No. 16 Auburn fell behind early and was unable to recover, suffering a 6-0 defeat to No. 24 Kentucky on Sunday at Kentucky Proud Park.
"After that first inning, it’s not what you want to see on the scoreboard," said head coach Butch Thompson. "It wasn't just the runs, but five runs on only two hits. We just couldn't consistently find the strike zone."
Despite the setback, the Tigers secured their eighth consecutive series win, dating back to the end of 2024, by taking two 8-7 victories on Friday and Saturday.
"Our offense has been strong and resilient all year, but today we couldn’t get anything going. Two hits and a shutout, we just never found a rhythm offensively to get back into the game," Thompson added.
Auburn (19-5, 4-2 SEC) had a scoring opportunity in the first inning, marking the third consecutive day they threatened early, but left two runners on base. Kentucky (15-7, 2-4 SEC) then capitalized with five runs in the first on four walks, a hit batter, two hits, and two sacrifice flies.
Dylan Watts relieved Christian Chatterton with one out in the first inning, allowing a pair of inherited runners to score. However, he settled into the game, holding Kentucky scoreless through the second, third, and fourth innings.
The Tigers had another chance to trim the deficit in the fifth, with two on and one out, but a pair of groundouts, including one that deflected off a diving third baseman to the shortstop, ended the inning with the score still 5-0.
Watts recorded the first out of the fifth before being replaced by Carson Myers after a hit batter. Myers delivered a season-high 4.0 scoreless innings in relief.
Myers followed Watts with 1.2 scoreless innings, but Kentucky extended its lead with a two-out single from Griffin Graves in the seventh.
Ike Irish collected his seventh hit of the weekend with a two-out single in the eighth, but a strikeout ended the inning and kept Auburn off the scoreboard. In the ninth, three pinch hitters were retired to help conclude the game.
Auburn will continue its road stretch with a midweek game against South Alabama (11-11, 1-4 Sun Belt) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CST in Montgomery, before heading to Athens, Georgia, for a three-game series next weekend.
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Sarah is a freshman majoring in public relations. She started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @sarahsewall12
