LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a rainstorm Saturday evening forced a doubleheader on Sunday, No. 14 Auburn fell to No. 23 Kentucky, 7-0 and 7-3. The Tigers (34-12, 9-8) mustered only five combined hits between the two games with four coming in the night gap.
"We are sitting at 9-8 and we still have our own destiny in our hands," said Auburn head coach Mickey Dean. "But you have to play with some urgency and passion. You have to understand the importance of each game, of each pitch and each batter."
Kentucky (28-18, 11-9) struck first in the first game when a 3-2 pitch was hit through the left side for a single. The Wildcats' lead ballooned with a three-run third inning, before they struck again for three more in the bottom of the sixth.
Grace Baalman (7-8) kept the Auburn hitters at bay as Alyssa Rivera's single during the top of the sixth inning was the Tigers' only hit of the game. However, Auburn did manage four walks against Baalman. Lexie Handley (6-2) struck out six of the 32 batters she faced as she scattered seven hits and allowed seven runs (five earned) after throwing 110 pitches.
In the night gap, Kentucky, again, scored in the bottom of the first on a bases-loaded fielder's choice. However, Auburn answered in its half of the second as Tannon Snow scored on a groundout then Kendall Veach hurried home from third on a wild pitch.
But the Wildcats answered with a four-run bottom of the second to re-take the lead. From there, Rivera doubled home Casey McCrackin in the third, but Kentucky added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings to conclude its scoring.
Like Handley, Ashlee Swindle (9-6) went six innings and struck out one to extend Auburn's streak of consecutive games with at least one pitching strikeout to 171 games, which dates back to the 2016 season and includes head coach Mickey Dean's entire tenure on the Plains.
The two teams will conclude the series on Monday, April 22 at 6 p.m. CST / 7 p.m. EST.