AUBURN, Ala. – No. 16 Auburn (17-4, 2-1 SEC) starts a stretch of seven straight games away from home with its first true road series of the season at No. 24 Kentucky (14-5, 1-2 SEC).
First pitches at Kentucky Proud Park are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT Friday and 1 p.m. CT Saturday and Sunday.
“Hopefully we’ll roll through Lexington with basketball and do amazing,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “This will be our longest road stretch this entire year, back-to-back weekends. These two weekends in a row are going to test our ballclub, but we just need to focus on Kentucky. We really just have to go up, play good baseball and be prepared. I’m looking forward to the series.”
The games will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on Wings 94.3 FM Friday and Sunday and ESPN 106.7 Saturday. The first two games of the series will also be streamed digitally on SEC Network+, and the finale will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – Sr. RHP Samuel Dutton (3-1, 1.63) vs. Sr. RHP Nic McCay (3-0, 1.52)
Saturday – Jr. LHP Cade Fisher (0-0, 6.75) vs. Jr. LHP Ethan Walker (0-0, 6.43)
Sunday – Fr. RHP Christian Chatterton (2-0, 4.18) vs. So. LHP Ben Cleaver (2-1, 2.77)
QUICK HITTERS
Auburn enters the weekend having won seven straight weekends dating back to the final two series of 2024, marking the longest streak since 2017.
The Tigers are looking to start SEC play with back-to-back series wins for the first time since 2017.
Head coach Butch Thompson secured his 300th win in an Auburn uniform vs. South Alabama Tuesday, becoming the third coach in program history to surpass the milestone.
The Tigers are 4-1 against ranked opponents this season.
Auburn enters the weekend with eight players hitting .300 or higher.
The team is 14-1 when outhitting the opponent this season.
Auburn has hit a grand slam in back-to-back games for the first time since 1997.
The pitching staff enters the weekend ranked in the top 25 in the country in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (10.5), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.04) and walks allowed per 9.0 innings (3.45)
Auburn leads the all-time series against Kentucky 81-54, including a 36-25 record in Lexington, but the Tigers have dropped nine of the last 10 against the Wildcats since 2021.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Led by ninth-year head coach Nick Mingione, Kentucky enters the weekend with a 14-5 overall record and 1-2 record in SEC play after opening conference action at Georgia last weekend.
Offensively, the Wildcats are hitting .290 as a team and have scored 163 runs on 170 hits. The team has been hit by 57 pitches and has stolen 51 bases, both good for top-20 marks in the country. Senior utility man Cole Hage leads the way with a .424 average, 25 runs, 28 hits, six homers and nine stolen bases.
On the mound, Kentucky ranks top 25 in the country with a 3.59 staff ERA and has struck out 174 batters with 76 walks in 158.0 innings pitched. The weekend rotation is a combined 5-1 with a 3.11 ERA.