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Kentucky to Host Pair of Fall Exhibition Games

Posted at 5:24 PM, Sep 25, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-25 18:51:42-04

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky baseball team will host two free exhibition games this fall as part of new NCAA legislation that allows programs to schedule scrimmages against outside competition without the contests counting against the spring allotment.

Thompson pushes off the mound during the baseball game between The University of Kentucky and the Sam Houston State University at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX on Wednesday, March 3, 2018. UK Athletics

The Wildcats welcome Xavier on Saturday, September 29 at 11 a.m. ET and Michigan on Sunday, October 14 at a time to be announced at a later date. Both exhibitions are scheduled to be played in the Cats’ new $49 million stadium, which is nestled along Alumni Drive adjacent to the John Cropp Stadium and the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex and across the street from Kroger Field and the Joe Craft Football Training Center.

The games will be free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed for entry and seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis in the main seating bowl. Gates for Saturday’s first exhibition will open at 10:45 a.m. and there will be signage to direct fans to the main stadium entrance. A limited selection of concessions will be available on a cash-only basis.

This Saturday’s game is part of what should be an action-packed day for UK Athletics. The Kentucky football team hosts South Carolina at 7:30 p.m., giving fans an opportunity to see both teams in action in one day. Fans with football gameday parking permits are encouraged to park in their permitted lot and walk to the new baseball stadium. For those wishing just to attend baseball, they may park in the Purple Lot on a first-come, first-served basis until full or nearby non-permit parking structures two, three and six. All vehicles that do not have a football parking pass or are not in their correct lot must be moved by 3:30 p.m.

The Cats are entering the third season under head coach Nick Mingione’s leadership and have won 77 games through his first two seasons, the third-most over a two-year span in school history. The program has seen a national-best 21 players selected in the past two Major League Baseball drafts, including 13 off last season’s club, and reached the only Super Regional in program history in 2017.

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