No. 6 Kentucky Improves to 37-16 With 10-1 Victory Over Northern Kentucky; Wildcats Face Florida Thu

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky capped a perfect non-conference home schedule for just the second time since 1979, dismantling Northern Kentucky 10-1 on a warm, summer-like night at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The No. 6 Wildcats’ 37 victories on the season are the most since the 2014 team also won 37 games.

Spot starter Brad Schaenzer allowed just one run in 5.2 innings, striking out five and yielding just three hits along the way to move to 5-0 on the season. The junior lefty was relieved by freshman left-hander Zack Thompson, who struck out all four batters he faced and erased the Norse’s only real threat of the night.

UK (37-16, 18-9 SEC) now has 26 wins at Cliff Hagan Stadium this season, the fourth most since the venue opened in 1979. The total is five shy of the 2006 team’s 31 home wins, a club UK head coach Nick Mingione was part of as an assistant coach.

Senior outfielder Marcus Carson’s two-run, two-out triple in the second inning provided all the runs UK would need and a five-run seventh highlighted by freshman catcher T.J. Collett’s two-run single put the game out of reach.

The Cats now head to No. 5 Florida for a three-game series with SEC championship implications. The series opens on Thursday night in Gainesville with UK needing to win at least two of three games to grab a piece of a title. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN. Fans can also listen on the UK Sports Network via UKathletics.com and iHeart Radio, as well as on 630 AM WLAP.

Pictured is senior shortstop Connor Heady. Photo by Chet White, UK Athletics