Kentucky juniors each had breakout seasons for the Wildcats
Kentucky junior pitcher Tyler Guilfoil and junior infielder Chase Estep each were voted Second-Team Midwest All-Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings, it was announced Wednesday.
Estep, a native of Corbin, Kentucky, exploded on the scene in 2022, batting .302 and leading the Wildcats in runs (57), hits (68), doubles (17), home runs (13), RBI (49), total bases (126), walks (40), slugging percentage (.560), on-base percentage (.416) and stolen bases (16). He was named National and Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and reached base safely in 54 of 59 games.
Guilfoil, a Lexington native who transferred back home after last season, turned in arguably the best season in history by a Kentucky reliever. He had a 1.59 earned run average and six saves in 51.0 innings while striking out 14 batters per nine innings and holding opposing hitters to a .156 batting average. He had a microscopic 1.34 ERA in 40.1 SEC innings.
In the SEC Tournament, Guilfoil earned both a win and a save in his two appearances and finished 3-1 on the season in 21 appearances. Guilfoil was outrageously good over the final six weeks of the season, going 3-0 with three saves and a 1.05 ERA in 25.2 innings with only 10 hits allowed and 34 strikeouts.