BluGrass Baseball Pitching Leaderboard: April 20

College Baseball

In the second weekly statistics leaderboard update, we’ll look at the pitching categories. To qualify for the ERA and batting average against, pitchers must have a minimum of 1.0 IP per team game, which just makes UofL closer Neil Holland and Murray St. reliever Matt McGaha eligible, but excludes new UofL weekend starting pitcher Gabriel Shaw. Stats are current through Sunday. The college leaderboard is now permanently accessible on its own page on the left sidebar here.

ERA

Neil Holland — UofL — 1.50
Thomas Royse — UofL — 2.45
Matt McGaha — Murray St. — 3.75
Matt Ridings — WKU — 3.99
Derek Self — UofL — 3.40

Wins

Matt Ridings — WKU — 7-1
Thomas Royse — UofL — 7-1
Neil Holland — UofL — 6-0
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 6-3
Derek Self — UofL — 5-0
Alex Love — Murray St. — 5-0
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 5-2
Jake Donze — Murray St. — 5-4

Strikeouts

Matt Ridings — WKU — 57
Thomas Royse — UofL — 54
Alex Meyer — UK — 52
Shane Cameron — WKU — 51
Jake Donze — Murray St. — 50

Innings Pitched

Matt Ridings — WKU — 58.2
Thomas Royse — UofL — 58.2
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 58.0
Taylor Rogers — UK — 56.2
Jake Donze — Murray St. — 55

Saves

Neil Holland — UofL — 8
Ryne Purcell — EKU — 8
Rye Davis — WKU — 7
Matt Little — UK — 6
Cody Gibson — Morehead St. — 3
Dan Huff — Murray St. — 3
Matt McGaha — Murray St. — 3

Batting Average Against

Neil Holland — UofL — .145
Thomas Royse — UofL — .249
Matt Ridings — WKU — .251
Shane Cameron — WKU — .262
Jake Donze — Murray St. — .268

Appearances

Rye Davis — WKU — 22
Matt Harris — EKU — 20
Ryne Purcell — EKU 19
Craig Stem — WKU — 18
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 18
Greg Terry — EKU — 18

BluGrass Baseball Pitching Leaderboard: April 13

College Baseball

In the second weekly statistics leaderboard update, we’ll look at the pitching categories. To qualify for the ERA and batting average against, pitchers must have a minimum of 1.0 IP per team game (which just makes UofL closer Neil Holland eligible by two-thirds of an inning). Stats are current through Sunday. The college leaderboard is now permanently accessible on its own page on the left sidebar here.

ERA

Neil Holland — UofL — 1.14
Thomas Royse — UofL — 2.84
Matt McGaha — Murray St. — 3.24
Matt Ridings — WKU — 3.46
Dean Kiekhefer — UofL — 4.09

Wins

Matt Ridings — WKU — 7-0
Thomas Royse — UofL — 6-1
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 6-3
Neil Holland — UofL — 5-0
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 5-2
Jake Donze — Murray St. — 5-3

Strikeouts

Alex Meyer — UK — 52
Thomas Royse — UofL — 50
Jake Donze — Murray St. — 49
Matt Ridings — WKU — 49
Shane Cameron — WKU — 46

Innings Pitched

Matt Ridings — WKU — 52
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 51.2
Thomas Royse — UofL — 50.2
Taylor Rogers — UK — 50
Jake Donze — Murray St. — 49

Saves

Ryne Purcell — EKU — 8
Rye Davis — WKU — 7
Neil Holland — UofL — 7
Matt Little — UK — 5
Dan Huff — Murray St. — 3
Matt McGaha — Murray St. — 3
Cody Gibson — Morehead St. — 3

Batting Average Against

Neil Holland — UofL — .119
Matt Ridings — WKU — .228
Thomas Royse — UofL — .250
Jake Donze — Murray St. — .257
Dean Kiekhefer — UofL — .259

Appearances

Rye Davis — WKU — 20
Hunter Hewitt — Morehead St. — 17
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 17
Greg Terry — EKU — 17
Matt Harris — EKU — 17
Ryne Purcell — EKU 17
Craig Stem — WKU — 17

BluGrass Baseball Pitching Leaderboard: April 6

College Baseball

ERA

Thomas Royse — UofL — 2.03
Dean Kiekhefer — UofL — 3.07
Matt McGaha — Murray St. — 3.45
Matt Ridings — WKU — 3.56
Greg Terry — EKU — 3.78

Wins

Thomas Royse — UofL — 6-0
Matt Ridings — WKU — 6-0
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 6-2
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 5-2
Six pitchers tied at 4 wins

Strikeouts

Alex Meyer — UK — 45
Thomas Royse — UofL — 45
Jake Donze — Murray St. — 44
Shane Cameron — WKU — 39
Matt Ridings — WKU — 38

Innings Pitched

Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 46.1
Thomas Royse — UofL — 44.1
Logan Darnell — UK — 44
Matt Ridings — WKU — 43
Taylor Rogers — UK — 42.1

Saves

Neil Holland — UofL — 7
Ryne Purcell — EKU — 6
Rye Davis — WKU — 6
Matt Little — UK — 4
Dan Huff — Murray St. — 3
Cody Gibson — Morehead St. — 3

Batting Average Against

Thomas Royse — UofL — .229
Dean Kiekhefer — UofL — .229
Matt Ridings — WKU — .238
Derek Self — UofL — .248
Jake Donze — Murray St. — .268

Appearances

Rye Davis — WKU — 17
Hunter Hewitt — Morehead St. — 15
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 15
Greg Terry — EKU — 15
Neil Holland — UofL — 14
Ryne Purcell — EKU 14
Craig Stem — WKU — 14

Western Kentucky sophomores continue to outshine their more heralded University of Kentucky counterparts

College Baseball

Jared Andreoli bats against UK: BluGrass Baseball photo

Western Kentucky University (17) rallied for a 6-3 win Tuesday against in-state rival University of Kentucky behind four hits from senior first baseman Jake Wells and three RBI from senior shortstop Matt Payton, but it was WKU’s sophomores than made the most interesting statement of the game. The Cats’ sophomore class has been counted on for production since it entered campus as the fourth-best recruiting class in the country in 2009, but as conference play gets underway one could easily argue that the unheralded Hilltopper sophomores are having a bigger impact on their team.

WKU’s second-year players are headlined by a pair of relative unknowns entering the 2010 season in outfielders Jared Andreoli and Kes Carter. Still doubtful of their importance in the WKU lineup? Just look to the sixth inning Tuesday when UK head coach Gary Henderson elected to intentionally walk Carter to load the bases with two outs and face preseason All-American Matt Rice. Andreoli leads the Hilltoppers with a .389 batting average, Carter ranks second at .387. Andreoli ranks second in the state with 39 runs scored and Carter ranks fourth in the state with 33 RBI.

Meanwhile UK’s heralded sophomores spent all of 2009 counted on to lead a team to the NCAA tournament, an amount of pressure that was probably unfair to place on a group of freshman. The class has been led by its least heralded member in outfielder Chad Wright, who ranks second on the team with a .349 average and 20 RBI. Slugger Cory Farris has shown his token power stroke in limited action this season with six home runs, but hasn’t been able to break out of the right-field platoon. Designated hitter, pitcher and first baseman Braden Kapteyn is batting .266, and third baseman Andy Burns, arguably the most highly touted position player to ever sign with UK, is batting just .237.

WKU sophomore infielder Casey Dykes is excelling to the rate of a .340 average and four home runs after starting ever game this season. On the mound sophomore relievers Tyler Gilliand and Craig Stem both have sub-3.00 ERAs and over ten appearances in 2010. Just sophomore relievers Phil Whetherell and Aaron Mayfield with their over-6.00 ERAs and sophomore infielder Logan Robbins with his under-.200 batting average have struggled this season.

UK’s sophomore pitchers have enjoyed at least mixed success in 2010. Right-handed starting pitcher Alex Meyer, arguably the most talented pitcher in the state, has four wins but has struggled with his control to the tune of a 6.15 ERA. Sometime midweek starter Sean Bouthilette has a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings after a stellar six-inning performance Tuesday. Kapteyn hasn’t given up an unearned run in 6.2 innings this season, and righty Chase Greene pitched a scoreless inning in his only performance this year. Heralded catcher Michael Williams now finds himself in a battle for the backup time with freshman Luke Maile.

You can’t quite chalk up the success of the WKU incoming class of 2009 to inferior competition either. The Hilltoppers currently have more wins (2) against Southeastern Conference opponents than the Cats (1). The UK incoming class of 2009 has had the spotlight shined on it since its members reportedly made a pact to not sign professional contracts when drafted out of high school unless they received first-round money. I wrote my first feature about them just weeks after fall classes started their freshman year, but so far performance hasn’t quite matched up to the hype. The common thinking goes that the Cats have struggled because they are young, but they aren’t that young anymore. Just ask the sophomores to the west in Bowling Green.

BluGrass Baseball Pitching Leaderboard: March 30

College Baseball

In the second weekly statistics leaderboard update, we’ll look at the pitching categories. To qualify for the ERA and batting average against, pitchers must have a minimum of 1.0 IP per team game (which eliminates UK closer Matt Little this week but makes UofL closer Neil Holland eligible with just one-third inning to spare). Stats are current through Sunday.

ERA

Neil Holland — UofL — 0.39
Thomas Royse — UofL — 1.42
Derek Self — UofL — 2.77
Greg Terry — EKU — 3.38
Matt Ridings — WKU — 3.68

Wins

Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 6-2
Thomas Royse — UofL — 5-0
Matt Ridings — WKU — 5-0
Derek Self — UofL — 4-0
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 4-1
Alex Meyer — UK — 4-2
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 4-2

Strikeouts

Alex Meyer — UK — 42
Thomas Royse — UofL — 39
Jake Donze — Murray St. — 37
Shane Cameron — WKU — 33
Logan Darnell — UK — 32

Innings Pitched

Logan Darnell — UK — 40.1
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 38.1
Taylor Rogers — UK — 38.1
Thomas Royse — UofL — 38.0
Matt Ridings — WKU — 36.2

Saves

Neil Holland — UofL — 6
Ryne Purcell — EKU — 6
Matt Little — UK — 4
Rye Davis — WKU — 4
Dan Huff — Murray St. — 3
Cody Gibson — Morehead St. — 3

Batting Average Against

Neil Holland — UofL — .069
Thomas Royse — UofL — .195
Matt Ridings — WKU — .222
Dean Kiekhefer — UofL — .246
Derek Self — UofL — .231

Appearances

Rye Davis — WKU — 14
Hunter Hewitt — Morehead St. — 14
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 13
Greg Terry — EKU — 13
Neil Holland — UofL — 12
Ryne Purcell — EKU 12
Craig Stem — WKU — 12

WKU scores 12 in first three innings in 14-5 win over Murray

College Baseball

No. 22 Western Kentucky University made good on its national ranking in the first game since receiving the honor with a 14-5 win over in-state rival Murray State University. WKU scored six runs in the second and third innings to jump out to an early 12-1 lead and never looked back. Sophomore center fielder Jared Andreoli was 2-4 with a home run, three RBI and one run scored in the game. Every Hilltopper tallied at least one hit in the game.

Sophomore right-handed reliever Craig Stem earned the victory after recording the last two outs in the fourth inning for WKU. Murray State redshirt junior reliever Jake Donze took the loss after allowing six runs in one and one-third innings. Junior center fielder Elliot Frey and senior designated hitter Daniel Hill each tallied two hits for the Breds.

BluGrass Baseball POG: Jared Andreoli — In a game where every WKU starter recorded a hit, the sophomore outfielder from Wisconsin was most impressive with two hits, a home run and three RBI in the game to lead the Hilltoppers to their 17th win of the season. Andreoli’s long ball was his first of the season.

BluGrass Baseball Pitching Leaderboard: March 23

College Baseball

Thomas Royse — UofL — 1.74
Derek Self — UofL — 2.42
Logan Darnell — UK — 3.09
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 3.55
Tanner Perkins — WKU — 3.55

Wins

Thomas Royse — UofL — 4-0
Matt Ridings — WKU — 4-0
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 4-1
Alex Meyer — UK — 4-2
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 4-2

Strikeouts

Alex Meyer — UK — 36
Logan Darnell — UK — 29
Thomas Royse — UofL — 28
Matt Little — UK — 25
Matt Ridings — WKU — 25
Shane Cameron — WKU — 25
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 25

Innings Pitched

Logan Darnell — UK — 35.0
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 33.0
Thomas Royse — UofL — 31.0
Taylor Rogers — UK — 30.1
Dan Huff — Murray St. — 29.2

Saves

Ryne Purcell — EKU — 5
Matt Little — UK — 4
Neil Holland — UofL — 4
Rye Davis — WKU — 3
Dan Huff — Murray St. — 3
Cody Gibson — Morehead St. — 3

Batting Average Against

Thomas Royse — UofL — .211
Matt Ridings — WKU — .208
Dean Kiekhefer — UofL — .220
Derek Self — UofL — .220
Logan Darnell — UK — .265

Appearances

Rye Davis — WKU — 12
Josh Schneider — Morehead St. — 11
Greg Terry — EKU — 10
Ryne Purcell — EKU 10
Craig Stem — WKU — 10

BluGrass Baseball Pitching Leaderboard: March 16

College Baseball

In the second weekly statistics leaderboard update, we’ll look at the pitching categories. To qualify for the ERA title, pitchers must have a minimum of 1.0 IP per team game.

ERA

Neil Holland — UofL — 0.54
Thomas Royse — UofL — 0.74
Logan Darnell — UK — 2.17
Greg Terry — EKU — 2.25
Justin Amlung — UofL — 3.12

Wins

Thomas Royse — UofL — 3-0
Logan Darnell — UK — 3-0
Gabriel Shaw — UofL — 3-0
Matt Ridings — WKU — 3-0
Taylor Rogers — UK — 3-0
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 3-1
Alex Meyer — UK — 3-2
Josh Schneider — Morehead st. — 3-2

Strikeouts

Alex Meyer — UK — 26
Logan Darnell — UK — 23
Neil Holland — UofL — 22
Thomas Royse — UofL — 22
Matt Ridings — WKU — 22
Shane Cameron — WKU — 22

Innings Pitched

Logan Darnell — UK — 29.0
Chris Craycraft — Murray St. — 26.0
Dan Huff — Murray St. — 25.2
Thomas Royse — UofL — 24.1
Michael Bottoms — Morehead St. — 24.0

Saves

Matt Little — UK — 4
Ryne Purcell — EKU — 4
Neil Holland — UofL — 3
Rye Davis — WKU — 3
Dan Huff — Murray St. — 3
Cody Gibson — Morehead St. — 3

Batting Average Against

Neil Holland — UofL — .039
Thomas Royse — UofL — .173
Matt Ridings — WKU — .212
Dean Kiekhefer — UofL — .216
Logan Darnell — UK — .248

Appearances

Rye Davis — WKU — 9
Neil Holland — UofL — 8
Greg Terry — EKU — 8
Craig Stem — WKU — 8
Five pitchers tied with 7 appearances

WKU defeated 9-3 by Cohen, Mississippi St.

College Baseball

Former University of Kentucky head coach John Cohen and his Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated Western Kentucky University 9-3 Wednesday. Senior second baseman Matt Payton drove in two runs for WKU in the game, and sophomore center fielder Kes Carter and junior catcher Matt Rice each had two hits in the game. Sophomore right-handed reliever Craig Stem took the loss after allowing two runs without recording an out.

BluGrass Baseball POG: Kes Carter — After another two hits Wednesday, Carter is now batting .434 with one home run and 12 RBI. Carter leads the state in batting.