Ka’ai Tom’s success in two years at Kentucky reached new heights this month.
The 2012 Saint Louis graduate became the second Wildcat in school history to hit for the cycle, joining All-American Jeff Abbott, who did it in 1994.
Tom batted 4-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBIs in a 9-1 win over Cincinnati on March 11.
He doubled and scored in the first inning, tripled and scored in the third and hit a two-run homer in the sixth to give the Wildcats a 7-1 lead.
All that was left was the easiest part, a single, which he got in the eighth inning to finish it off.
"There was a lot of things I needed to work on and I stuck to it this past week," Tom said in a video posted on the Kentucky athletics web site. "It felt great to come through."
Tom, who plays left field and hits third in the order, was an All-SEC outfielder as a sophomore after transfering from Fort Scott Community College, where he played one season.
Tom has gotten even better as a junior, hitting .398 in 24 games with seven doubles, two homers and 24 RBIs.
"It feels great to establish yourself in the conference, in the league, and hopefully in the country," Tom said.
Kentucky made it a regional in 2014, eliminating Kent State and Kansas before falling to Louisville in the final.
The Wildcats are 15-9 this season but 2-4 in conference play after getting swept in their SEC opening series by South Carolina.
Kentucky bounced back to win two of three against Mississippi State.This week, they head to Baton Rouge, La., to face the No. 1-ranked LSU Tigers.
KA’AI TOM
School: Kentucky
Class: Junior
Height: 5 feet 9
Position: OF/2B
High school: Saint Louis (2012)
CAREER STATISTICS
Year |
GP-GS |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
SB-ATT |
AVG. |
2014 |
54-53 |
204 |
40 |
67 |
13 |
0 |
3 |
41 |
14-18 |
.328 |
2015 |
23-23 |
89 |
23 |
35 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
24 |
6-6 |
.393 |
TOT. |
77-76 |
293 |
63 |
102 |
20 |
1 |
5 |
65 |
20-24 |
.348 |