2018 KENTUCKY BASEBALL WEEK 3 IN REVIEW
OVERALL RECORD: 11-1
WEEK RECORD: 4-0
LAST WEEK
Feb. 27 – Win, vs. Western Kentucky, 4-3
Mar. 2 – Win, vs. #19 Houston^, 14-2 (7 innings)
Mar. 3 – Win, vs. #20 Sam Houston State^, 7-2
Mar. 4 – Win, vs. Louisiana^, 10-4
^Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic (Houston, TX)
THIS WEEK (5 home games)
Mar. 6 – vs. Eastern Kentucky (4 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
Mar. 7 – vs. Northern Kentucky (4 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
Mar. 9 – vs. #3 Texas Tech (4 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
Mar. 10 - vs. #3 Texas Tech (1 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
Mar. 11 - vs. #3 Texas Tech (1 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
PLAYER OF WEEK NOMINEE
LUKE HEYER (Senior, INF/OF)
·Batted .667 (10-of-15) in four games with six runs, six RBI, two doubles (one a ground rule double) and three home runs.
·Also drew two walks and stole a base.
·Had 21 total bases for the week and slugged 1.400.
·During the Shriners College Classic at Minute Maid Park over the weekend he hit .727 with 1.727 slugging percentage (five runs, six RBI, two doubles, three home runs).
·Crushed two home runs in the win over #19 Houston, including off All-American Trey Cumbie, and another in the win over #20 Sam Houston State.
·Recorded the game-winning RBI in wins over #19 Houston and #20 Sam Houston State.
·His infield single in the bottom of the ninth vs. Western Kentucky kept alive what would end up being a four-run rally that ended up in the Cats’ first walk-off win under coach Nick Mingione.
·A third baseman by trade, he slid into LF with the injury to All-American Tristan Pompey that kept him out of the starting lineup all week.
·Is now hitting .462 in 11 games this season with 13 runs, 16 RBI, 3 doubles, 7 home runs, 5 walks and 3 steals. He owns a 1.077 slugging percentage and .543 on-base percentage.
TEAM NOTES
·Kentucky’s 11-1 start to the season is the best for the program since the 2013 club also opened up 11-1.
·The offense has …
oHit a home run in all 12 games this season.
oScored 77 runs in the past seven games.
oRecorded 62 extra base hits this season.
oScored 31 runs on 39 hits in two games in Houston.
·The team hit .343 this week with 35 runs, 19 extra-base hits and a .440 on-base percentage.
·The pitching staff had an ERA of 2.12 for the week with 36 strikeouts and just six walks.
·UK is 6-0 in the state of Texas the past two seasons, with five of the wins against ranked foes.
PLAYER NOTES
BEN AKLINSKI (Junior, OF)
·Hit .353 with four runs, two doubles and six RBI for the week.
·Had a career-high four RBI vs. Houston.
LUKE BECKER (Senior, INF)
·Recorded the first two triples of his career in back-to-back games vs. #19 Houston and #20 Sam Houston State.
T.J. COLLETT (Sophomore, C/1B)
·Has a career-long 11-game hitting streak
·Collett’s home run gives him seven on the season.
·He has homered in back-to-back games and in six of the past eight games overall.
·For the weekend Collett hit .583 with two doubles, two home runs, five runs and five RBI.
KOLE COTTAM (Junior, C/1B)
·Became the 51st member of Kentucky’s 100 Hit Club with his home run on Friday vs. Houston.
SEAN HJELLE (Junior, RHP)
·Got the win vs. Houston (3/2) by 6.0 innings while giving up six hits and two runs (one earned), walking one and striking out two.
·Hjelle is now 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA in his first three starts.
·Hjelle’s 18 career wins move him into a tie with Doug Sutton (1986-88) for 11th on UK’s career list.
·In two starts in the state of Texas the junior is 2-0 and has given up one earned run in 15.0 innings of work. He threw a complete game shutout at Texas A&M last March.
·His career winning percentage of .783 (18-5) ranks third on the school’s career list.
RYAN JOHNSON (Junior, OF)
·Hit .357 with six runs, four RBI, a double and two home runs for the week.
·Johnson’s home runs vs WKU and Houston concluded a three-game home run streak for him. He is the second Wildcat to do that this season, joining T.J. Collett.
·Nine of his 14 hits this season have been for extra bases (six doubles, three home runs).
TRISTAN POMPEY (Junior, OF)
·Pinch hit twice during the week, drawing a walk and lacing a double.
·Now owns a 44-game reached base safely streak.
TROY SQUIRES (Senior, C/1B)
·Squires now has 25 SAC bunts in his career, moving him from seventh to fourth place on the career SAC bunts list. He is currently tied with Justin Scutchfield (2003-06) and two behind Matt Reida (2011-14) for third.
·Squires has been hit by eight pitches this season and 22 for his career.
·Had two-run, two-strike, two-out game-tying hit in bottom of ninth vs. WKU.
ZACK THOMPSON (Sophomore, LHP)
·Earned the win vs. Sam Houston State by going 6.0 innings with four hits, no runs, one walk and seven strikeouts.
·Thompson is now 10-3 in his career for a .769 winning percentage, ranking fourth on UK’s career win-loss percentage list.
·Thompson has only allowed 6.19 hits per nine innings in his career, which ranks second on UK’s all-time list.
JUSTIN LEWIS (Junior, RHP)
·Got the win against Louisiana, the 11th of his career.
·Pitched 6.0 innings, giving up seven hits, four runs (two earned) walking one and striking out seven.
·For the season, Lewis has struck out 27 hitters and walked just two.
·His career winning percentage of .733 ranked fifth on UK’s all-time list.
OVERALL RECORD: 11-1
WEEK RECORD: 4-0
LAST WEEK
Feb. 27 – Win, vs. Western Kentucky, 4-3
Mar. 2 – Win, vs. #19 Houston^, 14-2 (7 innings)
Mar. 3 – Win, vs. #20 Sam Houston State^, 7-2
Mar. 4 – Win, vs. Louisiana^, 10-4
^Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic (Houston, TX)
THIS WEEK (5 home games)
Mar. 6 – vs. Eastern Kentucky (4 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
Mar. 7 – vs. Northern Kentucky (4 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
Mar. 9 – vs. #3 Texas Tech (4 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
Mar. 10 - vs. #3 Texas Tech (1 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
Mar. 11 - vs. #3 Texas Tech (1 p.m., Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky., SECN+)
PLAYER OF WEEK NOMINEE
LUKE HEYER (Senior, INF/OF)
·Batted .667 (10-of-15) in four games with six runs, six RBI, two doubles (one a ground rule double) and three home runs.
·Also drew two walks and stole a base.
·Had 21 total bases for the week and slugged 1.400.
·During the Shriners College Classic at Minute Maid Park over the weekend he hit .727 with 1.727 slugging percentage (five runs, six RBI, two doubles, three home runs).
·Crushed two home runs in the win over #19 Houston, including off All-American Trey Cumbie, and another in the win over #20 Sam Houston State.
·Recorded the game-winning RBI in wins over #19 Houston and #20 Sam Houston State.
·His infield single in the bottom of the ninth vs. Western Kentucky kept alive what would end up being a four-run rally that ended up in the Cats’ first walk-off win under coach Nick Mingione.
·A third baseman by trade, he slid into LF with the injury to All-American Tristan Pompey that kept him out of the starting lineup all week.
·Is now hitting .462 in 11 games this season with 13 runs, 16 RBI, 3 doubles, 7 home runs, 5 walks and 3 steals. He owns a 1.077 slugging percentage and .543 on-base percentage.
TEAM NOTES
·Kentucky’s 11-1 start to the season is the best for the program since the 2013 club also opened up 11-1.
·The offense has …
oHit a home run in all 12 games this season.
oScored 77 runs in the past seven games.
oRecorded 62 extra base hits this season.
oScored 31 runs on 39 hits in two games in Houston.
·The team hit .343 this week with 35 runs, 19 extra-base hits and a .440 on-base percentage.
·The pitching staff had an ERA of 2.12 for the week with 36 strikeouts and just six walks.
·UK is 6-0 in the state of Texas the past two seasons, with five of the wins against ranked foes.
PLAYER NOTES
BEN AKLINSKI (Junior, OF)
·Hit .353 with four runs, two doubles and six RBI for the week.
·Had a career-high four RBI vs. Houston.
LUKE BECKER (Senior, INF)
·Recorded the first two triples of his career in back-to-back games vs. #19 Houston and #20 Sam Houston State.
T.J. COLLETT (Sophomore, C/1B)
·Has a career-long 11-game hitting streak
·Collett’s home run gives him seven on the season.
·He has homered in back-to-back games and in six of the past eight games overall.
·For the weekend Collett hit .583 with two doubles, two home runs, five runs and five RBI.
KOLE COTTAM (Junior, C/1B)
·Became the 51st member of Kentucky’s 100 Hit Club with his home run on Friday vs. Houston.
SEAN HJELLE (Junior, RHP)
·Got the win vs. Houston (3/2) by 6.0 innings while giving up six hits and two runs (one earned), walking one and striking out two.
·Hjelle is now 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA in his first three starts.
·Hjelle’s 18 career wins move him into a tie with Doug Sutton (1986-88) for 11th on UK’s career list.
·In two starts in the state of Texas the junior is 2-0 and has given up one earned run in 15.0 innings of work. He threw a complete game shutout at Texas A&M last March.
·His career winning percentage of .783 (18-5) ranks third on the school’s career list.
RYAN JOHNSON (Junior, OF)
·Hit .357 with six runs, four RBI, a double and two home runs for the week.
·Johnson’s home runs vs WKU and Houston concluded a three-game home run streak for him. He is the second Wildcat to do that this season, joining T.J. Collett.
·Nine of his 14 hits this season have been for extra bases (six doubles, three home runs).
TRISTAN POMPEY (Junior, OF)
·Pinch hit twice during the week, drawing a walk and lacing a double.
·Now owns a 44-game reached base safely streak.
TROY SQUIRES (Senior, C/1B)
·Squires now has 25 SAC bunts in his career, moving him from seventh to fourth place on the career SAC bunts list. He is currently tied with Justin Scutchfield (2003-06) and two behind Matt Reida (2011-14) for third.
·Squires has been hit by eight pitches this season and 22 for his career.
·Had two-run, two-strike, two-out game-tying hit in bottom of ninth vs. WKU.
ZACK THOMPSON (Sophomore, LHP)
·Earned the win vs. Sam Houston State by going 6.0 innings with four hits, no runs, one walk and seven strikeouts.
·Thompson is now 10-3 in his career for a .769 winning percentage, ranking fourth on UK’s career win-loss percentage list.
·Thompson has only allowed 6.19 hits per nine innings in his career, which ranks second on UK’s all-time list.
JUSTIN LEWIS (Junior, RHP)
·Got the win against Louisiana, the 11th of his career.
·Pitched 6.0 innings, giving up seven hits, four runs (two earned) walking one and striking out seven.
·For the season, Lewis has struck out 27 hitters and walked just two.
·His career winning percentage of .733 ranked fifth on UK’s all-time list.
