The No. 18 Auburn Tigers traveled up to Lexington, KY this weekend for a three-game series with the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats. Auburn came into this set after winning two out of three games against South Carolina at home last weekend. Kentucky came into this set after losing two out of three games to the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, AL last weekend and dropping one game to the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners at home in Lexington.
In the first game, Shelby Lowe was the starting pitcher for Auburn and Alexia Lacatena was the starting pitcher for Kentucky. Kentucky got the series started off hot, as Rylea Smith and Lauren Johnson scored off a double hit by Renee Abernathy in the bottom of the first inning. Lindsey Garcia would erase half of the deficit for Auburn as she hit a home run in the top of the second inning. Kentucky would tack on another run in the bottom of the second inning as Erica Thulen scored off a single by Rylea Smith to give Kentucky a 3-1 lead. Nelia Peralta would answer back for Auburn in the top of the third inning as she hit a double that scored Makayla Packer and Carlee McCondichie that tied the game at three. Unfortunately, that was all the noise Auburn was able to make as Kentucky scored one run in the bottom of the fourth inning and five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to run-rule Auburn 11-3. When asked about what went wrong for the Tigers in this one, head coach Mickey Dean said, “We left the ball over the plate too much tonight”. He added, “Even when we got ahead in the count, we gave up hits. We must be more competitive in that situation.”
For the second game, Maddie Penta took the mound for the Tigers and Stephanie Schoonover took the mound for the Wildcats. Auburn started this game off very well as they held a 6-0 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning. Kentucky got something going in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Renee Abernathy hit a home run that also drove in Erin Coffel. Jaci Babbs would cross the plate for the Wildcats when Lauren Johnson hit into a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fifth inning, but that was all the scoring in this one as Auburn picked up the 6-3 win. When asked about her performance on the mound, Maddie Penta said, “Surprisingly, despite how cold it was, all my pitches were working well, especially my rise ball”. Mickey Dean said, “When this team is comfortable on the field, they are fun to watch”, when asked about his team’s performance in this game.
In the series finale, Maddie Penta got the nod again for Auburn, and Tatum Spangler got the nod for Kentucky. Bri Ellis got the scoring started in this one as she hit a home run in the top of the second inning. Jessie Blaine and Bri Ellis each hit a home run in the top of the fourth inning to give Auburn a 3-0 lead. Erin Coffel hit a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning for Kentucky’s first run of the day. Auburn would make some more noise in the top of the sixth inning as Lindsey Garcia scored off a single hit by Aubrie Lisenby. Kentucky was able to score four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to walk this one off, 5-4 and win the series for the Wildcats. When asked about what went wrong late in this game, Mickey Dean said, “Our defense let us down today”. He added, “We had five errors on routine, easy plays. We would never have faced the heart of Kentucky's lineup in the seventh with a clean game.”
Auburn will be back in action this Wednesday night at 5:00 as they welcome the Alabama State Yellowjackets into Jane B. Moore field. They also host the No. 6 Florida Gators this weekend.
