On his radio show on Monday night with Kentucky baseball play-by-play announcer Darren Headrick, head coach Nick Mingione discussed the status of a few players who have been out of the lineup recently.
Redshirt sophomore first baseman Hudson Brown has missed 11 consecutive games due to an illness. Brown, a native of Olive Branch, Mississippi, was having one of the best offensive seasons on the team prior to missing time. He's slashing .358/.493/.509 with 10 doubles, two home runs and 28 RBI through 31 games played.
"Hudson is getting better," Mingione said. "We spoke (Monday) and he was like 'coach, I feel great.' He's gained a bunch of weight back. Obviously, he couldn't travel with us this weekend. He went home to be with his family and he said his mom just fed him and fed him and fed him. There's nothing like a home cooked meal. He's progressing."
Sophomore right-hander Nate Harris has missed back-to-back starts while dealing with a shoulder injury. Mingione described him as day-to-day following the Vanderbilt series. Harris is scheduled to be checked out by doctors again this week.
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Freshman catcher Owen Jenkins played in just two games in April while dealing with a hand injury. Jenkins, a Lexington native, missed nine straight games following the LSU series finale on March 29. He returned for two games in the Vanderbilt series but hasn't played in the past five games.
"OJ got some good news," Mingione said. "We can start maybe progressing him some. Timeline, don't know, but it seems like OJ is trending right, Huddy is trending right, Nate is getting looked at by the doctors again."
Mingione said senior Will Marcy couldn't play in the series finale at South Carolina on Sunday and that his progress from Tuesday through Thursday would be big in terms of his availability for the Tennessee series this weekend.
"Hopefully we can get (Marcy) back and available for this upcoming weekend," Mingione said. "On a positive note, and the sun shining bright, let's keep this going. Guys are trending in the right direction."
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Kentucky falls to 'First Four Out' in latest bracketology
Kentucky was down to 39th in the RPI following its series loss to South Carolina. It was the sixth straight SEC series loss for the Cats, which now sit at 9-12 in the SEC and 27-15 overall. But with no midweek game and other teams shuffling in the rankings, Kentucky is back up to No. 35 in the RPI as of Wednesday.
The Wildcats' postseason chances took a hit over the weekend, but there's still a path to making a fourth straight NCAA Tournament. D1baseball.com and Baseball America had Kentucky in the 'First Four Out' group. It was a particularly big drop at D1baseball, which still had Kentucky as the last two seed in its April 21 projections.
Kentucky is 5-4 in Quad-1 games and, as of now, has three more Quad-1 opportunities in its road series at Florida. However, Kentucky is just 2-5 in Quad-2 games and has lost three games in both Quadrant 3 and Quadrant 4. Series road losses at LSU and South Carolina fell in Quadrant 2, while the Vanderbilt home series loss landed in Quadrant 3 and the Missouri series loss fell in Quadrant 4. Kentucky finished 3-6 in series against LSU, Missouri and South Carolina, which are the three teams in the SEC who currently have the fewest league wins.
Tennessee and Arkansas, the two remaining home series for the Wildcats, are just outside of the Quadrant 1 rankings. Arkansas entered Wednesday at No. 29 in the RPI, and Tennessee is No. 31. The Vols are just 10-11 in the SEC but have won two of their past three series, including a sweep at Mississippi State and a home series win over rival Alabama.
