For the last 3 years, Kentucky baseball, aka the "Bat Cats," have been but a shell of the team John Cohen built between 2004 and 2008, going only 84-81 overall and carrying a losing SEC record of 33-57 around. When Gary Henderson replaced Cohen, who was lured back to his baseball-crazy alma mater at Mississippi St., many on this blog, including me, predicted the program's return to mediocrity. Up until this year, that prediction looked prescient. But no more.

This year, the Bat Cats are literally shocking the baseball world at 30-3, the best record in the nation. Let me just say that again -- the Kentucky Wildcats have lost 3 games in 33 starts, the best record in the USA, and all three of their losses are in the SEC, the nation's best college baseball league.

Needless to say, the college baseball world has noticed. The Wildcats have climbed up the rankings of the polls, and are ranked #1 by Collegiate Baseball newspaper for the second straight week. Other polls, such as the CBI, have Kentucky ranked somewhat lower, but only a little (they are currently #2 in CBI). The National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll has the Wildcats currently #3 behind Florida St. and Texas A&M, and USA Today has the Bat Cats #2.

Today in Cliff Hagan Stadium, the Wildcats take on our arch-rivals, the Louisville Cardinals. This game will be extensively covered, including television as well as radio, as follows (Courtesy of UKAhtletics.com):

Schedule (times Eastern and subject to change) -- Lexington, Ky.

Tuesday, April 10 * vs. No. 20 Louisville * 6:30 p.m.



Television (UK IMG Radio Network with Dick Gabriel, Doug Flynn and Ryan Lemond)

Tuesday: Live on Fox Sports South, C-WKYT (Central Kentucky), WYMO-TV (Louisville)



Radio (UK IMG Radio Network with Neil Price)

Tuesday: WLAP 630-AM in Lexington; WKJK 1080-AM in Louisville



Internet Coverage

Live video, audio and stats on UKathletics.com

So let's momentarily digress from our profound love of basketball and give the baseball team some well-earned love.