Kentucky baseball (25-9, 7-7 SEC) got off to a blazing hot start while looking to rebound after their series-opening loss to the No. 15 Auburn Tigers (23-11, 7-7 SEC).
Tyler Bell, who had a prolonged injury prior to the season, is back and he’s reminding the country of how versatile the star-studded shortstop really is.
Bell set the tone right away with a leadoff solo home run in the top of the first, which led to two more runs coming across the plate in the frame, coming from Tyler Cerny’s two-run triple.
As the innings progressed the hits kept stacking up, but the top of the 2nd would be the last frame the Wildcats put up a run, as Ethan Hindle and Ryan Schwartz hit back-to-back home runs off the southpaw Jake Marciano.
Although the scoring slowed, the bats were hot for Kentucky all night long as they attacked the Tigers rotation with 12 hits.
The top of Kentucky’s lineup had an excellent night as Bell went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run, while Luke Lawrence and Jayce Tharnish had similar lines both going 2-for-4.
The Tigers slowly started to tag on some runs and put pressure on Kentucky’s rotation in the middle innings, but fell short of tying multiple times.
In the bottom of the 4th inning the Tigers had the bases loaded, but Nate Harris struck out Chase Fralick to get out of the jam.
Auburn, who ultimately looks to be in a solid position this far into the season, currently ranks No. 15 in the country, while holding a 16-7 record at home. It seems that the Tigers will be decent playoff contenders, but struggle playing from behind against talent-heavy programs.
On the bright side, if the rotation for the Wildcats can continue to win counts and get out of jams effectively, Wildcats fans could see a much-needed conference series win on the road and in the future, a possible chance to the postseason.
After this series, the Wildcats has SEC series lined up against Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina. With every game carrying importance it’s crucial for the program to be consistent with the offense and to do a better job closing the game out with the bullpen.
Looking at Kentucky’s past two SEC series losses, Missouri and LSU, the Wildcats look to carry this momentum into the rubber match which will be played on April 12, at 3 p.m. EST.
