Cats going for their 3rd series win in as many tries today in Knoxville. UK will send sr. Kyle Cody out to try and get the win. Big win yesterday, even though it got nervy at the end, Cats held on for the 5-4 win !
UK versus UT... Sunday finale..
- Thread starter CloverforkCat
- Start date
A couple notes from yesterday's game... UK put up something like 14 hits but only got 5 runs off that. Tennessee had around 8 hits and scored their 4 runs. Tennessee got runners on and hit doubles to score them. Kentucky had a lot more singles it seems. Would like to see UK continue to get a lot of hits, but also string them together to score more runs.
I wasn't too concerned yesterday about stranding runners. Three of them were picked off (carson twice), so it was more a function of bad baserunning than not getting timely hits. Also, three of the stranded runners were at the top of the 9th. So take away those 6 stranded baserunners and the totals are closer (and believe me, I've been frustrated by lack of timely hits during most of Henderson's tenure). I was actually pleased that we took advantage of some opportunities as Cottam hit a big double to give us the lead and Shelby also singled home another run with two outs.
I suppose it is mor about making sure that Tennessee doesn't score on so few hits more than us scoring more. Still, one situation that sticks out in my mind is when I believe it was Wilson was on third with one out. White bunted him to second and a past ball moved him to third. Shelby struck out instead of being able to get the bat on the ball at all and then McNeil wasn't able to plate Wilson. It didn't hurt us, but could have given us an early lead had we just executed rather than striking out.
Understood. Today has been a whole different story. We had a runner at 3rd for 3 out of the first 4 innings and couldn't cash in most of the time. Now have a 3-1 lead going to bottom of 6. Dicey.
Cats win BIG... 10-2 on Rocky Top. Now have won all 3 SEC series after losing the 1st game in each series. K Cody was outstanding today, like we know he can be, but is just not always consistent.
UK shows that they are a resiliant bunch by being behind the 8 ball in each series, but rallying each time to win the series. Now let's get the hated team from up the road this Wednesday !
UK shows that they are a resiliant bunch by being behind the 8 ball in each series, but rallying each time to win the series. Now let's get the hated team from up the road this Wednesday !
Great game today. Weather was perfect and the guys played outstanding. Squires came up big several times with some timely hits. Everyone but Storm got a hit today, and he at least got an RBI. So, that is excellent. Cody was hit really hard today, but most of those were able to be hauled in by UK's defense. Mahan made some excellent plays at short today as well. All around an excellent game.
I am not sure how Tennessee is not a much better team. They have 7 guys that are hitting above .300 and 2 guys have over 40 RBIs on the season, another with 34. UK has just 1 with over 30. I think they have had some injuries, but still have a lot of talent and should be winning more games I think.
I am not sure how Tennessee is not a much better team. They have 7 guys that are hitting above .300 and 2 guys have over 40 RBIs on the season, another with 34. UK has just 1 with over 30. I think they have had some injuries, but still have a lot of talent and should be winning more games I think.
Tennessee does have some fine hitters, however I believe their stats are padded due to some mediocre OOC opponents. Cody was terrific today, with 8 K's, and only 2 runs given up.
UT's 3,4,and 5 hitters are quite good, but other than Friday night, they were kept somewhat in check by Beggs, Hjellie, Cody, and Strecker.
The fact
The UT announcers kept saying their bullpen has been their downfall this year.
Yea, I think that they have struggled there. Still, their overall ERA isn't too different from ours. However, their SEC stats are pretty bad. So, I suppose they are kind of the opposite of us... they've done well against their OOP schedule while we struggle in that regard.
A few notes:
-Cody was really good yesterday. Got to 0-2 a lot, and then got them out EVERY time he did. The commentators were going on and on about it. really good day for him.
-Tennessee's bullpen is a disaster. Their starters were pretty sound this weekend, but as soon as we got to their bullpen, they were exposed. They have some good hitters though (especially Senzel).
-Not sure what Hendo is going to do about Fridays. Does he go to Lewis? I hate to give up on Brown, but he has been awful and it's tough sledding getting behind every weekend.
Need some big home crowds this week. A win over UL would be sweet.
-Cody was really good yesterday. Got to 0-2 a lot, and then got them out EVERY time he did. The commentators were going on and on about it. really good day for him.
-Tennessee's bullpen is a disaster. Their starters were pretty sound this weekend, but as soon as we got to their bullpen, they were exposed. They have some good hitters though (especially Senzel).
-Not sure what Hendo is going to do about Fridays. Does he go to Lewis? I hate to give up on Brown, but he has been awful and it's tough sledding getting behind every weekend.
Need some big home crowds this week. A win over UL would be sweet.
Henderson has to do something about Friday. He either has to move around the pitchers on the weekend or he has to move Brown out entirely. At this point I think it would be best for Brown to go to the midweek and get his confidence back. Put Lewis as the starter on Saturday and have Beggs pitch Friday. Once Brown has his confidence back he can possibly get back into the weekend, but even if he doesn't then we know that when the post season comes around we have a big time stud to be our 4th pitcher for the SEC tournament and the regionals.
I agree, though I worry about Moving Beggs to Friday (I'm superstitious, if it ain't broke, then don't fix it). I love Lewis so far, hoping that we either start him against UL on Wed or against Bama on Friday.
Haha I know how you feel. However, we cannot continue to go down a game and expect to have to win out to get the series. That puts a ton of pressure on our team. The thing about Lewis that concerns me is that he doesn't seem to have fully developed his secondary pitches. I think he has a great fastball with some movement, but after that I don't think he has a lot of stuff. That is great for about 2-3 innings, or one trip through the lineup, but to ask him to get 4-6 innings with that is asking a whole lot. I still want to see him pitching during the weekend, but it does make me nervous.
Agreed. starting every weekend off in the hole is a recipe for disaster at some point.
