Familiar faces return to Lexington for UK’s final regular-season series at The Cliff
The University of Kentucky baseball team returns to Lexington this weekend to host the final regular-season series in the history of Cliff Hagan Stadium, a three-game set with Mississippi State beginning Friday.
The Cats are coming off a four-game road trip in which they went 2-2, dropping two of three games at Tennessee before edging nationally ranked Indiana 7-6 in Bloomington on Tuesday.
UK and Mississippi State are currently tied for the No. 8 seed in the 12-team Southeastern Conference Tournament with 11-13 records in league play. If they win this weekend’s series, the Wildcats should still have a shot at a top-four seed in the tournament, which would give them a bye into the double-elimination portion.
UK has dropped two of its last three SEC series and is 31-17 overall. Mississippi State has won two of its last three league series and is 26-22 overall.
The schedule
Friday: 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU, WLAP-AM 630)
Saturday: 5 p.m. (SEC Network, WLAP-AM 630)
Sunday: 3 p.m. (SEC Network, WLAP-AM 630)
Back on the mound
Just in time for the season’s stretch run UK is getting back one of its key weapons. In last Saturday’s 10-3 win over Tennessee, starting pitcher Zack Thompson saw his first action since suffering an elbow injury on March 10. The left-handed sophomore allowed no hits and no runs while striking out seven batters over three innings.
The Cats will probably look to add to his workload this weekend. UK Coach Nick Mingione never settled on a permanent replacement in Thompson’s absence, often using a committee approach with mixed results. Thompson’s return should help stabilize a pitching staff that has struggled this season. UK is last in the SEC with a 5.21 team earned run average.
The opponent
There will be a familiar face in the Mississippi State dugout this weekend. Former University of Kentucky Coach Gary Henderson, who was replaced by Mingione before last season, is the Bulldogs’ interim head coach. Henderson led the Wildcats for eight years before departing to become Mississippi State’s pitching coach. He took over head-coaching duties when second-year coach and rising star Andy Cannizaro suddenly resigned just three games into the season amid reports of an extramarital affair with an athletic department employee.
The Bulldogs have had an up-and-down run with Henderson in charge but have won seven of their last 10 games and have posted 14 come-from-behind wins on the year. They’re middle of the pack in the SEC with a 3.98 team earned run average and boast a pair of .300-plus hitters in Jake Mangum and Hunter Stovall.
Mangum, a switch-hitting junior, is batting .338 with 16 RBI and team highs with 17 doubles and 39 runs scored. Stovall, a junior infielder, is batting .321 with 24 RBI.
The Bulldogs have hit a league-low 26 home runs.
The rankings
Kentucky is ranked No. 21 in both the Baseball America poll and the USA Today Coaches poll. Mississippi State is unranked in both.
Probable pitchers
Friday: RHP Sean Hjelle (6-4, 3.19 ERA) vs. LHP Konnor Pilkington (2-5, 3.72 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Zack Thompson (2-0, 4.98 ERA) vs. LHP Ethan Small (5-3, 2.99 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Justin Lewis (7-3, 4.33 ERA) vs. RHP Jacob Billingsley (3-3, 4.59 ERA)
Tickets
Advance tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com. Game-day sales are available two hours before first pitch at the Cliff Hagan Stadium box office.
This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Familiar faces return to Lexington for UK’s final regular-season series at The Cliff."