Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

South Atlantic League baseball

Lexington Legends
at Asheville Tourists

What: Four-game series

When: Thursday through Sunday (7:05 Thursday and Friday nights, 6:05 Saturday, 2:05 Sunday)

Where: McCormick Field (Asheville, N.C.)

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), Colorado Rockies (Tourists)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Thursday, RH Miguel Almonte (3-4, 3.83) vs. RH Ben Hughes (5-5, 6.00); Friday, RH Christian Binford (4-2, 2.67) vs. RH Shane Broyles (1-8, 6.67); Saturday, LH Daniel Stumpf (4-4, 2.78) vs. RH Ryan Arrowood (3-0, 3.43); Sunday, LH Crawford Simmons (0-1, 9.00) vs. RH Matt Carasiti (1-2, 8.16).

Miguel Almonte

Legend to watch: Thursday starter Miguel Almonte (6-foot-2, 180 pounds, age 20, from Santiago, Dominican Republic) has made 11 starts, going 3-4 with a 3.83 ERA over 56 1/3 innings. Almonte has struck out 53, walked 21, holding opponents to a .246 batting average. His last five starts have resulted in two wins and three no-decisions. In two June starts, he is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Signed for $25,000 on Nov. 20, 2010, he made five appearances (one start) with the Dominican Summer League Royals in 2011, with no decisions and a 5.40 ERA. Last year, with the DSL Royals and Arizona League’s Surprise Royals, Almonte was a combined 8-2. He earned DSL all-star honors and was the Dominican Royals’ Pitcher of the Year, and even joined Burlington for the Appalachian League playoffs. Coming into this season, Baseball America rated Almonte as the 10th-best prospect in the Royals system.

Derek Jones

Tourist to watch: SAL all-star OF Derek Jones (6-0, 210, 23, bats and throws left, from Snohomish, Wash.) is hitting .254 with eight homers, 30 RBI and 26 runs over 55 games. After batting .325 in 20 games in April, he has slumped of late. Still, he’s hitting .309 with runners on base. He has 10 stolen bases and 93 total bases, and 15 of his 52 hits have been doubles. A 2012 eighth-round draft pick out of Washington State, Jones broke into pro ball last year with Tri-City of the Northwest League, hitting .191 with a homer, 22 RBI and 29 runs over 68 games.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Rome Braves
at Lexington Legends

What: Three-game series

When: Monday through Wednesday (7:05 Monday and Tuesday nights, 12:05 Wednesday afternoon)

Where: Whitaker Bank Ballpark

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), Atlanta Braves

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Monday, LH Daniel Stumpf (3-4, 2.81) vs. RH Lucas Sims (2-2, 3.25); Tuesday, LH Crawford Simmons (0-0, 0.00) vs. RH Rafael Briceno (3-7, 6.83); Wednesday, RH Alec Mills (2-2, 1.32) vs. RH Mauricio Cabrera (1-4, 5.04).

Josh Elander

Brave to watch: OF Josh Elander (6-foot-1, 215 pounds, age 22, bats and throws right, from Round Rock, Texas) leads Rome in average (.332), homers (10), RBI (54), total bases (135), hits (78), doubles (21), runs (41), games (62), at-bats (235), slugging (.574) and OPS (.964) among players who have played more than 25 games. A sixth-round draft pick, Elander was rated by Baseball America as “best power hitter” in the Braves’ class of 2012. Signed as a catcher, he spent last season with Danville of the Appalachian League, batting .260 with four homers, 19 RBI and 19 runs over 36 games. This year, he’s hitting .365 at home, .294 on the road, and .358 with runners in scoring position.

Clayton Schulz

Legend to watch: LHP Clayton Schulz (6-2, 180, 23, from West Palm Beach, Fla.) has made 15 relief appearances, going 1-1 with four saves and a 2.08 ERA. Over 26 innings, Schulz has recorded 22 strikeouts to 10 walks, holding opponents to a .170 batting average. Signed Aug. 8, 2011 as a non-drafted free agent, he helped South Fork High School to a second-place finish in the 2008 Florida Class 5A state tourney, then attended the University of North Florida. An avid surfer, he required more than 400 stitches in his left leg after being bit by a shark in 2010. He recovered to post a 3.34 ERA over 35 innings in 2011, and went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in four games with the Arizona League Royals. Last year, with Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League, 13 of his 14 appearances were starts en route to going 5-7 with a 6.07 ERA. He ranked among the league leaders in wins (tied, seventh), innings (eighth) and strikeouts (tied, ninth).  A cousin, Henry Owens, pitched for the New York Mets and Florida Marlins.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Lexington Legends
at Augusta GreenJackets

What: Three-game series

When: Friday through Sunday (7:05 Friday and Saturday nights, 2:05 Sunday afternoon)

Where: Lake Olmstead Stadium (Augusta, Ga.)

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), San Francisco Giants (GreenJackets)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Friday, RH Bryan Brickhouse (4-3, 2.25) vs. RH Martin Agosta (5-2, 2.47); Saturday, RH Miguel Almonte (2-4, 3.93) vs. RH Justin Schumer (2-4, 6.44); Sunday, RH Christian Binford (4-2, 2.67) vs. RH Chris Stratton (6-3, 3.77).

Cory Hall

Legend to watch: RHP Cory Hall (6-foot-2, 220 pounds, age 25, from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and a  hold over 16 relief appearances totaling 32 2/3 innings. While holding opponents to a .207 batting average, Hall has struck out 35 and walked 18. Signed June 28, 2011 as a non-drafted free agent, he is a 2006 graduate of Thom Collegiate High in Regina. He was a member of Canada’s bronze-medal team at the 2006 World Junior Baseball Championships. He attended Gonzaga University one season before moving to Taft Community College in California, where he was all-conference in 2008. He then played three seasons for Santa Clara University, where he posted a 3.26 ERA and 80 striketouts in 105 innings to earn all-West Coast Conference honors in 2011. He graduated from Santa Clara with a degree in marketing. Last year, with Idaho Falls, he recorded five saves to tie for 10th in the Pioneer League, while going 2-1 with a 2.15 ERA. Hall broke into pro ball in 2011, finishing 2-2 with a 5.55 ERA over 15 relief outings for Burlington of the Appalachian League.

Mitchell Delfino

GreenJacket to watch: 3B Mitchell Delfino (6-2, 210, 22, bats and throws right, from Cloverdale, Calif.) leads Augusta in home runs (7), RBI (38), total bases (88), games (58) and at-bats (228) through Wednesday. Batting .246, he has scored 29 times, and has nine doubles and a triple. Selected by the Giants in the 20th round of the 2012 draft, out of Cal-Berkeley, he split last season between the Arizona League Giants and Salem-Keizer of the Northwest League. Over 53 combined games, he hit .256 with 21 RBI, 22 runs and four stolen bases. Thus far this season, he’s batting .262 against left-handed pitching, .242 versus righties. For his first four games in June, Delfino is 6-for-16 (.375) with two homers and five RBI.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Lexington Legends
at Savannah
Sand Gnats

What: Three-game series

When: Tuesday through Thursday (7:05 each night)

Where: Grayson Stadium (Savannah, Ga.)

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), New York Mets (Gnats)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Tuesday, LH Daniel Stumpf (3-3, 1.90) vs. RH Logan Taylor (0-1, 4.15); Wednesday, RH Alec Mills (1-2, 1.59) vs. RH Robert Gsellman (2-2, 3.52); Thursday, RH Bryan Brickhouse (4-3, 2.25) vs. RH Matthew Koch (3-2, 4.91).

Daniel Hernandez

Legend to watch: RHP Daniel Hernandez (6-foot-1, 185 pounds, age 24, from Union City, N.J.) has no decisions, five saves and a 1.35 ERA over 13 relief appearances spanning 24 2/3 innings. Hernandez has struck out 27 and walked eight, holding opponents to a .176 batting average. He also appeared in one game for Wilmington of the Carolina League, giving up one run in three innings. Selected in the 12th round of the 2010 draft, he graduated in 2007 from Coral Gables (Fla.) High School and in 2010 from Miami Dade College, where he was Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year. Hernandez missed the 2011 season due to surgery on his right elbow. Last year, with Burlington, he finished in the Appalachian League’s top 10 in wins (5), strikeouts (61), innings (65) and ERA (4.15).

Kevin Plawecki

Sand Gnat to watch: C Kevin Plawecki (6-2, 205, 22, bats and throws right, from Carmel, Ind.) leads Savannah in at-bats (201), doubles (22), RBI (39) and total bases (111), and shares the lead in homers (6). Batting .343 with 30 runs in 53 games, Plawecki has a .416 on-base percentage, slugging .552. He’s batting .538 against left-handed pitching, .296 versus right-handers. A first-round supplemental draft pick (35th overall) out of Purdue University last year, he signed for $1.4 million. Assigned to Brooklyn of the New York-Penn League, he led the team with seven homers last summer and threw out 32 percent of would-be base-stealers. He hit .250 with 27 RBI and 26 runs over 61 games. Coming into this season, Baseball America rated him as the 21st-best prospect in the Mets system; MLB.com had him at No. 17.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Hagerstown Suns
at Lexington Legends

What: Four-game series

When: Thursday through Sunday (7:05 Thursday through Saturday nights, 1:35 Sunday afternoon)

Where: Whitaker Bank Ballpark

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), Washington Nationals (Suns)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Thursday, RH Alec Mills (1-2, 1.93) vs. RH Dixon Anderson (4-2, 2.47); Friday, Bryan Brickhouse (3-3, 2.13) vs. RH Ronald Pena (2-2, 4.66); Saturday, RH Miguel Almonte (2-4, 4.17) vs. LH Nick Lee (1-1, 11.74); Sunday, RH Christian Binford (4-2, 2.73) vs. RH Ivan Pineyro (4-3, 3.35).

Tony Renda

Sun to watch: 2B Tony Renda (5-foot-8, 180 pounds, age 22, bats and throws right, from Santa Rosa, Calif.) leads Hagerstown in games (49), at-bats (193), runs (39), hits (57), doubles (19), triples (3) and stolen bases (9), while batting .295 with a homer and 25 RBI. He has hits in his last 10 games (18-for-41, .439) and 12 of his last 13 games. Coming into the season, Baseball America rated him the 12th-best prospect in the Nationals system. A 2012 second-round draft pick out of California, he was the Pacific-12 Conference Player of the Year and helped the Bears reach the 2011 College World Series. Signed for $500,000, he was assigned to Auburn of the New York-Penn League last summer, where he recovered from a slow start to hit .264 with 32 RBI and 47 runs over 71 games, swiping 15 bases. He also drew 31 walks while striking out 33 times.

Ali Williams

Legend to watch: RHP Ali Williams (6-1, 191, 23, from Sumter, S.C.) has allowed one earned run over his last three relief appearances, spanning six innings. Overall, Williams is 3-3 with a hold and a 5.34 ERA over 15 relief outings and 28 2/3 innings. He has struck out 34 and walked 13. As a senior at Crestwood High School, he posted a 1.20 ERA. Williams attended South Carolina-Salkehachie for two seasons and earned an associate degree in science, then transferred to Charleston Southern. Selected by the Royals in the 34th round of the 2011 draft, he spent that summer with the Arizona League Royals and went 1-1 with a 3.89 ERA, 35 strikeouts and 10 walks. Last year, with Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League, Williams finished 3-3 with a 5.25 ERA, 67 strikeouts (tied for fourth in the league) and 22 walks. He is a cousin to late Hall of Famer Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Kannapolis Intimidators
at Lexington Legends

What: Three-game series

When: Monday through Wednesday (7:05 Monday and Tuesday nights, 12:05 Wednesday afternoon)

Where: Whitaker Bank Ballpark

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), Chicago White Sox (Intimidators)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Monday, RH Christian Binford (3-2, 2.76) vs. RH Brandon Brennan (1-7, 7.74); Tuesday, LH Colin Rodgers (3-2, 2.48) vs. RH Kyle Hansen (0-1, 7.88); Wednesday, LH Daniel Stumpf (3-2, 1.96) vs. RH Jake Cose (3-3, 1.95).

Micah Johnson

Intimidator to watch: 2B Micah Johnson (6-foot, 190 pounds, age 22, bats left, throws right, from Indianapolis) leads Kannapolis in hits (56), runs (45), triples (5), games (44), at-bats (175), total bases (80), walks (26) and stolen bases (45), while batting .320 with two homers and 22 RBI. Rated by Baseball America as the 26th-best propect in the White Sox system to begin the season, Johnson was a 2012 ninth-round draft pick out of Indiana University. Signed for $127,600, he switch-hit last year and batted .273 with four homers, 25 RBI and 19 stolen bases for Great Falls, earning Pioneer League all-star honors. This season, he’s batting .226 against left-handers, .340 versus righties, .286 at home and .343 on the road.

Colin Rodgers

Legend to watch: Tuesday starter Colin Rodgers (5-10, 181, 19, from Baton Rouge, La.) was selected in the third round of last June’s draft, out of Parkview Baptist School in Baton Rouge,. He led his team to a 3A state championship in 2009. Rodgers passed on a scholarship to Auburn in order to turn pro for $700,000 and was named Pitcher of the Year for the Burlington Royals of the Appalachian League, going 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 11 starts. Thus far with the Legends, he’s 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA over eight starts and 40 innings. He has struck out 32 and walked 17, holding opponents to a .236 batting average. Baseball America rates him the 25th-best prospect in the Royals system.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Lexington Legends
at Hagerstown Suns

What: Four-game series

When: Thursday through Sunday (7:05 Thursday through Saturday nights, 1:05 Sunday afternoon)

Where: Municipal Stadium (Hagerstown, Md.)

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), Washington Nationals (Suns)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Thursday, LH Daniel Stumpf (3-1, 1.49) vs. RH Ivan Pineyro (3-2, 3.96); Friday, RH Aroni Nina (1-2, 4.55) vs. RH Pedro Encarnacion (3-3, 2.48); Saturday, RH Bryan Brickhouse (2-3, 2.47) vs. RH Dixon Anderson (4-1, 2.12); Sunday, RH Miguel Almonte (2-4, 2.91) vs. RH Ronald Pena (2-2, 3.47).

Jin-Ho Shin

Legend to watch: C Jin-Ho Shin (6-foot-1, 212 pounds, age 21, bats and throws right, from Hwasun-gun, South Korea) shares the team lead in doubles (8) and is batting .226 through 29 games, with a homer, nine RBI and 12 runs. Signed as a non-drafted free agent Feb. 14, 2009, he is the first Korean-born player in Royals franchise history. Shin broke in with the Arizona League Royals in 2010, going .152-1-11 over 39 games. In 2011, with Burlington of the Appalachian League, his production improved to .219-3-15 over 46 games. Last year, over 60 games with Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League and 27 contests with Kane County of the Midwest League, Shin batted .247 with eight homers, 41 RBI and 46 runs.

Brandon Miller

Sun to watch: RF Brandon Miller (6-2, 215, 23, right/right, from Atlanta) leads Hagerstown in homers (9), RBI (27), doubles (12), total bases (76) and slugging percentage (.503), while batting .245. A fourth-round draft pick last year out of Samford, he led the NCAA with 23 homers and ranked 15th nationally with a school-record 65 RBI as a senior. He also set Samford’s career record for homers (39). He began his collegiate career as a catcher at Georgia Tech, transferred to Northwest Florida Community College and then to Samford. Last summer, he played 29 games for Auburn of the New York-Penn League, batting .292 with four homers, 21 RBI and 20 runs. Coming into this season, Baseball America rated him the 22nd-best prospect in the Nationals system

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

Ole Miss ended Kentucky’s season Tuesday, dealing the Wildcats a 4-1 loss in the opening game of the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament at Hoover, Ala.

Matt Reida and Zack Storm each had two of Kentucky’s eight hits.

Ole Miss had 11 hits, including two each by Austin Anderson and Stuart Turner

Here’s a scoring recap.

Ole Miss 1, Kentucky 0

Ole Miss struck for a run in the bottom of the first.

Anderson and Turner laced back-to-back one-out singles to right, with Anderson advancing to third on Turner’s hit. Andrew Mistone’s sacrifice fly to right scored Anderson.

Ole Miss 2, Kentucky 0

The Rebels added a run in the third.

Christian Helsel doubled to left and moved to third on Tanner Mathis’ sacrifice. Anderson doubled down the right-field line to drive in Helsel.

Ole Miss 2, Kentucky 1

The Wildcats broke through with an unearned run in the top of the fourth.

With one out, Zac Zellers doubled to right-center. He moved to third on A.J. Reed’s groundout to second.

Austin Cousino walked. Cousino then stole second, and Zellers came home on a throwing error by catcher Turner.

Ole Miss 4, Kentucky 1

The Rebels added a pair of runs in the sixth.

Mistone knocked a one-out double down the left-field line.

Austin Bousfield drove Mistone home with a single to right.

One out later, Austin Knight rapped a pinch-hit single, knocking out UK starter Jerad Grundy.

Chandler Shephard came in and yielded an RBI-single up the middle by Will Allen.

When Kentucky opens play Tuesday morning against Ole Miss in the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, the mission is clear.

Win or go home. For the season.

The consensus opinion is that UK must at least make a deep run into the tournament, if not win the whole event, to advance to NCAA regional play.

How will Coach Gary Henderson deal with his players under such pressure?

“When you show up and you’re 11-and-19 (in SEC play), I think it’s pretty clear to everybody  that whether or not you’ve got to win it or you’ve got to win four or whatever it may be, (the assignment) is pretty clear,” Henderson said Monday during a coaches’ teleconference. “So I’m not sure I’ve got to manage a lot of that. I think it’s pretty clear to our guys.

“We’ll go about it the same way we always do. We need to win tomorrow morning and then we can worry about what we’re doing on Wednesday. If it goes down to sitting down and telling them that we’ve got to bite off four wins or five wins or whatever it is, I won’t do that.

“We need to play well. We need to pitch well. All of our coaching cliches are absolutely true. We need to do those tomorrow morning and, when that’s over, we’ll worry about it. But I would say we have to have a significant run.”

UK, 30-24 overall, is seeded 11th in the 12-team tournament at Hoover, Ala. Tuesday’s 10:30 a.m. game against Ole Miss is an elimination game. The winner will go on to meet third-seeded Arkansas in the double-elimination portion of the tourney, Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

The Wildcats will start senior left-hander Jerad Grundy (6-5, 4.75 ERA) against Ole Miss. Grundy has made 13 starts. tossing 77.2 innings, walking just 20 and striking out 60. Over his last two starts, Grundy has a 1-0 record and a 1.64 ERA, allowing just nine hits and two walks in 11 innings. In two career starts against Ole Miss, Grundy is 0-2 with a 13.06 ERA.

Ole Miss (36-20, 15-15 SEC) is hitting .278, with a .369 slugging a .361 on-base percentage, belting 23 homers and stealing 43 bases. On the mound, Ole Miss has a strong 3.15 ERA, walking 202 and striking out 403 in 503 innings.

Kentucky has hit .256 as a team, slugging .363 and reaching base at a .361 clip. UK has belted 36 homers and stolen 56 bases. UK’s mound corps has a 3.56 ERA, allowing a .333 on-base percentage and a .363 slugging mark, striking out 370 and walking just 144 in 487.1 innings.

South Atlantic League baseball

Asheville Tourists
at Lexington Legends

What: Three-game series

When: Monday through Wednesday (7:05 Monday and Tuesday nights, 12:05 Wednesday afternoon)

Where: Whitaker Bank Ballpark

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), Colorado Rockies (Tourists)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Monday, RH Miguel Almonte (2-4, 3.11) vs. RH Matt Carasiti (0-0, 9.00); Tuesday, RH Christian Binford (3-2, 3.18) vs. RH T.J. Oakes (4-3, 5.54); Wednesday, LH Colin Rodgers (3-1, 2.25) vs. RH Ben Hughes (3-4, 7.34).

Tom Murphy

Tourist to watch: C Tom Murphy (6-foot-1, 220 pounds, age 22, bats and throws right, from West Monroe, N.Y.) began this season as the No. 14 prospect in the Rockies system, according to Baseball America. Signed for $454,000 as a third-round pick in 2012, out of Buffalo, he broke into pro ball last season with the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League. There, he hit .288 with six homers, 38 RBI and 26 runs over 55 games. This season, he’s batting .348 with eight homers, 31 RBI and 24 runs over 26 games. After batting .408 in May, he has dropped to .275 thus far in May. He has 12 RBI in his last 10 games.

Nick Cuckovich

Legend to watch: Utility IF/OF Nick Cuckovich (6-1, 199, 21, bats and throws right, from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) has played first, second and third base this season. His last seven games, though, have found him in right field. Although struggling with a .180 average, his bat has come around the last five games (5-for-15, .333, 3 RBI, 3 R). Selected in the 17th round of the 2011 draft, he earned an associate degree from Riverside (Calif.) Community College and had signed a letter of intent with Hawaii before opting to turn pro. He batted .288 over two seasons and 103 pro games with the Arizona League Royals and Idaho Falls Chukars. He led the Arizona League in stolen bases in 2011 with 24, while finishing ninth in on-base percentage (.418) and tied for ninth in walks. Last year, he was fourth in the Pioneer League with eight triples. Cuckovich is a 2009 graduate of Lambrick Park Secondary School in Saanich, British Columbia.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300