The Auburn Tigers, fresh off an upset victory over No. 6 LSU, will take on another ranked foe this weekend, hosting the No. 21 Kentucky Wildcats. The series' first game has been designated as Shelby Lowe Day in honor of the senior pitcher.
During Lowe’s career at Auburn, the lefty pitcher received the honors of All-SEC Freshman Team and All-SEC Second Team. Lowe has a career ERA of 2.26 and has struck out 443 batters during her time on the Plains, including an impressive 179 strikeouts in her first season.
Injuries plagued Lowe between her sophomore and junior seasons, but she has battled back to remain a contributor for the team, currently posting a 6-3 record for the season.
Auburn earned its first conference series victory this past weekend, defeating LSU twice. The first game saw SEC strikeout leader Maddie Penta continue to dominate from the circle, serving as a reliever to strike out four batters in two innings of play.
On the offensive end, Auburn took advantage of errors made by LSU to keep things in motion. A fielding error in the seventh inning paved the way for the Auburn Tigers to break a 2-2 tie in the game’s final inning to secure the Friday victory.
The same offensive effort could not be generated for Auburn, falling to LSU 2-0 in the second game of the series.
Auburn was able to rebounded nicely in the series finale. After giving up a run in the first inning, Auburn held LSU scoreless for the remainder of the game. Once again, the pitching of the orange and blue Tigers remained a substantial aspect of their winning effort. Lowe earned the win, striking out five batters, allowing three hits and one run in seven innings – marking the first time Lowe had pitched seven innings since February 2022.
Annabelle Windra led the way for Auburn offensively with two hits and two RBI.
For the Wildcats extra bases hits have been a common factor in victories. Currently, Kentucky has a .519 slugging percentage, ranking in the top 25 nationally. In addition to this, the Wildcats have shown that they are more than capable of knocking a few balls out of the park – raining 14th in the country with 57 homers on the season.
Kentucky’s two most recent matchups showcased their big play ability. In a weekend series against No. 7 Georgia, the Wildcats put up five home runs across three games to upset the Bulldogs in two of the three games.
The Wildcats put up 12 runs against Western Kentucky in five innings thanks to the efforts of Taylor Ebbs and Grace Lorsung. Both finished the day with a home run apiece and combined for nine RBI.
Lorsung and Erin Coffell are two of the players largely responsible for the Wildcats’ abundance of home runs – ranking third and seventh in the conference respectively.
The first game of the weekend series between the Auburn Tigers and the Kentucky Wildcats will begin on Saturday, April 20 at 3 p.m. CST. Saturday’s matchup will begin at 6 p.m. CST. The series will wrap up on Monday, April 22 at 6 p.m. CST. All games will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
