Kentucky Wildcats Baseball: Bat Cats Ranked 1, 2, and 3 in National Polls

After an impressive 2-1 series victory over the LSU Tigers this weekend, the Kentucky Wildcats have climbed back into the #1 spot along with the Baylor Bears in Collegiate Baseball's rankings, #2 in by Baseball America, #3 in USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.

Related: Garnet and Black Attack -- Batting Around

Tomorrow, the Wildcats visit the Louisville Cardinals to try to get some payback for the 12-0 walloping the Cardinals put on them in Lexington 14 days ago. This will be the 14th nationally ranked foe in 16 games for the Wildcats:

The Cats visit Louisville (28-12) at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Cardinals are No. 23 in the coaches poll and No. 26 by Collegiate Baseball. They are not ranked in Baseball America’s top 25. Louisville stunned Kentucky in their first meeting this season, a 12-0 Cards victory in Lexington on April 10.

This time, though, the Wildcats are not messing around. Freshman southpaw Sam Mahar (3-1, 1.71 ERA), who's last start was also his first, a sharp 7-0 shutout against the Cincinnati Bearcats in which he worked five perfect innings and six shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits. Mahar has been on the shelf as a starter for most of the season, working in the bullpen in a reliever's role. This will represent only the second start of the year for the rookie, and if he performs well against the Cardinals, you can expect him to be your midweek starter going forward.

Related: Baseball eyes improvement, not revenge, in Louisville rematch