AUBURN, Ala. ? The University of Kentucky softball team will take to the road for a final time this season, as they travel to Auburn for the SEC series finale. The Wildcats and Tigers will meet for a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday. First pitch on both dates is set for a 1 p.m. CT start.
Kentucky has enjoyed a week-off from game action, as they wrap up final exams in the classroom. A week ago UK fell to Georgia at home, despite a valiant effort from sophomore Molly Johnson and the 2008 senior class. Johnson went 4-for-6 on the weekend while reaching base four more times on walks. Seniors Audrey Meyer and Ashley Dimkich both scored for the Blue and White, keeping the game close until a four-run two-inning stretch by the Bulldogs.
Johnson enjoyed an outstanding week, as she batted .667 for the week in four games, while also reaching base four more additional times on a walk (including three intentional walks by Georgia on Sunday). The sophomore has hit a team-leading and career-high 20 doubles, while also swiping 17-of-19 bases this season, including 1-for-1 this week. Johnson has also propelled herself into the UK record books for doubles (6th), home runs (6th), putouts (8th), and RBI (9th).
Auburn is in fourth place in the West and is fighting to hold on to a spot in the SEC Tournament. The Tigers are 34-19 overall this season, and 10-14 in league play. Kentucky and Auburn have met 30 times previously in their 12-year history, and the Tigers hold a 21-9 overall series record. A season ago, the Tigers went 2-and-1 in the series.
This will be the second time in series history that the two teams will wrap up conference play with a series against one another. The Wildcats posted a 7-of-10 win total against Auburn from 1998-2002, its best streak in the series.
Freshman Meagan Aull will be looking to extend her streak of having a hit in every SEC series this season as she tallied a hit on Sunday against Georgia. Aull has come on as of late for the Wildcats moving to the No. 5 slot in the batting order. She paces the team in SEC play hitting at a .318 clip and tallying 21 hits. She?s also second on the club with six stolen bases and eight runs in league action.
Meyer and Dimkich have also found themselves in UK allure recently. Dimkich has totaled 503 career putouts from her first base position which is good for a spot on the career all-time top-10 list at No. 6. Meyer, in just two seasons at Kentucky, has moved into the ranks on the career chart for drawing walks. Meyer is sixth all-time at UK with 48 walks in her career. She ranks second on the team this season behind sophomore Destinee Mordecai as they have tallied 23 and 21 base on balls, respectively.
Live results and complete coverage of the UK softball team can be found at www.ukathletics.com.
