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College  | Story | 3/12/2016

Fri. Recap: Kay sharp in big win

Patrick Ebert
Jheremy Brown
Mike Rooney
Photo: Steve Slade/UConn Athletics




Weekend Preview | National Notebook | Perfect Game College Baseball on SiriusXM College Sports


Anthony Kay, LHP, Connecticut

The UConn Huskies travelled West to begin a challenging eight-game road trip that includes matchups against CSUN, USC and UC Santa Barbara. They began their road trip with a game against Willliam & Mary, which seemed to be a tuneup for the Huskies as they easily handled the Tribe, 18-1.

Lefthander Anthony Kay, Perfect Game’s 90th ranked overall prospect eligible for this year’s draft entering the season, took the mound for UConn and gave the West Coast scouting contingent a look that they otherwise would not have received.




Kay showed very well in front of a large group of scouts. Sturdily built yet plenty athletic with a strong lower half, the 6-foot, 187-pound lefty worked exclusively with a 90-93 mph fastball over the first two innings before settling in at 88-91 later in the game. He commanded the pitched pretty well and showed the ability to spot it to all parts of the zone. In this game Kay showed that he liked to work his fastball away to righthanded hitters before busting it in on their hands, getting some cut action on the pitch when doing so.

He also used his polished changeup to neutralize righthanded hitters, a fading pitch in the low-80s that shows good downward action. He also threw his curveball in the 73-76 mph range but saved that pitch to lefthanded hitters, doubling up on the pitch to one such hitter, a pitch that has good shape that he also commands well. Kay also threw a handful of sliders in the low-80s, giving him an intriguing four-pitch mix.

And he also does a lot of the little things well, showing good pitchability by keeping his off-speed down in the zone to prevent giving up mistakes on hittable, hanging breaking balls. Kay displayed poise on the mound and showed a few different pickoff moves to first base which helped neutralize the running game.

With the win Kay moved to 2-1 on the year, nearly going the distance with 8 1/3 innings. While he did allow 10 base hits (and one walk), he minimized the damage, allowing just the one earned run while fanning six.

In a game that featured 18 runs on 17 base hits, third baseman Willy Yahn stood out the most for the Huskies, going 4-for-6 with five RBI. He hit his sixth double of the year as well as his second home run. UConn plays William & Mary again on Saturday before playing a pair against CSUN on Sunday.



National Notes

• It’s scary to think that Vanderbilt’s ace Jordan Sheffield continues to get stronger with each start. While the command has improved nicely, so have his strikeout numbers and in the Commodores 7-0 victory over Xavier the potential first round pick collected a new career high with 12. The same high octane stuff was on display again and Sheffield showed the ability to carry the big velocity late as he was still popping 95s deep into his pitch count. Both the changeup and breaking ball are above average offerings, and if he continues to command the way he has early, knocking out the Commodores on a Friday night will prove to be a difficult task.

• The Boston College Eagles continue to roll and took care of business in the opening weekend of the ACC as they bested No. 10 NC State 7-0 in game one. While Coach Mike Gambino’s club improved to 11-2 on the year, ace righthander Mike King improved to 3-0 on the mound and lowered his ERA to 1.30 after throwing seven shutout innings against a difficult NC State lineup. Showing a fastball that regularly works into the low-90s, King pounded the strike zone once again striking out four without issuing a walk (he has allowed only four walks in 27 2/3 innings on the year). The offense was once again paced by senior Joe Cronin, the team’s hottest hitter to begin the season, as he went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI while raising his team-best batting average to .391.

• Mentioned in the Tuesday roundup, it’s looking like Florida State catcher Cal Raleigh may be a frequent visitor within these recaps despite being only a dozen games into his college career. Occupying his normal four-hole spot in the order while doing the pitch calling behind the plate, Raleigh helped the Seminoles take down the red-hot Georgia Tech Jackets in what was one of the more anticipated weekend matchups by a score of 8-2. The switch-hitting catcher had a nice day at the plate in his first ever ACC contest as he went 3-for-3 with a home run, his second of the year, and drew a walk as he continues to show an advanced approach at the plate. Matching Raleigh’s offensive exploits was senior John Sansone who also had three base hits, including a home run, and raised his batting average to an astounding .446 in the process.

• One of the top arms for the upcoming MLB draft delivered another outstanding performance as Connor Jones tossed eight shutout innings for the defending National Champions. Jones and his Virginia teammates were able to get the best of Duke and their ace Bailey Clark, another projected early pick, taking game one by the score of 6-0. For the third time already this spring Jones – who his sat comfortably in the low-90s throughout and touched higher early with his heavy fastball – worked into the eighth inning. He scattered seven hits throughout those eight frames, and all seven were two-out singles. Half of Virginia’s runs came on a single swing from slugger Matt Thaiss who launched his second homer of the spring in the top of the fifth inning to right field off of Clark. Quick fun fact about Thaiss; he’s yet to strike out so far in 2016.

And while Clark wasn’t the sharpest he’s been this spring, taking his first loss (2-1) of the season, he did show his usual high-end fastball velocity and has had buzz around his name since the beginning of the season.

• The Tennessee Volunteers made sure not to waste a quality start from lefthander Zach Warren, who improved to 4-0 on the year and sports a 1.59 ERA over 22 2/3 innings. Juniors Jordan Rodgers and Nick Senzel combined for eight of the team’s 12 runs as they beat UC Irvine 12-1 to improve to 9-4 on the year. Senzel has done nothing but solidify himself as a top half of the first round pick, following his breakout summer on the Cape with a .400/.492/.540 triple-slash. While he hasn’t gone deep just yet he has driven in 22 runs and has walked almost twice as many times as he’s struck out (11 to 6).

• Will Craig had a huge game in Wake Forest’s 6-4 win over Clemson. Craig hit a pair of two-run home runs and also provided two scoreless innings in relief to pick up his third save of the year. Craig is now hitting .458 on the year with seven home runs and 26 RBI and he has yet to allow a run to score in six relief appearances spanning eight innings.

• Andrew Lantrip enjoyed his best start of the year as No. 20 Houston took the first game against the host Crimson Tide in a 3-1 victory over Alabama. Lantrip was locked in all game, touching 93-94 mph in the early innings while striking out 13 batters without allowing a walk in eight innings of work. The hot-hitting ways of freshman Joe Davis continued as he went 2-for-5 at the plate with two RBI, hitting a solo home run (his fourth of the year) in the fifth inning and an RBI double in the ninth that proved to be the eventual game winner, snapping a 1-1 tie.

• No. 6 LSU and No. 12 Miami were upset by Ball State and Virginia Tech respectively. Big offensive performances were the theme of both games for the winning teams. For Ball State right fielder Alex Call went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and three total RBI while catcher Jarett Rindfleisch went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo shots. Virginia Tech took down the Hurricanes 14-3, scoring early and often as Nick Anderson hit a grand slam in the first inning. Both he and Tom Stoffel had five driven in, while Saige Jenco did his job at the top of the order, going 3-for-4 with a walk and four runs scored.

• After dropping his last decision to a talented UCLA team at the Dodger Stadium Classic, Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson once again squared off against a highly ranked foe in the Oregon Ducks and this time he picked up the win. Hudson struggled at the beginning of the 2016 season but has since seemed to have found his groove as he struck out a career high nine on Friday over 5 2/3 innings while showing the same high octane arsenal that’s pitted him in first round conversations. The Bulldogs were able to take game one from the Ducks by the score of 10-4 behind a steady offensive attack that recouped after a first inning two-run homer by Oregon’s A.J. Balta, tying the game in the third and then never looked back. A breakout star of the summer, State’s Brent Rooker has done exactly what John Cohen’s coaching staff had been hoping for with the bat this spring as he led all hitters with three knocks, including his first homer of the season, and has raised his average up to a bountiful .370 on the year.

• Daulton Jefferies continues to roll early in the 2016 as he moved to 4-0 on the year while taking down yet another highly touted opponent last night, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 9-2. The strong armed righthander is quickly establishing himself as one of the top arms in the country and he was able to limited a potent offense to just six hits and a single run over seven frames while punching out nine. The Bears offense never let up as they plated runs in five different innings and were led by a four-hit performance from third baseman Mitchell Kranson and shortstop Preston Grand Pre, who picked up three hits of his own.

• Congrats to Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco who captured his 700th career victory Friday night with a 15-2 win over Grambling State. While the victory was Bianco's 700th, it was the Rebs’ 13th in 2016 as they improve to 13-1 to open the 2016 season and look to continue to climb the national rankings.
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