Former Wildcats litter Lexington rosters for baseball’s Battle of the Bourbon Trail
With minor league baseball canceled this season because of the coronavirus pandemic, two Kentucky clubs have teamed up to provide an alternative, and several former Wildcats will be featured players.
The Lexington Legends and Florence Y’alls have put together a summer league, with each organization fielding two baseball teams made up of former Major League players as well as current and former minor league and college players.
Games will be played in front of fans in Lexington and Florence every Wednesday through Sunday, with the first contest in Lexington scheduled for Aug. 1 at Whitaker Bank Ballpark at 6:45 p.m. The series will last six weeks and has been dubbed the “Battle of the Bourbon Trail.”
Rosters for Lexington’s teams — the Legends and the Leyendas — were announced on Friday, and nine former University of Kentucky standouts are set to suit up.
The Legends will feature former Wildcats Jake Hamilton, Aaron McGeorge, Tommy Warner and John Wilson. The Leyendas will field ex-Cats Zach Logue, Chris Machamer, Kole Cottam, Luke Becker and Luke Heyer. Eddie Brooks manages the Legends. Zack Getsee guides the Leyendas.
“The representation from the Commonwealth of Kentucky is incredible.” Lexington Legends President/CEO Andy Shea said in a press release. “We have always highlighted when local guys have played for the Legends, but to have over 30 guys who are either from Kentucky or went to college here, is amazing. This has the makings to be one of the most special teams ever for baseball in Kentucky.”
Alumni from several other Kentucky colleges will also take the field. Among the players who made the Lexington rosters are Chandler Dale, Lincoln Henzman, Jeff Thompson, Drew Ellis and Devin Hairston (University of Louisville), Kaven Brown and Ronnie Engelman (Eastern Kentucky), Joe Crisp (Kentucky State), Michael Koltak (Georgetown College), and Bud Morton and Chris LaPorte (Morehead State University).
Many former Kentucky high school stars will also take part, including Lexington Catholic alumnus Ben Revere, a current MLB free agent who led the National League in hits in 2014.
Tickets for all 32 games of the Battle of the Bourbon trail are on sale and can be purchased by visiting Lexingtonlegends.com.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 4:17 PM.
