Some news and notes from the baseball front:

First of all, Colin Cowgill and Sawyer Carroll were named All-American by Rivals.com

Secondly, Carroll is one of eight finalists for a National Player of the Year trophy–the Dick Howser trophy.

Thirdly, I wish I was in Omaha for the College World Series.

Now, back to work. Thanks.

We kinda, sorta, told you yesterday how the MLB draft was going to play with what UK baseball put on the team next year.

And the truth remains that the draft got a little Wildcat crazy once round two hit. You would have to think it’s going to have a major impact on the remaining and incoming players for next year’s squad.

First off, two recruits – pitchers Seth Lintz and Robbie Ross – were picked in the second round. Lintz went to the Brewers (pick no. 53) and Ross, a Lexington native, went to the Rangers at No. 57. That’s two good incoming pitchers that may not make it to campus. Also, infielder Corban Joseph, another UK recruit, was selected in the fourth round by the Yankees (No. 140).

There’s no word yet, and of course the first round is where the majority of the money is at (but second round is pretty good in a draft that has 50 rounds), on whether or not these kids will stay or take the money. I don’t have any insider info right now, but I personally would expect these kids to sign contracts.

After taking their pickings at UK’s prospects, Major League teams decided to raid the current Wildcat closet in the third round as well. Pitcher Scott Green was picked No. 99 overall by the Detroit Tigers, an improvement of being drafted by the Red Sox in the 15th round last year. If I’m Green, I’m signing this time because his spring was subpar for his expectations. To still be picked this high is a testament to his performance in last year’s Cape Cod league.

UK slugger Sawyer Carroll was picked in the supplemental third round by the Padres. And the second UK bash brother – Colin Cowgill – was selected in the fifth round, pick No. 168 by the Arizona Diamondbacks (joining former Cats Brandon Webb and Sean Coughlin in the Arizona system).

The three current Wildcats are the most ever in school history drafted in the first five rounds (props to John Cohen, again). Also, Carroll and Cowgill greatly improved on the MLB draft boards after going in the 18th and 29th rounds respectively last year.

If all six sign contracts, it’ll be interesting for the Cats, who will lose one of their best remaining pitchers (Green), two top incoming pitchers (Lintz and Ross), a top infielder (Jordan), and a top hitter (Cowgill). That’s a lot to lose. I would think the current Cats Green and Cowgill are gone, but I hold slightly more hope that the recruits will land on campus. Just slightly.

But if you needed anymore reason to understand the impact John Cohen has had on UK and why he’s the best coach we could have… here’s another one.

After fighting tooth and nail, the UK baseball team fell 5-3 last night to the Arizona Wildcats, ending their record-breaking season.

UK tied the school record for most wins in a season and broke many other offensive records during their 2008 run. But, history repeated itself, as the Cats dropped their opening game in the regional and faced an uphill climb a la 2006.

The list of difficult things to do in sports is endless and as the Bat Cats can tell you, trying to dig yourself out of a 0-1 hole in a NCAA regional is one of them. That’s not to say UK didn’t fight hard, overcoming EMU and eliminating host and No. 13 Michigan in the process.

But tired arms and lifeless bats tend to show up the more games you play in secession and Arizona was just too rested.

Before the regional, John Cohen said that the next step is to actually win a regional. Big bats Sawyer Carroll and Colin Cowgill are seniors, but Cohen has a knack for developing offense and there are plenty of guys returning on the team that can swing a bat.

More importantly is pitching in the baseball world and the Cats have a chance to improve that next year, if two stellar pitching recruits land on campus (Lexington native Robbie Ross is one of them). The problem is both recruits are in the top 30 prospects for the MLB draft, meaning they may end up on a rookie ball squad in Florida instead of Lexington.

But Cohen is building a beast. The recruits are pouring in, the Cats are improving and gaining respect in the SEC. The foundation is built and now it’s time to build the house. That would start with a new stadium. Cohen has a clause that would allow him to opt out of his contract, penalty-free, if significant progress hasn’t been made on a new stadium or expansion to Cliff Hagan. Losing Cohen would set this program back decades.

UK baseball is on the rise. It’s on the horizon. Teams are noticing. Players are noticing. Recruits are noticing. I know basketball is king and (when it wins) the football team plays a good second fiddle. But there is no reason why the Commonwealth and UK supporters cannot support a baseball team as well.

So if I were you, I’d jump on the bandwagon now. UK baseball’s day in the sun is coming and Cohen knows it. He’s built to this moment.

This was just another bump in the road. Greatness is coming.

“What goes around comes around.” That saying is one of my favorites and it rang true today for the UK baseball team, as they had a very efficient outing at the plate in their 12-6 win over No. 13 Michigan.

Using 12 hits, the Cats eliminated the host Wolverines from the NCAA regional. Sawyer Carroll had a HR and two RBIs. Brian Spear led with three RBIs and Colin Cowgill had three hits for UK.

The bad news is that UK really worked the bullpen, using four pitchers throughout the game. Clint Tilford got the starting nod, but only lasted 3.1 innings. Freshman Mike Kaczmarek got the win, pitching 1.2 innings, giving up three hits and one earned run. Scott Green came on for the last 2.2 innings, giving up no runs–twice getting out of jams–in what has to be a confidence boost for the struggling pitcher. Brock Baber also pitched 1.1 innings.

Now, UK gets a quick rest before facing Arizona at 7 p.m. Lose and UK is out and Arizona moves to a super regional, win and they would push the regional into tomorrow, where a regional champ would be crowned. Go Cats.

UPDATE: Cats broke the school record for most runs scored in a single season, smashing the previous record of 500, set in 2006. The Cats are currently at 506. Also, they tied the single season win record. A win tonight over No. 12 Arizona would break that record.

Lots of UK baseball news today, so I’m going all old school on a blog (aka, using a newspaper format). This is your UK baseball notebook. Just a reminder, first pitch for tonight’s game is at 6:30 p.m.

That’s right, after a season of ups and downs, the UK baseball team has the chance to control it’s own fate into the SEC tournament.

UK vs. Louisville. It’s a local rivalry that gets national attention anytime they meet in basketball or football. ESPN regularly shows the football matchup, CBS gets the basketball one.

But at 6:30 pm tonight, the two rival schools face off again–in baseball. The network airing the coverage? The Big Blue Sports Network, which will be shown statewide on Fox Sports Net South.

Last year, the Cardinals beat UK 8-1 in Louisville on their way to an eventual berth in the College World Series. UK, after starting off the non-conference slate undefeated, stumbled in conference play and eventually missed the SEC tournament.

UK had a similiar non-conference start and seemingly stumbled in conference play before recovering and taking a home series against tradition-rich Mississippi State over the weekend. Louisville, minus several key players from last year’s team, has stumbled to a 14-16 start.

The Cats currently have an 18-game non-conference winning streak. U of L isn’t so lucky.

The interesting thing is that neither team will throw out one of it’s top three starters, preferring to save them for weekend conference series. What does that entail? Expect lots of offense from both teams.

But this first of a two game series (UK travels to Louisville on April 22 at 6 p.m.) will go a long way in state bragging rights and could be a catalyst for the Cats during their rough SEC season. Louisville may be down, but they aren’t out and they have plenty of good ballplayers left.

Which leaves only one thing, UK outfielder Colin Cowgill to lead his Cats to victory. Play Ball!