LEXINGTON, Ky. — Freshman infielder Reuben Church smacked a pair of doubles and drove in four runs in his collegiate debut, powering Kentucky to a 10-0 win in its series opener vs. Milwaukee on Friday at Kentucky Proud Park.
Due to a forecast of steady rain in Lexington, Sunday’s series finale has been moved up to Saturday. The teams will play a doubleheader beginning at noon ET, with both games being seven innings. Fans with tickets to Sunday’s game now will have those accepted for the second game on Saturday, while those with tickets for Saturday’s original 1 p.m. start will be accepted for the noon game.
The Cats (2-0) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning when Church fell behind 0-2 in the count before driving a double to the wall in left-centerfield, scoring a pair of runs. He later added a run-scoring double and sacrifice fly to score a run. It was the first appearance for the 6-foot-2, 230-pound infielder from Maryville, Tennessee.
Church wasn’t the only freshman who shined for the Cats, as right-handers Seth Logue and Austin Strickland combined to pitch five shutout innings in support of sophomore righty Cole Stupp’s four scoreless innings. Logue and Strickland, both from the Cincinnati area, struck out six and did not walk a batter.
The win was UK’s eighth consecutive dating back to last season, which was canceled on Mar. 13, 2020 after just 17 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
