The collegiate baseball season may have come to an end this past Tuesday, with UCLA rolling over Mississippi State to take home the school’s first ever national title in the sport, but members of the Kentucky Baseball team have continued to stay in action by participating – and excelling – in collegiate summer leagues across the country. For those unfamiliar with the format of summer leagues, they’re basically amateur leagues formed around the country in which teams composed entirely of collegiate baseball players compete against one another from the end of the NCAA season (early June) to August. While playing for their respective teams, players live with volunteer host families, and enjoy luxurious bus rides to and from road games. But enough about that, let’s get to the Bat Cats, who have been killing throughout the early stages of the summer season.
- Cape Cod League:
A pair of Wildcat pitchers have dominated competition in what is considered the country’s premiere summer league. Junior-to-be Chandler Shepherd remains one of two pitchers in the league that have yet to surrender a run. The Louisa, KY native is 1-0 after two starts, and boasts a 0.00 ERA through twelve innings for the Harwich Mariners. In those twelve innings of shutout baseball, Shepherd has struck out seven, and has allowed only four hits and two walks. Joining Shepherd in the Cape Cod League success is sophomore-to-be Kyle Cody, who threw six solid innings in his Wareham Gatemen debut, allowing only one run on two hits and two walks and striking out four. After a rough second start, Cody sits at 1-1 on the season with a 5.00 ERA, nine strikeouts, and four walks allowed through nine innings pitched.
- Northwoods League:
Max Kuhn is the only player representing the BBN in the Northwoods League, but he is representing us well. The junior-to-be ranks 16th in the league with a .313 average through his first 25 games for the Willmar Stingers. Along with his high-ranking batting average, Kuhn has also collected five doubles, one homer and 19 RBI, and carries a respectable .394 on-base percentage. Some highlights over these 25 games include six and seven-game hitting streaks, two three-hit games, and a three-run walk-off homer on June 7th.
- Perfect Game Colligate Baseball League:
Four Bat Cats have landed on the PGCBL Amsterdam Mohawks. Sophomore-to-be and member of the 2013 SEC All-Freshman team Kyle Barrett has hit .333 in 13 games with two doubles, one homer, three RBI, and three stolen bases while playing outfield for the Mohawks. In the bullpen in fellow sophomore-to-be Dylan Dwyer, who owns a 1-1 record and 3.65 ERA through 12.1 innings pitched, allowing 13 hits and 10 walks. In his last start, Dwyer threw five shutout innings, while only giving up five hits and three walks, striking out four. Alongside these two players are assistant coaches Mike Brown and Ben Jackson.
- West Coast League:
Two more Wildcats are paired as teammates this summer. Sophomores-to-be Greg Fettes and Zach Storm have found a summer home on the conveniently-named Victoria HarbourCats. Fettes has racked up five hits, three RBI, and six walks through ten games behind the plate for the (Harbour) Cats, while Storm has a hit in each of his first eight games, scoring two runs and drawing one walk. Go Cats.
- Prospect League:
Sophomore-to-be Zach Strecker has been scary good through three starts with the Slippery Rock Sliders. The righty is 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA through 23 innings pitched, allowing just one walk and 16 hits and striking out 11. He is joined on the Sliders by sophomore-to-be Storm Wilson. The outfielder has hit .305 with two doubles, six RBI and six steals in 25 games.
- Alaska Baseball League:
Michael Thomas has decided to get it touch with his Eskimo side this summer. The senior-to-be is playing catcher for the Matsu Miners of the Alaska Baseball League, and has hit .222 with a double and a walk in his first seven games. Still no word on if he has mastered the art of ice fishing yet.
- Team USA:
Bat Cat standout Austin Cousino is back to defending the country on the USA Collegiate National Team, and could be joined by teammate A.J. Reed, who is one of the 24 players competing for the final 16 roster spots on the team. Cousino, while seeing playing time in three of the team’s first four games, has collected two hits and two walks. Reed leads the team with three RBI, and has gone 4-10 at the plate with a double and two walks.
That’ll do it for this Summer League Update. Check back in throughout the coming months as I’ll continue to bring updates on all the Bat Cats as they continue to compete against some of the country’s best.
@brooksHoltonKSR
ProPublica wants to get in the magazine business.
Mark Coddington June 28, 2013 Plus: Instagram goes up against Vine in video, two illuminating new journalism studies, and the rest of the news from the past few weeks.