Baseball links for Kentucky series

by Barca Blog (photo by Bill Randles)

No. 20 Vanderbilt (18-4, 1-2 SEC) will host their conference home opener when Kentucky (16-5, 1-2) comes to town for a three-game series starting tonight at Hawkins Field.

Let's get ready for the showdown by looking at stories from around the web:

David Boclair of The City Paper gives an update on the health of Curt Casali and looks at the 'Dores weekend rotation to this point of the season.

“We’re going to try and get (Casali) back in there this weekend,” Tim Corbin said. “He’s still not going to be 100 percent, but we’re working toward that.”

Aaron Fitt of Baseball America wrote a detailed preview on how both teams will look to respond after dropping their SEC openers last weekend.

"I just want to play well," Corbin said. "After you come off a weekend where you won one of three, you just want to play well and hopefully have a chance to win a series. But I know they're good, I know they can pitch, and offensively they've got some very good players. I've always felt in this conference, the best team you play is the next team you play."

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com lists the matchup as one of 10 intriguing series to watch this weekend.

It wasn't too long ago both of these clubs were riding high on the national stage. Now both teams are in need of a series win. The Wildcats dropped a home series to Ole Miss last weekend, while Vandy dropped a road series to Alabama. Kentucky's pitching was iffy on Friday and Saturday against the Rebels. Vandy, meanwhile, mustered only eight runs in three games against Crimson Tide pitching. This series will come down to Kentucky's pitching staff versus Vanderbilt's usually productive offense. Vandy's offense will come to life at home.

You can also read the official previews with game notes on VUcommodores.com and UKathletics.com.

The expected weekend rotation is:

Friday at 6 p.m. CT
Sonny Gray (R, 3-2, 2.73) vs. Logan Darnell (L, 3-1, 3.09)

Saturday at 2 p.m. CT
Taylor Hill (R, 3-1, 2.90) vs. Taylor Rogers (L, 3-1, 4.75)

Sunday at 1 p.m. CT
Jack Armstrong (R, 3-0, 3.16) vs. Alex Meyer (R, 4-2, 6.51)

If you're in town and need tickets, you're in luck. Tickets are available through the Vanderbilt ticket office at (615) 322-GOLD or online at www.vucommodores.com. All three games will also be broadcast live on VUcommodores.com with Joe Fisher's radio call on 560 AM.