LEXINGTON ? Kentucky looks to continue its winning ways this weekend when it welcomes No. 23 Auburn to Applebee?s Park beginning for a three-game set beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The Wildcats have won three of their last five, including two over ranked foes. On Wednesday, Kentucky (17-14, 1-10 Southeastern Conference) completed a season sweep of Louisville with a 4-3 extra-inning victory. Freshman Ryan Wilkes drove in the game-winning run with a clutch two-out single. It was the third straight one-run game for the Wildcats, two of which have been victories.
?Our players are really competing and it?s great to watch such a young team continue to grow,? Kentucky head coach John Cohen said. ?We have so much inexperience, but the talent is showing and you can see it happening as time goes on. As it continues, I think we?re going to have a great club.?
Auburn (23-13, 6-6) is in the thick of the Western Division race, just two games behind leader Alabama. The Tigers downed Samford, 12-6, in their mid-week tune up on Tuesday. Last season, Kentucky and Auburn met in each team?s SEC opening series with the Wildcats winning two of three. The highlight of the weekend was Kalen Gibson?s pitching performance. He went 8 2/3 innings and allowed just one hit to get the win.
Friday and Saturday?s games can be heard in the Lexington area on WXRA 1580-AM while Sunday?s can be found on WLXO 96.1-FM. As usual, all three games can be heard online at the official home for Kentucky athletics, www.UKathletics.com.
Friday night?s opener will feature a pair of seasoned veterans on the mound as Gibson, a right-hander, squares off with Auburn lefty Arnold Hughey. Gibson is 4-1 on the year with a 4.75 earned-run average. Hughey stands at 3-3 despite a 3.59 ERA. He has struck out 48 batters and walked just seven this year.
Kentucky has yet to designate a Saturday starter to meet junior right-hander Josh Sullivan, who is 6-2 with a .3.38 ERA. Sunday, the Wildcats will send freshman left Andrew Albers to the mound while the Tigers starter has not been announced.
?They have a tough 1-2 punch in Hughey and Sullivan,? Cohen said. ?I think we?ll need to be aggressive at the plate and attack pitches in the strike zone to be successful. It is the same formula we have been stressing all year long.?
The coaching match up should be an interesting one between Cohen and Auburn?s Tom Slater. Each served as the hitting coach at Florida under Pat McMahon before taking over their current post. Cohen held the position from 2002-03 before Slater took over in 2004 when Cohen became the head coach at Kentucky.
?I have a lot of respect for what Tom has accomplished in his first year at Auburn,? Cohen said. ?Having come from the same coaching position under Pat McMahon, I know that he has learned from one of the best.?
The Wildcat offense has been sparked lately by the play of sophomore John Shelby and freshman Antone DeJesus. Shelby is hitting .403 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs since March 13. He has eight multi-hit and six multi-RBI games in his last 12 outings.
Meanwhile, DeJesus has been setting the table for the heart of Kentucky?s order. He?s batting .444 over the last 11 games and has scored 16 runs in that span. He has added six extra-base hits, three stolen bases and a pair of sacrifices in that time as well.
This is the second time this year Kentucky has played at Applebee?s Park, with the first coming three weeks ago against Georgia. The Wildcats dropped those two games before Sunday?s series finale? was rained out. Kentucky is 5-5 all-time at the park, which is the home of the Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League (A).
