March 23, 2018
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LEXINGTON, Ky. -- No. 6 Auburn allowed three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and suffered a 5-4 loss at No. 8 Kentucky Friday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
With Auburn (19-4, 2-2 SEC) leading 4-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, Kentucky (16-6, 1-3 SEC) tied the game with a two-run home run and scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.
"Obviously you want to win every game, but I thought Casey Mize was tremendous and we competed our hearts out," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We just didn't make a couple plays down the stretch. They hit a big home run and that was the difference in the ballgame."
Auburn used a three-run seventh inning that was started by a solo home run from Brett Wright and completed by a pair of runs that scored on wild pitches to take a two-run advantage.
However, Kentucky matched the Tigers with three runs of its own in the final at-bat. After Luke Heyer tied the game with a two-run homer to right-center, Kentucky put the game-winning run on base as Ryan Johnson hit a ground ball up the middle that ricocheted off the second base bag with shortstop Will Holland positioned to make the play. Two batters later, pinch runner Zeke Lewis came in to score on a wild pitch.
Mize was masterful in his sixth start of the season. The junior right-hander pitched 7.0 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with no walks and 12 strikeouts. He retired the final 11 batters faced. The game marked Mize's third straight start with 12 or more strikeouts, and the Springville, Ala., native has now struck out 38 without issuing a walk in his last three outings.
Reliever Calvin Coker (3-1, 2.70) suffered the loss after running into trouble in the ninth. Kentucky's Jimmy Ramsey (1-1, .420) earned the win.
Auburn jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning as Luke Jarvis started a two-out rally with a single to second base. The next pitch, Holland sent a double into the right-center-field gap, and Jarvis slide into home just ahead of the throw.
However, Kentucky got the run right back in the bottom of the frame with three straight two-out singles and took the lead in its next at-bat as Luke Becker hit a leadoff home run.
After Auburn reassumed the lead in the aforementioned top of the seventh, the Tigers nearly added an insurance run in the ninth. With Jay Estes on first, Jarvis hit a ball into the right-center-field gap and was robbed of extra bases as Ben Aklinksi made the catch while crashing into the wall.
The defense translated into offense as the Wildcats won the game in the bottom of the frame.
Offensively, Holland, Wright, Estes and Jarvis accounted for eight of the team's nine hits as each turned in a multi-hit effort. Wright's solo home run to start the seventh was his team-best sixth of the season and his 13th extra-base hit.
The Tigers and Wildcats are scheduled to play game two Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. With potential inclement weather in the forecast, stay tuned for updates.