No. 8 Kentucky Welcomes No. 18 Auburn for SEC Series

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 8 Kentucky Softball team plays host to No. 18 Auburn Tigers this weekend for a three-game Southeastern Conference softball series set to kick off Friday at 6 p.m. ET and concluding Sunday afternoon at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington. Saturday’s game will be at 1 p.m. ET and will be broadcasted live on the SEC Network, ESPN3 and the ESPN app with Mike Couzens and Kayla Braud on the call.
 
Kentucky enters the weekend at 20-6 overall on the year and sits 1-2 in SEC play, having played No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Alabama in the past four games in one of the most difficult stretches of its schedule. Auburn has one of the best records in the nation at 26-2, an RPI of 10 and sits atop the SEC standings with a 5-1 record in league play so far thanks to a home sweep of Texas A&M and a home series win by two games to one over South Carolina this past weekend.
 
Kayla Kowalik leads the UK offensive charge, slotting in at a .483 batting average and has recorded 42 hits and 26 runs scored this season. Renee Abernathy hit her fifth home run of the year Tuesday night off of Oklahoma’s Jordy Bahl, just the third long ball Bahl has given up this season to opposing batters.              
 
In the circle, the Wildcats are paced by Alexia Lacatena who sports a 2.15 ERA and a 5-1 record. UK has used a variety of pitchers this season including Miranda Stoddard who is 5-3 on the year with a 3.45 ERA.
 
For the latest on UK Softball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSoftball.