LEXINGTON ? Lexington natives John Shelby and Collin Cowgill combined for three home runs, three doubles, five runs scored and five RBIs to lead No. 20 Kentucky to an 8-7 series opening victory over Auburn on Friday night at Plainsman Park.
Center fielder Shaun Lehmann made the offensive heroics stand up in the ninth by throwing out the tying run at the plate and making a running grab into the wall.
Brock Baber benefited from the defense to earn the win and improve to 3-0 on the year. Starter Aaron Tennyson did not factor in the decision after lasting just 3 1/3 innings and allowing five runs. Peter Wiggins took the loss to fall to 3-2. Starter Brett Butts was tagged for five runs on seven hits in five innings.
The win improved Kentucky to 22-5 and 5-2 in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats won for the 13th time in 15 games and are poised to win their third straight league series on Saturday. Auburn took the tough loss and fell to 12-17, including 1-6 in the conference.
The two teams resume the series on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. Kentucky sends southpaw Craig Snipp (4-0, 1.62) to the hill against fellow lefty Evan Crawford (2-4, 4.08). Snipp ranks second in the SEC in earned-run average.
With the game tied 7-7 going into the ninth, Lehmann drew a leadoff walk. However, he was caught trying to take second leaving UK with one out and nobody on. Two pitches later, Cowgill roped a ball into the gap in right center for a stand-up double.
Ryan Strieby was hit by a pitch to put two on for Sean Coughlin, who singled home Cowgill for his third hit in the game. That brought up Shelby with a chance to blow the game open, but Strieby was thrown out trying to score on a wild pitch.
He appeared to get under the tag but was called out by home plate umpire John Magnusson. Kentucky skipper John Cohen argued vehemently to no avail.
Auburn had already battled back to tie the game in the eighth and had no intentions of going quietly in the ninth. With one out, Justin Bristow singled and Luke Greinke beat out a bunt for a single to put men on first and second.
That brought up Tyler Johnstone, the Tigers? leadoff hitter. He laced a ball to left center for his third hit of the game, but pinch runner Philip Stringer was gunned down at the plate by Lehmann. It was the fourth outfield assist of the year for the converted third baseman.
Russell Dixon followed by knocking one to the warning track that Lehmann ran down just before crashing into the wall.
The teams traded runs early with Auburn scoring in the first and Kentucky adding one in the third and one in the fourth for a 2-1 lead. Michael Bertram doubled home Cowgill for the first run while Shelby cranked his first home run of the game in the fourth.
The Tigers took a 6-2 lead with a five-run fourth, capped by Josh Donaldson?s three-run blast over the 30-foot wall in left. Ryan Stanley and Bristow led off with back-to-back singles before Greinke reached on an error on his sac bunt. Stanley scored on the play to tie it, 2-2.
Johnstone walked to load the bases before Matt Robinson was called on to relieve starter Aaron Tennyson. Mike Bianucci plated Bristow on a sac fly before Donaldson cleared the bases.
The Wildcats chipped away with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth on Shelby?s second homer. Both went off the scoreboard over the 385 mark in left-center field. He now has eight home runs in his last 11 games, including five in SEC action.
In the seventh, Cowgill tied it with a towering shot off the scoreboard on a 3-2 offering. He took the previous pitch, thinking it was a ball and was halfway to first before having to come back to the box.
An out later, Strieby and Coughlin had consecutive singles and Shelby doubled home Strieby for the lead. Coughlin was thrown out trying to score on the play.
Notes: Kentucky recorded its 11th come-from-behind victory ? John Shelby recorded his second multi-homer game of the season and the fourth of his career ? Shelby has eight home runs and 25 RBIs in his last 11 games while hitting .400 in that span ? Shelby?s four hits were a season high and he has driven in four in back-to-back games ? Cowgill hit his first home run in 10 games ? Shaun Lehmann tallied his fourth outfield assist of the year and the sixth of his career ? The bottom third of UK?s order went 0-for-12 with six strikeouts ? Brock Baber earned his third win, including his second straight ? Antone DeJesus did not play in center field with a shoulder problem.
