The SEC leading Wildcats (35-7, 13-5 SEC) will travel to the defending SEC champions, Vanderbilt, this weekend for a three game set.  The Cats are coming off another disappointing lost to Louisville  on Tuesday and look to do as they did the last time they lost to the Cardinals, get a road series victory.

Kentucky will once again go with the same weekend rotation that they have used all season; Taylor Rogers, Jerad Grundy, and Corey Littrell.  Rogers (4-2, 5.01 ERA) is still seeking his first SEC win of the season.  The staff ace was once again the recipient of a tough luck loss last weekend against LSU.  The left-hander was undone by two first inning unearned runs and was out-dueled by the top pitcher in the nation.  Junior transfer Jerad Grundy  (4-1, 4.24 ERA) got in the SEC win column last week in an 8-1 win in which he threw six innings in one of his best starts as a Cat.  Littrell (6-0, 2.51 ERA) received his second no decision of conference play this last weekend in a 7-6 victory against LSU.  The Cats have not lost a game this season in which Littrell has started.

The Cats still lead the SEC in many offensive categories including slugging and on-base percentages, runs, hits, RBIs, and doubles.  Junior Luke Maile leads the conference in homeruns with 11 and leadoff hitter Austin Cousino leads the SEC in doubles and is second in runs scored.

The Commodores ( 19-22, 7-11 SEC)  have had a tough season after winning the SEC last year and reaching Omaha for the first time in school history.  They will send TJ Pecoraro (0-1, 3.71 ERA), Tyler Beede (1-4, 4.78 ERA), and Kevin Ziomek (3-6, 5.44 ERA).  The ‘Doors are coming off a series loss at SEC West cellar dweller Alabama last weekend and have won only two of their six SEC series this season.

Game Times (eastern) 

Friday:  7:30 p.m.

Saturday: 3:00 p.m.

Sunday:  2:00 p.m.

The games will not be telvised this weekend but can be heard on 630 AM in Lexington, 1080 AM in Louisville, and on UKathletics.com.  You can also keep up with the action by following John Wilmhoff (@wilmhoffksr) and myself (@mulloyksr) for in-game updates.

Mid Season Awards 

It was a busy middle of the week baseball news wise as three Wildcats were honored with award or team nominations.  Our Windy City scribe, Kristen Geil, had a good wrap up of the nominees here.  Sophomore Corey Littrell was named as one of 50 finalists for the College Baseball Hall of Fame National Player of the Year.  Freshman phenom Austin Cousino was named to the USA Collegiate National Team and is the first Wildcat to receive the honor since 1999.

It was announced on Thursday that senior third baseman Thomas McCarthy was named as one of ten finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.  McCarthy was selected for his preformance on the field, (a .353 career average)  his performance in the classroom (3.4 GPA), and his community involvement with the Bluegrass Miracle League, God’s Pantry, and Salvation Army.  You can vote for McCarthy here and the winner will be announced at the College World Series.