There are many reasons why the Kentucky baseball team has a 5-16 Southeastern Conference record and finds itself in last place in the SEC standings.
The Wildcats (20-23, 5-16 SEC) are 10th in conference play with a .288 team batting average. They rest last in the SEC in hits during conference play with 423. They are second in the league in strikeouts with 305. They have only stolen 19 bases on the year and have been caught stealing 13 times. But offense is not their only problem.
Kentucky ranks last in the league in ERA with a 5.37 mark. Teams are hitting .298 against the Wildcats staff, which ranks last in the SEC. And they have allowed 297 runs, 34 more than the nearest competitor.
All those stats plus a dose of fifth-ranked LSU (34-12. 12-9) this weekend in Lexington should set up nicely for the Tigers’ first SEC sweep of the season, right? According to LSU designated hitter Nick Stavinoha, it is not that simple.
“You can’t just throw your glove on the field and win the game that way,” Stavinoha said. “We’ve got to go out and fight and play hard just like we always do. In the SEC you can’t look at records. Every single team out there is good. There’s no weak link anywhere.”
Kentucky does hold an unusual homefield advantage. The Wildcats average 372 people during home games while LSU averages 7,937. Stavinoha said the sparse crowd will be something the Tigers will need to adjust to.
“We’re used to playing in front of a lot of fans everywhere we go,” Stavinoha said. “Even the non-conference games we get good crowds out. It’s going to take a little adjustment and I think it’ll be even more of a test for our focus on the field. Staying in the game the whole time and making sure we don’t fall asleep somewhere in the middle of the game and keep our intensity levels up.”
LSU is 2-5 in opening (Friday night) games of SEC series. Stavinoha said in order for the Tigers to get past the Friday night game, they must take it one inning at a time.
“We need to win the first one,” Stavinoha said. “We need to concentrate on Friday night and not think about the sweep so much. We just need to get out there and win that first game and take in from there.”
The Friday-night bug seemed to carry over to Saturday last week with freshman Clay Dirks pitching in a losing effort, 8-2 to Alabama. He was slated to pitch Friday but the opening game was rescheduled for the next day. It was his first loss of the season as he gave up seven runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings of work.
Dirks will get another shot at the Friday start against Kentucky. He carries an 8-1 record into the game with a 2.67 ERA.
“The starter’s got to go out there and do his job,” Dirks said. “When the starters do their job and set the tone early in the game, it’s easier for the hitters to go up there with more confidence and not so much pressure on them. It’s hard on hitters. We need to limit them to as few runs as possible and let the hitters go up there and be relaxed at the plate.”