Tigers spilt doubleheader, drop series
AUBURN | No. 6 Auburn spilt a doubleheader Sunday at No. 8 Kentucky, winning game one 4-3 before falling 13-3 in game two.
The Wildcats, which one Friday night’s game 5-4, take the series and improve to 17-7 overall and 2-4 in the SEC. The Tigers fall to 20-5 and 3-3 in the conference.
"Thank goodness we got one, you know, just because it's just not a great week for us," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "I thought the second game today, that was the first time I didn't think our guys competed for an entire ballgame. I always try to shoot it as straight as I possibly can.
"We found a way to win the first game, which is huge on the road, especially the way we're playing baseball currently. I just told the team we've got to get better."
Kentucky touched up Auburn starter Tanner Burns for four runs, three earned, on four hits and three walks in the first two innings of game two. The freshman falls to 2-3 in the shortest outing of his career.
The bullpen wasn’t much better as Elliott Anderson allowed two runs on one hit and one walk without recording an out and Welby Malczewski allowed two more runs on a walk and hit by pitch without recording an out as the Wildcats struck for five runs in the third inning.
UK added two runs off Ryan Hoerter in the fourth, one run off Ryan Watson in the fifth and two runs off Blake Schilleci in the sixth.
Auburn scored a run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Jay Estes and two in the seventh on a two-RBI double by Will Holland.
After managing just two singles through the first six innings, Auburn exploded for four runs on six hits in the seventh inning of game one. Estes led off the seventh with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dylan Ingram and scored on a Luke Jarvis double.
Holland brought Jarvis home on a single, moved to second on a single by Steven Williams and scored on a single by Brendan Venter. Judd Ward closed out the scoring with a pinch-hit, two-out RBI single to score Williams and give Auburn a 4-1 lead.
Kentucky got a two-out, two-run home run off Calvin Coker in the bottom of the inning but the senior struck out the final batter on three pitches to earn his fourth save of the season.
Malczewski (3-0) came out of the bullpen to earn the win, holding UK to one hit in 1.0 inning. Auburn starter Davis Daniel allowed just one run on three hits in 5.0 innings. He struck out four and issued four walks on 92 pitches.
Auburn returns to action Tuesday against Alabama in the Capital City Classic. First pitch at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The Tigers return to SEC play next weekend as Missouri visits Plainsman Park for a three-game series.