Tigers fall in game one against Kentucky

The Tigers dropped game one of their doubleheader against the Wildcats by a score of 5-1.

After having to reschedule game one of the series due to weather, the Tigers were tasked with playing two games on Friday. Game one between Auburn and Kentucky began at 1 CT. The Tigers starting pitcher was Mason Barnett while the Wildcats starting pitcher was Zack Lee.

It didn’t take long for the home team to scratch across a run. In the bottom half of the first inning, third baseman Chase Estep sent a double into left-center field to bring across second baseman Daniel Harris. After one inning of play, the Wildcats led 1-0.

The Tigers were unable to muster any runs in the first two innings. Unlike Auburn, the Wildcats were able to push across yet another run in the bottom half of the second inning. After right-fielder Adam Fogel reached base earlier in the inning, center-fielder John Thrasher was able to lay down a bunt single to bring Fogel across. After two innings of play in Lexington, the Wildcats led 2-0.

It was a rough day for starting pitcher [autotag]Mason Barnett[/autotag] to say the least. He gave up five hits and four runs in 3.1 innings. The bullpen was able to ease the damage though. Relief pitchers John Armstrong, Tommy Sheehan, and Chase Isbell struck out a combined six batters while allowing just four hits.

In the bottom half of the fourth inning, the Wildcats scored two more runs off of Burnett. An RBI single off the bat of Devin Burkes brought across designated hitter Oraj Anu. Two batters later and it was Thrasher that delivered with a double to plate Burkes. After four innings in the Bluegrass State, the Wildcats led by a score of 4-0.

Finally, in the sixth inning, the Tigers scratched across a run. Second baseman [autotag]Garrett Farquhar[/autotag] delivered with an RBI double to score center-fielder Kason Howell. However, that was the lone run of the first game for the Tigers on Friday afternoon.

The Wildcats scratched across one more run in the bottom half of the sixth inning. The game ended in a Wildcats victory as the Tigers went three-up-three-down in the ninth. The Tigers are set to return to the diamond for game two of the three-game series later Friday evening. The first pitch for the second game was scheduled for 5:00 CT. The game will be aired on SEC Network +.