Kentucky baseball (14-5, 1-2 SEC) is set to take on No. 20 Auburn (17-4, 2-1 SEC) in its SEC home opener.

What to watch 

These two squads are entering the series on different wavelengths as the Tigers are rolling while Wildcats are stumbling a bit. 

Auburn is coming into Lexington after winning two out of three against then No. 16 Vanderbilt, whereas Kentucky dropped two of three at No. 4 Georgia before falling 5-4 in its most recent midweek game to Murray State.  

Pitching is what ultimately cost the Bat Cats on SEC opening weekend, but they will now have a chance to fix that at their home ballpark. 

Last season, Kentucky swept the Tigers on the road in thrilling series by scores of 6-5, 9-1 and 13-8. 

Offense

Starting with an overall look of each offense, Kentucky comes into the series 12th in the SEC in team batting average and slugging percentage with marks of .290 and .472 respectively. The Wildcats are getting on-base at a .435 clip, which is good for seventh in the SEC. 

Auburn enters the series ranked sixth in the SEC in batting average with a .321 team mark. The Tigers are ninth in the SEC when it comes to getting on-base as the have a .432 team on-base percentage. In terms of slugging, Auburn is 10th in the conference with a .516 slugging percentage. 

Moving on to individual threats, Kentucky’s offense is led by Cole Hage who has a .424 batting average, .558 on-base percentage and a .773 slugging percentage. 

Hudson Brown has seen an uptick in playing time and he has been a hot hand in his limited sample size of just 15 at-bats. The lefty is sporting a .467 batting average, .625 on-base percentage and a .600 slugging percentage. 

Patrick Herrera has also been a consistent force for Kentucky as he’s accumulated a .354 batting average, .535 on-base percentage and a .479 slugging percentage. 

The Wildcats will rely on Brown’s hot hand along with Hage’s early season dominance and Herrera’s consistency to guide its offense at home.

Switching over to the visiting Tigers, their biggest threat so far has been Cooper McMurray who leads the team in on-base percentage and slugging with marks of .495 and .705 respectively. McMurray is second on the team with a .385 batting average. 

When it comes to batting average, Chase Fralick leads the team with a .392 average. Fralick’s line also presents a .439 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage. 

Another Tiger to watch out for is Eric Snow, who is hitting to a .361 batting average, .449 on-base percentage and a .590 slugging percentage. 

Auburn will look to use McMurray’s power, Fralick’s average and Snow’s consistency to guide its offensive approach on the road. 

Overall Pitching

When looking at both pitching staffs as a whole, the home Wildcats are 10th in the SEC with a team ERA of 3.59. 

Kentucky improves to seventh in the conference with a team batting average against of .209. 

The visiting Tigers are 13th in the SEC in terms of staff ERA and batting average against with marks of 4.09 ERA and .236 respectively.

Pitching Matchups

For game one, Kentucky is expected to send Nic McCay to the mound for his sixth start of the season. On the year, McCay has tossed 23.2 innings and allowed four earned runs, which equates to a 1.52 ERA. The righty has also struck out 21 batters and walked 15. Batters are hitting .123 off McCay. 

Auburn is expected to send out Samuel Dutton, who sports a 1.63 ERA in 27.2 innings of work as he’s allowed five earned runs. Dutton has struck out 34 batters so far this season, while only walking six. Hitters are hitting .272 off Dutton.

For game two, it’s expected that Ethan Walker will be on the mound instead of typical starter Ben Cleaver, who is now slated for Sunday. On the year, Walker has started four games and pitched to a 6.43 ERA as he’s allowed 10 earned runs in 14 innings of work. The lefty has struck out 11 batters and walked six. Batters are hitting .278 off Walker. 

For the Tigers, Cade Fisher is expected to be on the hill, and he’s given up seven earned runs in nine and a third innings of work, which is good for a 6.75 ERA. Fisher has walked nine batters and struck out 16 on the season. Opposing hitters are hitting .219 off Fisher.

In the series finale, Cleaver is expected to make his sixth start for the home Wildcats. The lefty has pitched to a 2.77 ERA on the season as he’s allowed eight earned runs in a team-high 26 innings. The left-hander also leads the team with 30 strikeouts. Cleaver has walked seven batters and opposing hitters are hitting .176 off the lefty. 

For the Tigers, Christian Chatterton is expected to get the ball in game three, and he enters the game with a 4.18 ERA in his 23.2 innings as he’s allowed 11 earned runs and struck out 24 hitters. Chatterton has walked eight and opposing batters are hitting .250 off Chatterton.

With the stage now set, Kentucky and Auburn will begin its three-game set at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday, March 21, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. ET.