A ninth inning mishap proved to be the difference in a back-and-forth battle as Kentucky baseball (14-6, 1-3 SEC) fell to No. 20 Auburn (18-4, 3-1 SEC) by a score of 8-7.

The Wildcats came back three separate times in the ballgame but were unable to finish off the final comeback in the ninth.

“The guys fought hard,” Head Coach Nick Mingione said. “Their competitiveness is definitely not in question. They are competing their hearts out.”

The Wildcats started from behind as Nic McCay hit Eric Snow to leadoff the game. The Tigers brought Snow home on a groundout, wild pitch and sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead.

Unlike its first run, Auburn added to its lead in the second on one swing as Lucas Steele despotized a home run into the visitor’s bullpen.

The Bat Cats responded in the second as Patrick Herrera and Hudson Brown singled to bring up Tyler Bell, who doubled to get the Cats on the board.

Ethan Hindle brought Brown home on a sacrifice fly to tie the game 2-2.

The Tigers took the lead back in the third on a sacrifice fly, however the Bat Cats responded right back.

Herrera brought home Luke Lawrence on a ground out to retie the game 3-3. Bell singled to left to give Kentucky a 4-3 lead.

Both starters settled in the fourth and fifth innings by tossing four scoreless frames total.

Jackson Nove came on in the sixth and continued the bullpen struggles. The lefty hit two batters which led to back-to-back doubles to bring home three runs which gave the Tigers a 6-4 lead.

The offense continued to respond in the sixth as Devin Burkes crushed a no-doubt home run over the left field wall to slim the deficit to 6-5.

The Cats completed their third comeback of the game as Griffin Cameron dunked a single into left to bring home Hindle and tie the game 6-6.

Burkes delivered once again as he singled to left to give Kentucky a 7-6 lead.

“His leadership behind the plate, his at-bats have been phenomenal,” Mingione said. “He is leading our team in every way.”

Simon Gregersen came on in the eighth looking to get on track and hit the first batter he faced. However, he struck out the next batter and Bell turned a double play to end the frame with the lead.

Auburn got to Gregersen in the ninth to tie the game as a single and stolen base turned into a tie game as Chase Fralick singled to left.

Ike Irish hit a routine flyball to Bell and it went in and out of his glove to break the tie and give Auburn the decisive 8-7 lead.

“He’s competing his heart out,” Mingione said. “I hate it for him that he didn’t make that play, but he’s a tough kid and he’ll bounce back.”

Bell and Burkes had great nights at the plate as the duo finished a combined five for eight with a home run, double and four RBIs.

Following the loss, Kentucky will look to even the series in game two against Auburn on Saturday, March 22, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. ET.