UK scores 2 in 10th, edges Auburn 6-5
Braden Kapteyn
UK’s Andy Burns opens the bottom of the 10th with a full-count walk. Chris Bisson takes a 2-2 pitch to the opposite field, singling through the left side of the infield to put Burns on second. With Auburn expecting a bunt, Gunner Glad instead pokes a run-scoring single on nearly the same path that Bisson just used. Burns scores and Bisson stops at second. Chris Wade bunts the runners to second and third. With one out, Keenan Wiley draws an intentional walk to fill the bases for Braden Kapteyn. Kapteyn takes two balls, then lines a game-winning RBI single down the third-base line. FINAL SCORE: KENTUCKY 6, AUBURN 5.
Auburn grabs 5-4 lead over Kentucky in top of 10th
Justin Hargett
Auburn’s Justin Hargett opens the 10th inning with a bunt single. Trent Mummey, looking to bunt, is nailed in the right leg by a Braden Kapteyn pitch. Brian Fletcher bunts the runners to second and third. Ben Jones’ sacrifice fly sends Chad Wright to the left-field wall. Hargett scores and Mummey advances to third. There’s where it ends, though, as third baseman Andy Burns successfully pulls off the ol’ hidden ball trick and tags out Mummey. Going to the bottom of the 10th: Auburn 5, Kentucky 4.
Kentucky, Auburn tied 4-4 through 9 innings
In the bottom of the ninth, Marcus Nidiffer is called out on strikes. Bryan Rose just misses a homer, backing Trent Mummey to the center-field wall for the second out. Chad Wright grounds out. Heading to extra innings: Kentucky 4, Auburn 4.
Auburn ties Kentucky at 4 with ninth-inning run
Brian Fletcher
In the top of the ninth, Auburn’s Brian Fletcher works a full-count walk. Kentucky Coach Gary Henderson pulls starter James Paxton and brings in lefty Logan Darnell to pitch. Darnell strikes out Ben Jones, but hits Tony Caldwell to put runners on first and second. Casey McElroy goes the other way to drive a single through the left side of the infield, loading the bases. Henderson summons his DH, right-hander Braden Kapteyn, to take over on the mound. Wes Gilmer, who banged a two-run double his previous at-bat, grounds to first baseman Gunner Glad who, inexplicably, opts to take a few steps and touch the bag before throwing home — too late to catch Fletcher. So now the game is tied, runners on second and third, with two outs. Chez McCann, who entered the game in the seventh as a defensive replacement, walks to load the bases. Kapteyn gets ahead of Kevin Patterson 0-2, then gets saved from a run-scoring wild pitch as catcher Marcus Nidiffer jumps up to spear a very, very outside pitch. Next pitch is a called third strike. Going to the bottom the ninth, and with Auburn calling in right-hander Austin Hubbard from the bullpen: Kentucky 4, Auburn 4.
Kentucky tries to protect 4-3 lead in 9th
Kentucky gets a one-out double from Chris Wade but nothing else in the eighth. Going to the ninth inning: Kentucky 4, Auburn 3.
Auburn goes down quietly in 8th inning
UK lefty James Paxton regains his composure to set Auburn down in order in the eighth, striking out two. In the middle of the eighth: Kentucky 4, Auburn 3.
Fluke play gives UK 4-3 lead in 7th
Marcus Nidiffer
Andy Burns
Kentucky takes a 4-3 lead on a weird play. Marcus Nidiffer leads off with a single to left. One out later, Chad Wright walks. Andy Burns takes a 2-2 pitch for a ball, then mistakingly trots towards first base — thinking the pitch was ball four. Nidiffer gets hung up between second and third, with catcher Tony Caldwell firing the ball towards third, but into left field for an error. Nidiffer scores and Wright moves to third. Next pitch, Burns does walk. But he’s doubled off first when Chris Bisson lines out to pitcher Bradley Hendrix. At the end of seven: Kentucky 4, Auburn 3.
Auburn comes back in 7th to tie Kentucky 3-3
Auburn comes battling back in the seventh. Justin Hargett leads off with an infield single. Trent Mummey looks at a called third strike, the eighth whiff of the game by James Paxton, and Brian Fletcher is out on a pop foul. Ben Jones doubles to the gap in left-center, moving Hargett to third. Tony Caldwell draws the first Auburn walk of the day to load the bases. Casey McElroy draws a full-count walk to force in a run. Wes Gilmer drives a two-run, game-tying double off the wall in right-center. Pinch-hitter Bradley Ray takes a called third strike. Seventh-inning stretch time: Kentucky 3, Auburn 3.
UK breaks through in sixth, takes 3-0 lead on Auburn
Bryan Rose leads off the bottom of the sixth with a sharp single to right — just the third hit of the game and the second for Kentucky. Chad Wright executes the
Bryan Rose
Keenan Wiley
sacrifice bunt to push Rose to second. Andy Burns jumps on a 3-1 pitch, lining a run-scoring double down the left-field line. One out later, Gunner Glad draws a walk. After waving at a pair of breaking balls, Chris Wade reaches out to slap a 1-2 pitch through the left side of the infield for a run-scoring single. Glad stops at second. Auburn Coach John Pawlowski calls to the bullpen for Bradley Hendrix. Keenan Wiley welcomes the right-hander with a single to left-center to score Glad and move Wade to third. Hendrix retires Braden Kapteyn on a comebacker. After six innings: Kentucky 3, Auburn 0.
Paxton continues mastery; UK-Auburn scoreless
Kentucky’s James Paxton retires his ninth, 10th and 11th batters in a row, getting a fly ball and striking out two. Through the top of the sixth, Paxton has yielded one hit and hit a batter, struck out seven and faced the minimum 18 batters. In the middle of the sixth inning: Kentucky 0, Auburn 0.
Pitching duel continues as Cats get nothing in 5th
Jon Luke Jacobs
Auburn freshman Jon Luke Jacobs continues to have Kentucky’s number. He retires Keenan Wiley on a pop foul, Braden Kapteyn on a grounder and Marcus Nidiffer on a pop to short center. At the end of five innings: Kentucky 0, Auburn 0.
Auburn retired in order in fifth; no score
Auburn goes down in order in the fifth inning. Ben Jones grounds out, Tony Caldwell is strikeout victim No. 5 for James Paxton and Casey McElroy taps out to catcher Marcus Nidiffer. In the middle of the fifth: Kentucky 0, Auburn 0.
Kentucky gets first hit, then a double play
Gunner Glad
Kentucky gets its first hit of the game as Gunner Glad lines a one-out single down the third-base line. But Auburn right-hander Jon Luke Jacobs gets Chris Wade to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. At the end of four innings: UK 0 runs, 1 hit; Auburn 0 runs, 1 hit.
Wright survives collision with wall; Auburn down 1-2-3
UK lefty James Paxton again sets Auburn down in order, but Kentucky gets a scare. Trent Mummey’s one-out fly sends left fielder Chad Wright deep. Wright makes the catch but is shaken up as he crashes into the wall. He stays in the game, though, and Paxton fans Brian Fletcher to end the inning. In the middle of the fourth: no score.
Auburn frosh Jacobs completes third no-hit inning
Auburn freshman Jon Luke Jacobs sets down Kentucky 1-2-3 in the third. Through three innings: Kentucky 0 runs, 0 hits; Auburn 0 runs, 1 hit.
Paxton puts away Auburn in third; still no score
Kentucky, Auburn scoreless through two innings
Kentucky goes down in order in the second. Auburn left-fielder Brian Fletcher robs Marcus Nidiffer of a two-out hit, making a diving catch of Nidiffer’s blooper to left-center. At the end of two innings: Kentucky 0, Auburn 0.
Paxton strikes out the side, in order, in 2nd
UK lefty James Paxton retires Auburn in conventional fashion in the second, striking out the side: Ben Jones, Tony Caldwell and Casey McElroy. Going to the bottom of the second: nil-nil.
Wildcats strand a pair of runners in first
Kentucky threatens in the first, thanks to a leadoff walk to Chad Wright and a two-out pass to Gunner Glad. But Auburn freshman Jon Luke Jacobs strikes out Andy Burns, Chris Bisson and Chris Wade, the last two caught looking. At the end of one: 0-0.
Double play ends Auburn’s half of first inning
UK lefty James Paxton, aided by a double play, cuffs Auburn in the top of the first. Trent Mummey bloops a one-out single just over the reach of 2B Chris Bisson. But Brian Fletcher lines out to Bisson, who tosses to Gunner Glad to easily double off Mummey at first. Going to the bottom of the first: no score.
SEC baseball: Auburn at Kentucky, game one
Saturday is looking much better than Friday for baseball at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Kentucky and Auburn are set to make up Friday’s postponement, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. Right now, it’s 71 degrees, cloudy, with a rain-clear radar in Central Kentucky. Saturday’s regularly scheduled game, to be televised by the Big Blue Network, is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Both UK and Auburn have hopes of qualifying for the eight-team Southeastern Conference Tournament.
UK (24-23 overall, 9-15 SEC) ranks ninth, Auburn (27-22, 8-16) 10th. No. 8 Vanderbilt (11-13) opened a two-game lead on UK by defeating Georgia on Friday.
Starting lineups for Saturday’s first game
Auburn — Justin Hargett, 2B; Trent Mummey, CF; Brian Fletcher, LF; Ben Jones, RF; Tony Caldwell, C; Casey McElroy, SS; Wes Gilmer, 3B; Dan Gamache, 1B; Kevin Patterson, DH. Pitching — RH Jon Luke Jacobs (3-4, 6.23).
Kentucky — Chad Wright, LF; Andy Burns, 3B; Chris Bisson, 2B; Gunner Glad, 1B; Chris Wade, SS; Keenan Wiley, CF; Braden Kapteyn, DH; Marcus Nidiffer, C; Bryan Rose, RF. Pitching — LH James Paxton (5-2, 5.40).
Umpires — Nelson Graham, plate; A.J. Lostaglio, 1B; Kevin Assman, 3B.
Ask me when I fell in love with sports and you may as well ask when I first registered a pulse. I can't recall ever being without either. 
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