No. 14 Arkansas (24-7, 4-6 SEC) took down Kentucky (21-13, 5-5 SEC) softball 5-3 on Friday night in Fayetteville.

This was the first of a three-game series the Cats will face against the Razorbacks.

Arkansas set the tone early, opening up the score in the bottom of the first, getting four runs thanks to a pair of two-run doubles from Kailey Wyckoff and Atalyia Rijo.

In the top of the fourth, Kentucky’s freshman outfielder Allie Blum’s three-run homer was enough to get the Cats close, but it wasn’t enough of a lifeline to get it the tie or win.

With Kentucky now in its fourth SEC series of the year and sitting eighth in the conference standings, it is starting to become time to look at what losing this Arkansas series could mean for the Cats and their next four SEC matchups.

If Kentucky leaves the series on the wrong side of history, it would likely move from eighth in the SEC to the 11th or 12th range.

That would make every upcoming SEC matchup a crucial game where each loss or win could make a mile of difference come time for the postseason.

The next two SEC series for UK will have the team see Auburn and South Carolina, both very winnable series as the teams take up two of the bottom three spots in the SEC standings.

However, the last two SEC series on Kentucky’s schedule will likely be the judge and jury that decide Kentucky’s fate for the SEC softball tournament.

Texas and Mississippi State, who are both 6-2 in the SEC, will be tough games for the Cats to come out on top.

It will be especially hard to face Texas on account of the Wildcats traveling to Austin to face the Longhorns, who are 8-2 at home.

The outcome of all these series will be seen in the coming weeks and Kentucky’s series with Arkansas will likely set the tone for the rest of the season.

Kentucky will have a chance to reclaim a game against Arkansas in the second of three games on Saturday, March 29, at 5 p.m. ET.