Auburn dropped both games of its doubleheader against Kentucky on Saturday and was swept for the second straight weekend. The Tigers are now 0-6 in SEC play and 11-11 overall.
Game 1
Mason Barnett started on the mound for Auburn, but Kentucky was able to jump on him early. Kentucky hit two home runs in the first frame, including a three-run blast from the Wildcats' first baseman TJ Collett.
Auburn got two of those runs back in the bottom half of the first. Kason Howell doubled to score Rankin Woley, and Tyler Miller later scored on an error by Kentucky’s third baseman.
Barnett recovered from his rough start to keep the Wildcats scoreless for the next four innings. However, the relievers could not hold on to his momentum, allowing another three earned runs in the final 3.2 innings.
The game was tied at six-all going into the ninth. A two-run home run from Kason Howell and a two-RBI single from Brody Moore kept Auburn close late in the game.
Kentucky made a two-out rally in the ninth inning after an infield single by Ryan Ritter. Ritter was later pushed in from third by a single that got past Ryan Bliss.
“I feel like if we had been able to put up a couple of goose-eggs late, we could have got one or two [wins].” said head coach Butch Thompson. “But that didn’t happen for us.”
Jack Owen, who let up that run in relief, was saddled with the loss. Auburn threatened in the bottom of the ninth with a walk and a hit batter but ultimately fell short, dropping game one 7-6.
Game 2
Joseph Gonzalez made his first weekend start of his career in the second leg on Saturday. Like Barnett, however, he had trouble early, allowing three runs in the first two innings.
After giving up another run off a Collett single in the fifth, he was replaced by Carson Swilling, who gave up another earned in his one inning of work.
The Tigers' offense responded in the third, with Rankin Woley hitting a two-run double into the left-center alley, scoring Judd Ward and Ryan Bliss. Bliss, who was 0-for-5 in the first game, rebounded in the second leg, hitting four singles in five at-bats.
“I was down after the [first] game,” Bliss said. “I was down for 20 minutes, ate my sandwich, and next thing you know, we have a new game. That’s the great thing about this sport.”
Despite the loss, the pen had some surprise performers. Cam Hill and Brooks Fuller came into the game with ERAs of 36.00 and 10.24, respectively, combined for 3.1 scoreless innings.
Auburn’s bats failed to produce late in the game. A Ryan Bliss RBI single in the ninth was the only run scored by Auburn after the fifth. They dropped game two with a final score of 6-4.
“I know it’s tough, but we’re going to be okay,” Thompson said. “I think this is going to be a real test of the character of our program."
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Dylan Fox, Junior in Civil Site Design Engineering, joined The Plainsman as a sports writer in Spring 2020. From Geneva, IL.
