Kentucky Starting Reliever Zach Hise in Game One Against No. 1 LSU, Paul Skenes

BATON ROUGE, La. — The last time that Kentucky baseball went on the road and took a series against the No. 1 team in the country was in 2015, when the Bat Cats won two of three games against LSU at Alex Box Stadium.

Head coach Nick Mingione wouldn't mind a similar result this weekend, as that exact opportunity awaits No. 12 Kentucky. After dropping their first SEC series of the season last weekend at Georgia, the Wildcats will look for a major rebound, taking on the Tigers for three games in Baton Rouge.

If the consensus No. 1 ranking, 27-5 record and top-notch pedigree doesn't set the table well enough, then there's plenty of accoutrements available to truly showcase how good coach Jay Johnson's group is:

.333 team batting average (3rd in Division I)
.982 fielding percentage (8th)
.591 slugging percentage (3rd)
.452 on-base percentage (1st)
332 runs scored (1st)
3.98 ERA (22nd)
.201 opposing BA

LSU's schedule features wins at Texas, a series win over Texas A&M on the road, as well as series wins against a pair of ranked foes in Arkansas and Tennessee. UK's 9-3 SEC record may be "better" than LSU's 7-4 mark, but the Tigers have opened conference play against some of the best of the best, while the Wildcats have gotten to start slow. Despite this being weekend No. 5 in conference play, LSU is the first consensus ranked team UK has played.

Part of what makes the Tigers so special is they possess a pair of players who could each potentially be the No. 1 player in the upcoming MLB draft. On the mound, junior right-hander Paul Skenes is as good as it gets. The Air Force transfer currently owns a 1.14 ERA through eight starts, allowing just 21 hits and six earned runs across 47.1 innings.

Skenes has struck out 91 batters while walking just eight. Opponents are hitting .130 against the imposing 6-foot-6, 235-pounder. His fastball touches high-90's regularly while a sharp slider and forceful changeup are also more than capable of doing the trick. Aside from a weather-shortened start last week against South Carolina, Skenes has completed six or more innings in his other seven outings this season, shutting down offenses for fun.

In the batters box, outfielder Dylan Crews is slashing .505/.639/.860. If you couldn't guess, that's the best in the country. He owns a 1.499 OPS, has 54 hits, nine home runs and 36 RBIs.

Starting lineups:

Kentucky:

1. CF Jackson Gray (.319)
2. 3B Jase Felker (.341)
3. C Devin Burkes (.284)
4. 2B Émilien Pitre (.349)
5. 1B Hunter Gilliam (.379)
6. LF Ryan Waldschmidt (.307)
7. RF Nolan McCarthy (.329)
8. DH Kendal Ewell (.182)
9. SS Grant Smith (.292)
RHP Zach Hise (1-0, 1.93 ERA)

LSU:

1. 2B Gavin Dugas (.347)
2. LF Tre' Morgan (.330)
3. CF Dylan Crews (.505)
4. 3B Tommy White (.364)
5. DH Cade Beloso (.420)
6. 1B Jared Jones (.368)
7. RF Brayden Jobert (.296)
8. SS Jordan Thompson (.305)
9. C Alex Milazzo (.375)
RHP Paul Skenes (5-1, 1.14 ERA)

It'll be the Missouri transfer Hise getting the ball to start for the Cats. It's unclear if seventh-year senior RHP Darren Williams will throw Thursday or Friday. Hise has made seven appearances this season, not throwing more than two innings in any of them, though he made 11 starts at Mizzou in 2021.

First pitch in Baton Rouge is set for 7 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

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