Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Baseball

                                      South Atlantic League

Lexington Legends vs. Greensboro Grasshoppers

What: Three-game series

When: Sunday through Tuesday (7 Sunday and Tuesday nights, 12:30 p.m. Monday)

Where: NewBridge Bank Park (Greensboro, N.C.)

Major League affiliates: Houston Astros (Legends), Florida Marlins

Alex Sogard

Legend to watch: LHP Alex Sogard (6-foot-3, 215 pounds, from Austin, Texas) is 1-1 with four saves and a 3.54 ERA over 11 relief outings spanning 20 1/3 innings. He has recorded 22 strikeouts to five walks, holding the opposition to a .221 batting average. A 26th-round draft pick last year, out of North Carolina State, Sogard made 22 appearances for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League last year, including three starts. He worked 41 innings, going 1-2 with a 3.51 ERA, 36 strikeouts and 12 walks. At N.C. State, he came on late in the 2010 season after struggles while recovering from shoulder surgery. He wound up 2-2 with a 5.26 ERA over 15 games, 11 of them starts. With starts in three of his last four games, he went 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA. He transferred to N.C. State from Oregon State.

Michael Brady

Grasshopper to watch: RHP Michael Brady (6-0, 200, from Laguna Beach, Calif.) is 3-0 with seven saves over 16 games and 20 2/3 innings. Want more? He has a 0.44 ERA and is holding opposing batters to a .189 average, has struck out 24 while walking five. The only run he has allowed came in a May 5 game against Hickory. A 24th-round draft pick out of California-Berkeley, Brady broke in last year with the Jamestown Jammers of the NYPL by going 1-1 with three saves and a 1.59 ERA over 26 appearances totaling 28 1/3 innings. He also played one game this season with the Double-A Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League, giving up a run and three hits in two innings.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

Collin Cowgill

Cowgill, a centerfielder for the Mobile BayBears, leads his team in homers (10), RBI (58) and doubles (24). He ranks second in all of minor-league ball with 16 outfield assists. Over 84 games, Cowgill is batting .292, with 61 runs, two triples, 15 stolen bases and 33 walks to 47 strikeouts.

A first-team all-American for UK in 2008, Cowgill helped the Wildcats to their first Southeastern Conference championship during his sophomore season (2006). His collegiate career totals include a .306 batting average over 165 games, 166 runs, 140 RBI, 35 doubles, 37 homers and 32 stolen bases. In his final season, when he also was a first-team Academic All-America, Cowgill hit .361 with 19 homers, 60 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 27 attempts.

Hustlers / UK pitcher Joe Devine a summer-league all-star

Joe Devine

UK junior right-hander Joe Devine, playing for the Lexington Hustlers in their debut season, has been named to the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League All-Star team. The all-star game is set to be played Wednesday at Cincinnati.

Devine, from Henderson, is 2-2 with a 2.77 ERA over four starts for the Hustlers. Over 26 innings, he has yielded 23 hits and nine walks, while striking out 18 and holding opponents to a .232 batting average. He ranks third in the league in innings pitched and seventh in strikeouts.

For UK last season, Devine appeared in eight games, including three mid-week starts. He finished 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA over 13 1/3 innings, with nine strikeouts to three walks.

* A tip of the cap to Brent Ingram, UK Baseball’s media relations contact, for information provided.