pretty much securing a place in the SEC tournament. The Cats currently have a 16-13 conference record.

The Cats were led by pitcher James Paxton, who pitched a complete game shut out and at the plate by Sawyer Carroll who went 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's. Carroll now holds the all-time season RBI record with 77 RBIs so far this season. Brian Spear also helped the Cats at the plate, plating 3 RBIs.

The Cats will wrap up the regular season with game three of the Ole Miss series tomorrow at 1 p.m. Tomorrow is Armed Services day.

More UK Football Disrespect

If you didn't catch the morning rant on the continued disrespect of UK football, it's two posts down.

After all that I came across another list from The Sporting News (via NBC Sports). It lists the top five SEC players by position.

The only Wildcat to make the list is Defensive End Jeremy Jarmon, who comes in as the fourth best SEC defensive end according to this list.

The rest of the list? UK-less. I don't even have the desire to argue about it. If people think UK is dropping off the face of the earth because Andre Woodson, Keenan Burton and Jacob Tamme left--well, line up and eat crow when the season comes around.

No disrespect to those guys, but the program didn't die when they left. I guess some people just never learn until it's too late.

UK Baseball Notebook

Lots of UK baseball news today, so I'm going all old school on a blog (aka, using a newspaper format). This is your UK baseball notebook. Just a reminder, first pitch for tonight's game is at 6:30 p.m.

Carroll, Cowgill named semifinalists for national POY award

Carroll, who had six RBIs on his own in last night's win, and Cowgill, the do-everything outfielder, have been named semifinalists for the Dick Howser trophy. The trophy is the national player of the year award given by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

The duo gives UK the honor of being only one of two teams to land two players on the semifinal list. No. 3 Arizona State is the other.

Carroll leads the SEC in batting average and RBIs (Note: Carroll is two shy of the all-time UK RBI record). Cowgill leads the SEC with 70 runs scored and leads the team with 18 home runs.

Both players are also on the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list and the Brooks Wallace Award watch list--two other player of the year trophies. Only 16 players were named to the semifinalist list.

UK will Celebrate Senior Night

After hitting the 40-win mark in last night's 12-4 win, the Cats will honor the many seniors on the roster tonight in Game 2 of the three game series. The following players are seniors:

4 OF Colin Cowgil (Henry Clay High School/ Lexington )

8 C/RHP Tyler Howe (Kirkwood CC/Clinton, Iowa)

14 LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Saskatchwan)

17 INF Ryan Wilkes (Harrison, Tn.)

19 OF/1B Sawyer Carroll (Henryetta, Okla./Seminole CC)

28 RHP Brock Baber (Bath County H.S./ Sharpsburg, Ky.)

30 INF/C Brian Spear (Wichita State/Gary, Ind.)

33 RHP Aaron Lovett (Brownstown, Ill./Kaskaskia CC)

37 RHP Greg Dumbroski (Rome, N.Y.)

44 LHP Tommy Warner (Lafayette H.S./ Lexington)

Brandon Webb inching towards Record

Former UK pitcher Brandon Webb recorded his 9th win, starting the MLB season a perfect 9-for-9. The start gets Webb one win away from the best start by a pitcher since 1985--a 23-year span.

Dating back to last year, Webb has 12 wins in his last 13 starts and is currently on an 11-for-11 streak. Webb's Diamondbacks are in first place in the NL West and hold the best record in the National League.

UK Football Gets Zero Respect, Still.

This is usually one of my favorite times of spring/summer. When the college football magazines hit the stands, I rush to my neighborhood Walgreens/Kroger/Walmart/Anywhere to get a magazine.

This year, I was especially happy to race out to get the Lindy's College Football Magazine, thinking that finally, after everything UK football has accomplished, we'd be rated a little higher than normal.

Ha. How naive I was.

That's right, according to Lindy's (and I'm sure the rest of the magazines will follow) UK is still one of the bottom two teams in the SEC. The bottom team is of course Vanderbilt. Mississippi State (a team that is the easily a one-year wonder) is ranked eighth overall by Lindy's. UK is even below Arkansas, who lost everything and returned hardly nothing.

Did the U.S. government legalize drugs? Or is the Lindy's team just taking them anyway?

Lindy's put two Cats on All-SEC teams, DE Jeremy Jarmon and CB Tevard Lindley--on the second team defense. In the SEC position rankings, UK ranked no higher than eighth in any category. That ranking is shared by the wide recievers, running backs and defensive lines.

Lindy's, you are out of your damn mind. Florida and their non-existant running game is ranked higher than UK's. The UK linebackers rank 10th. So does the secondary.

In it's report on UK, Lindy's also says that it must win two of it's four "coin-flip" games. Those games are At Louisville (Haha, coin-flip? Be serious. Did you see the spring reports?), South Carolina, Arkansas (who's left? Casey Dick? Bring 'em.) and at Mississippi State.

I see at least two wins there, probably three. Anyone else agree? Lindy's also poops on UK's biggest recruit as well, keeping Aaron Boyd out of their top incoming wide receivers rankings.

Obviously, UK football still has no national respect. Why is that? Is beating LSU, Florida State and Clemson the past two years meaningless? Everyone (including Lindy's) is saying that replacing the offense will be too much.

Name me one SEC school besides Florida that wins with something other than a strong defense and a decent offense. Auburn hasn't had a offense in years. LSU's offense was no superpower last year. In fact, the number of good SEC QBs is lower than the number of wheels on a tricycle. And I'm still not sold on Matthew Stafford.

SEC schools run the ball and play defense. That's what UK will do this year. Lindy's expects UK to go 6-6 and miss a bowl, at best. I'll say right now that UK will go at least 7-5, if not 8-4. They will make a bowl.

Here's your wins this season: At Louisville, Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Arkansas, Vanderbilt. (six wins)

Losses: At Alabama, At Florida, Georgia. (three losses)

"Coin-flips": South Carolina, At Mississippi State, at Tennessee

When will UK football get the respect it deserves? If this were any of the big SEC schools facing this problem, they would still be highly ranked. It's about time UK received that same respect. Until then, I can't wait for UK to continue to punch teams in the mouth and dumb, national correspondents at the same time.

Don't buy Lindy's College Football Magazine. It's not even good toliet paper.

Bat Cats Take Game One

Powered by senior Sawyer Carroll, the UK baseball team roared out and took game one against Ole Miss tonight.

Carroll went 4-for-5, including six RBIs to lead UK in their 12-4 win. James Paxton will get the start for the Cats tomorrow on Senior Night.

Chris Rusin gave up three runs while getting the win. Overall, it was a strong day at the plate for the Bat Cats.

First pitch is again at 6:30 pm at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Rajon Rondo: The East Coast Steve Nash?

Maybe the comparsion in the title is a stretch. But I'm willing to say no. Did you see Rondo last night?

20 points (on 9-for-15 shooting) and 13 assists while watching Boston resident pyscho Kevin Garnett go off?

I tend to agree with Matt McHale over at Basketbawful, who also moonlights as the NBA Closer over on big blog daddy Deadspin, who claimed Rondo had officially taken Ray Allen's spot in the Boston Big Three.

It's about time. Sam Cassell, eat that. You shoot first too much anyway and you can take your NBA championship ring and sit on it.

Rondo, who not too long ago was battling Sebastian Telfair for playing time and won (good thing they never faced off in college, eh?). Rondo also was battling Delonte West, formerly of the Celtics, then Sonics and now with the Cavs... and once again, Rondo wins!

Rondo's progress this year has been pretty much dope (translation: amazing) and we are one game away from the Tayshaun/Rajon final. Nevermind the other players on the two teams.

FEAR THE RONDO!

It's Do or Die for UK baseball

That's right, after a season of ups and downs, the UK baseball team has the chance to control it's own fate into the SEC tournament.

And that chance starts tonight. In an odd Thursday night start, the No. 21 UK baseball team will face off against Ole Miss at 6:30 pm at Cliff Hagan Stadium (weather permitting).

And this is the ultimate fate decider. Ole Miss is one of three other teams tied with the Cats for fourth overall in the SEC, each with a 14-13 conference record. UK owns the series over the other two teams, Florida and Alabama.

Sweep the Rebels and UK could be looking at the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, if things go a certain way in the other conference series.

Get swept or win only one game (with those same crazy happenings going against the Cats) and UK could end up the No. 9 team in the SEC and out of the tournament. No tournament means no NCAA regional.

And then of course Friday night is Senior Night, where all-stars Sawyer Carroll, Colin Cowgill and Greg Dumbroski (who will pitch the third game Saturday, not Friday).

This is a turning point in the UK baseball program's situation. Win out, make the tournament and the program continues to grow. Fall apart, don't make the tournament (for what would be the second year in a row) and the growth is stunted, if not slightly reversed.

It's an old sports cliche, but it really is do or die for the UK baseball team and it starts tonight.