Auburn, (Ala.) ? Kentucky sophomore Kalen Gibson had a night to remember on Friday as he allowed just one hit over 8 2/3 scoreless innings, leading his team to an 8-0 shutout victory over the Auburn Tigers in the first Southeastern Conference game of the season. The game marked the first time Auburn has been shutout at home since 1998, a span of 190 games.
?I was able to locate my fastball tonight and move in and out of the strike zone,? Gibson said. ?I started to feel a little fatigue in the sixth or seventh inning, but I was able to keep pitching and get through it.?
?Kalen did an outstanding job on both sides of the plate with his fastball. He kept the hitters off balance with his slider,? UK pitching coach Gary Henderson said. ?He showed tremendous concentration and determination tonight.?
Caleb Stewart led the UK offense. The senior was 4-for-5, extending his hitting streak to 16 games, and scored three runs. John Shelby was 3-for-5 and drove in two runs for the Cats (13-5, 1-0 SEC).
?We?re very pleased with what we got tonight, especially from Kalen Gibson,? head coach John Cohen said. ?This is a long journey and we?re just getting started, but we?re very happy with the win.
?Caleb Stewart is seeing it well right now. His stroke is very good and he has good people hitting around him to give him some protection.?
UK got the scoring started in the top half of the fourth inning. Mike Breyman was hit by a pitch to start the inning and advanced to second on Shelby?s bunt base hit. After a Casey Gilvin sacrifice bunt moved both runners up, Jake Kungl?s bloop double scored Breyman and Shelby came in on a Joe Naill sac fly. Kungl scored the third run on an Auburn error and the Cats led, 3-0.
An inning later, UK put up two more with Shelby and Gilvin delivering back-to-back run-scoring doubles and Kentucky found itself in control at 5-0.
Arnold Hughey (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season for the Tigers (16-4, 0-1 SEC).
The two teams will continue the three-game series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. (ET) from Plainsman Park in Auburn. Senior Seth Stanley (4-0) will take the mound for the Wildcats in search of his fifth win of the year. All of Saturday?s action can be heard on 96.1 FM. Chris Cross will call the play-by-play.
— UK —
