Photo by Regina Lexi Rickert

UK Baseball began the season today in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where they took on UNC Asheville. With Gary, Indiana, still in the back of their minds the UK Baseball team looked to start off the season strong after being ranked 8th in all of college baseball. The lefty AJ Reed took the mound for the ‘Cats, having posted a 2.52 ERA in 2012 with a 5-2 record. On the mound for UNCA was RHP Dean Roland who posted a team best 3.91 ERA in 2012 with a 5-6 record. On to some notes from the game…

 The BatCats didn’t take long to get the train rolling offensively as they put up 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning.

 Riddle began the top of the third with a very long double and would eventually be driven in with back-to-back sacrifice grounders, increasing the lead to 4-1. Today’s game was JT Riddle’s 67th consecutive start and his first ever two-double game.

 AJ Reed would exit the game after pitching 5 innings. His final stat line on the mound was 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 SO. On top of his successful day on the mound, he also had 4 hits at the plate. It was his 3rd career game with at least 3 hits and it included his first career triple.

 There was a strong showing at the stadium today. #BlueGotIn

Count about 60-75 #UKbaseball fans wearing blue here today. A great turnout, appreciate everyone for coming to the game today. #WeAreUK

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 15, 2013

 Hitters 1-4 in the lineup (Cousino, Zellers, Reed, Riddle) had a total of 11 hits throughout the game and accounted for 8 of the 9 runs today.

 UK had a total of 3 relief pitchers today. Wijas(1.2 innings), Dwyer(1.1 innings) and Cody(1 inning) all put in solid outings. Today was Cody’s and Dwyer’s first career appearances.

 As we expected coming into the season, there was a strong focus on small-ball in today’s game; no homeruns were hit (it’s worth noting that the ballpark is very pitcher friendly, though).

 Gary, Indiana, may or may not have been mentioned in the broadcast. Get used to it.

 The BatCats will be back in action tomorrow against USC Upstate at 4:00 PM. Check back here for updates.