LEXINGTON, Ky. — Auburn got at least one hit from all of its nine starters Friday and exploded for a five-run ninth inning to stifle a late Kentucky rally and post an 18-7 win against the Wildcats at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Kentucky and Auburn continue the three-game series at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Junior left-hander Andrew Albers (6-4, 4.84 ERA) takes the mound for the Wildcats, while the Tigers counter with freshman righty Taylor Thompson (4-2, 5.77 ERA).
The Tigers (30-24, 9-19 Southeastern Conference) jumped on the Wildcats (33-18-1, 12-15-1) with 12 runs over the first four frames to chase starter Chris Rusin from the game. Rusin, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, took the loss to drop to 5-4 on the season.
Sawyer Carroll and Ryan Wilkes each tallied multi-hit games for the Wildcats, while Brian Spear tied the school?s individual record for walks in a single season. Spear drew two bases on balls in the game to give him 48 walks on the year.
Auburn starter Evan Crawford earned the victory with 5.0 strong innings, allowing three runs on three hits. Reliever Josh Blake earned his first save of the season with four innings in relief, surrendering four runs while striking out three.
The top half of the Auburn lineup was key as the top five batters in the Auburn order accounted for 13 of the squad?s 20 hits.
Kentucky, which trailed 13-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, scored two runs in that frame. Right fielder Keenan Wiley?s two-run single up the middle highlighted the inning to narrow the Wildcats? deficit to 13-5.
With the momentum seeming to swing in Kentucky?s favor, Auburn opened the ninth inning with its first five batters reaching base, including the first four Tigers reaching on base hits. That would begin a five-run inning for Auburn to put the game out of reach.
The Wildcats again began to rally in the ninth inning with two outs as catcher Tyler Howe was hit by a pitch. Mike Brown then doubled down the left-field line to score Howe. Brown reached third after an infield single from Wilkes. Designated hitter Brock Wright then singled through the right side to plate Brown for UK?s final run. Matt McKinney flied out to right field to end the comeback attempt.
Auburn got on the board in the top of the second when third baseman Joseph Sanders led off the inning with a walk and scored on the next at-bat on a double to center field by first baseman Andy Bennett. Bennett later scored on a single by right fielder Ross Smith to give the Tigers a 2-0 advantage.
Auburn continued to add to its lead in the third by adding three runs. Leadoff hitter Bruce Edwards singled to right center to open the inning and scored on a double by Sanders three batters later. Sanders, who finished the game with five RBI, and designated hitter Mike Bianucci scored on a throwing error by McKinney to put the Tigers ahead 5-0.
Kentucky?s offense came to life in the bottom of the third as Antone DeJesus and Spear drew back-to-back walks with one out. Carroll singled to left field on the next at-bat to drive in DeJesus with UK?s first run. Brown was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and then Wilkes was walked to plate Spear, bringing UK within three, 5-2. Wright flied out to left field on a diving grab by Luke Greinke to end the inning with the bases loaded.
The Tigers responded with seven runs in the top of the fourth inning as Sanders? grand slam to deep left field provided the majority of Auburn?s offense in that frame and gave it a 12-2 lead.
Kentucky added a run in the fifth when Spear walked to open the inning and was later driven in on a sacrifice fly by Brown.
Auburn added a run in the eighth as Bianucci doubled to left field to lead off and scored on an RBI single by Brooks through the left side.
The Tigers combined for 20 hits on the day, marking the most allowed by UK pitching this season as Auburn played errorless ball on the day. Auburn?s 18 runs was a season-high allowed by UK.
