2010 KENTUCKY WILDCATS BASEBALL

The Kentucky Wildcats enter the 2010 season poised to potentially take a big step forward in the SEC East division. Indeed, in 2009, the team was firmly in the bottom half of the division (5th) and toward the bottom of the conference as a whole. However, the team comes back in good shape in regards to roster losses and returning players, and if the young players on the roster can learn their roles quickly, they may be able to inch just a little bit closer to the middle of the pack in the SEC.

Kentucky finished the 2009 season with a record of 28-26 overall. And while the team's quest for 30 wins fell just short, the over .500 record was generally a welcome sight, and a goal that was set in light of an admittedly and acknowledged to be brutal SEC schedule. Within such conference games the team went 12-18.

One significant obstacle that the University of Kentucky baseball team will face as it begins its 2010 season, and begins a hopeful ascent upwards within the SEC East division, is its schedule. In addition to the traditionally brutal slate of games scheduled to take place amongst fellow SEC combatants, Kentucky will face, in 2010, an extremely difficult non-conference schedule, one that is considers by many observers to be among the toughest schedules that the team has ever faced.

Among the non-conference opponents that the Wildcats will attempt to take in 2010 are Coastal Carolina, who went 47-16 in 2009 (and was ranked in the top 25 at the conclusion of the season), Virginia Tech (32-21 in 2009), San Diego State (41-23 in 2009), and Wright State (33-30). And of particular note is that the San Diego State game, along with a game against San Diego, are both going to take place on the west coast, which could represent a challenge for the Wildcats.

Key Returning Players

Kentucky returns a number of its most important offensive contributors from the 2009 campaign for the upcoming 2010 season. Chris Bisson had a tremendous season in 2009. He batted a team high .360 and drove in 52 runs. He had an on base percentage of .414. Chad Wright was another one of the team's strongest contributors over the course of 2009. He hit .343 for the season. He also hit 4 home runs and knocked in 23 runs. The team leader in home runs was Marcus Nidffler, who hit 10 home runs for the season to go along with a batting average of .313 as well as driving in 32 runs.

In so far as returning pitching talent, the two regular starters who return to the team from the 2009 season will be Alex Meyer, who went 1-4 with a 5.73 ERA in 2009, as well as James Paxton, who went 5-3 with a 5.86 ERA in 2009. Needless to say, both of these hurlers will have to improve their games significantly in order to support the offense enough to get this team wins.

Key Departing Players

The Wildcats are not losing a lot of talent from the 2009 squad, which is one of the reasons for optimism entering 2010. Chris Wade (.313 batting average, 6 home runs, and 42 runs batted in) is far and away the most significant loss when it comes to offensive weapons from the 2009 roster.

Among pitchers, the most significant departure is that of #1 starter from 2009, Chris Rusin. Rusin, in 94.1 innings pitched, went 7-4 with a 4.20 ERA. He also struck out 108.

Read all about Why Scratch is the Kentucky Mascot and Why Kentucky picked blue and white as its color?

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• 2009 Kentucky Wildcats Baseball


• Gary Henderson Biography --Kentucky head coach

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