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RICHMOND, Ky. – One day after defeating BIG EAST power Louisville, the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team will square off against another nationally-ranked opponent on Wednesday, the Kentucky Wildcats. First pitch at Cliff Hagan Stadium is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
Kentucky leads the all-time series between the two schools, 65-24-1. The last time the two teams met was 2005. EKU has not beaten Kentucky since 1999, when the Colonels won a 9-8 decision at Turkey Hughes Field.
Kentucky comes into Wednesday’s game ranked no. 29 in the country according to Collegiate Baseball.
EKU upset Louisville on Tuesday at Turkey Hughes Field, 7-5. Junior Jim Clancy got the win for the Colonels, striking out six of the first seven Cardinals he faced. Junior Anthony Ottrando led EKU at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
Sophomore right-hander Matt Fyffe (0-1) will take the mound Wednesday against Kentucky. Freshman righty Alex Meyer (0-0) is slotted to start for the Wildcats.
Colonel Baseball Notes
First Big Win of the Stein Era
Just five games into his head coaching career at EKU, Jason Stein already has his first signature win. The Colonels defeated unanimous BIG EAST favorite Louisville on March 3 at Turkey Hughes Field, 7-5. Louisville had won eight straight over EKU and 13 of the last 14 in the series. The last time the Colonels beat Louisville was 2004.
Finding the Holes
With only two home runs in five games, the Colonels may not be a power-hitting ballclub, but they certainly know how to find holes in the infield and outfield. EKU enters Wednesday's game at Kentucky hitting .319 as a team. In the seventh inning against Louisville on Tuesday, the Colonels strung together five consecutive singles - two into center field, two through the left side and one through the right side - to score three runs and take a commanding 7-3 lead.
Finding First Base
For those who subscribe to Michael Lewis' book Moneyball and believe on-base perecentage is one of the most significant statistics in baseball, EKU leads the OVC by a large margin with a team .461 on-base percentage. Junior Joey Stevens (.611, third in the OVC), senior Tyler Rehmel (.579, fifth in the OVC) and senior Matt Davis (.571, sixth in the OVC) appear to be particulary apt at finding first base.
Colonels Atop the OVC
Several Colonels enter this week as statistical leaders in the OVC. Senior second baseman Tyler Rehmel leads the conference in doubles per game (1.00) and stolen bases per game (1.00). Senior outfielder Matt Davis is tops in the OVC in runs per game (2.25) and sophomore third baseman Jayson Langfels is the league leader in triples per game (.67).
Swinging the Bats Well
As a team, EKU is second in the OVC in hitting with a .315 batting average. They are also second in the league with a .500 team slugging percentage and 15 doubles. They lead the OVC by a large margin with 12 stolen bases.
Right Where He Left Off...
Sophomore third baseman Jayson Langfels recorded a Colonel-record eight triples last season during his rookie campaign. To put any rumors to rest regarding that number being a fluke, Langfels, in his first at-bat of the 2009 season, ripped an RBI triple over the center fielder’s head at Louisville. One game later, against IPFW, Langfels blasted another three-bagger to deep center field. He is now on pace to hit 36 triples this season. The EKU record for triples in a career is 12 (held by Josh Anderson and Lee Chapman). Langfels now has 10 with, presumably, about 150 games left in his career.
