Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

                              Lexington Legends
   vs. Rome Braves

What: Four-game series

When: Saturday through Tuesday (7:05 each night, except Sunday at 2:05 p.m.)

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Saturday, RH Robert Bono (7-4, 2.16) vs. RH Paul Clemens (4-3, 5.25); Sunday, RH Ross Seaton (6-7, 2.73) vs. RH Randall Delgado (1-7, 5.66); Monday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (6-7, 3.61) vs. LH Dimaster Delgado (1-2, 3.62); Tuesday, RH Jordan Lyles (5-7, 3.15) vs. RH Zeke Spruill (7-4, 3.32).

Adam Milligan

Brave to watch: OF Adam Milligan (6-foot-3, 210 pounds, from Morristown, Tenn.) was promoted to Rome on Friday, up from Danville of the Appalachian League. Milligan hit .439 with two homers, five doubles, a triple and 10 RBI in nine games with Danville. Atlanta took him in the sixth round of the 2008 draft, the third time the Braves selected the left-handed-hitting power hitter (who throws right-handed). He backed out of a committment to Vanderbilt, signing for $350,000. Milligan roomed with the son of Braves scouting director Roy Clark while attending Walters State (Tenn.) Community College. He also was recruited for football, out of Hardin County High School, where he was a Tennessee all-stater three years in a row. He played plenty of positions — quarterback, running back, receiver, kick-returner and safety.

Brian Pellegrini

Legend to watch: 1B Brian Pellegrini (6-1, 240, from Willoughby, Ohio) has tormented SAL pitchers since joining the Legends on May 16. Pellegrini began the season with High-A Lancaster of the California League, batting .171 with seven homers and 15 RBI over 30 games. Over 40 games with the Legends (through Thursday), Pellegrini is hitting .366 with 12 homers and 35 RBI. His 12 homers tie him for fifth in the league. He does not have enough appearances to qualify for league leaders in most categories, but his .366 batting, .441 on-base and .697 slugging numbers, as well as a gaudy 1.138 OPS would otherwise rank first. He hit .437 (38-for-87) with nine homers and 26 RBI in June. Pellegrini also spent much of last season with the Legends, notching 21 homers and 69 RBI over 87 games. His 33 career homers are a club record. Selected by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the 2007 draft, out of St. Bonaventure University, he was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2006.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

In the bottom of the ninth, Chad Wright is caught looking at strike three. Andy Burns coaxes a walk, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. Chris Bisson loops a single to shallow left, moving Burns to second and bringing the potential winning run to the plate. Gunner Glad grounds into a 6-4-3 double play. FINAL SCORE: Auburn 7, Kentucky 5.

Auburn           212  002  000  — 7    6  1
Kentucky        000  100  310  — 5  11  1
W — Price (4-2); L — Meyer (1-4); Sv — Hubbard (11). HR — AU: Mummey (15), Feltcher 2 (16); UK: Burns (6), Nidiffer (7). Att. — 2,040.

Cats hold Auburn in 9th, try to rally from 2 down

Auburn’s Brian Fletcher leads off the top of the ninth with a walk and moves to second on a grounder. UK Coach Gary Henderson replaces Logan Darnell with right-hander Clint Tilford. Darnell, a lefty, gave up three hits over 5 2/3 innings in relief. Second baseman Chris Bisson knocks down Wes Gilmer’s grounder up the middle and throw him out at first, while Fletcher takes third. Catcher Marcus Nidiffer blocks a Tilford pitch in the dirt, keeping Fletcher at third. Tilford then strikes out Dan Gamache with a B-B over the inside corner. Going to the bottom of the ninth: Auburn 7, Kentucky 5.

Nidiffer homers for UK, cuts Auburn lead to 7-5

Marcus Nidiffer

After the first two Kentucky batters are retired, Marcus Nidiffer sneaks a solo homer just over the center-field wall and the outstretched glove of Trent Mummey. Nidiffer’s seventh homer of the season cuts UK’s deficit to two runs. At the end of eight innings: Auburn 7, Kentucky 5.

Auburn goes down 1-2-3 in eighth

Auburn goes down in order in the eighth inning. Going to the bottom half of the inning: Auburn 7, Kentucky 4.

Kentucky scores 3 in 7th, trails Auburn 7-4

Chad Wright

Gunner Glad

When Braden Kapteyn leads off Kentucky’s half of the seventh with a bloop single to center, Auburn Coach John Pawlowski pulls starting pitcher Dexter Price and brings in another righty, Bradley Hendrix. Hendrix retires one batter, but Cory Farris doubles to right, Kapteyn stopping at third. Chad Wright’s chopper to short scores Kapteyn, but Farris gets hung up between second and third. He stays in a a rundown long enough for Wright to advance to second base. Andy Burns brings Wright home with a single up the middle and advances to second on the throw to the plate. Chris Bisson walks. Gunner Glad singles through the right side of the infield and, when right-fielder Ben Jones bobbles the ball for an error, Burns scores and Bisson takes third. Pawlowski yanks Hendrix and brings in another right-hander, Austin Hubbard. He gets Chris Wade to ground out. Going to the eighth inning: Auburn 7, Kentucky 4.

Unusual double play ends Auburn threat in 7th

In the top of the seventh, Auburn’s Wes Gilmer leads off with a double to the gap in right-center and Dan Gamache follows with a walk. Caleb Bowen puts down a two-strike bunt to move the runners to second and third. Justin Haggerty bounces to shortstop Chris Wade. Gilmer holds at third but Gamache doesn’t hold at second. After Wade throws out Haggerty at first, Gunner Glad whips the ball to second baseman Chris Bisson, who gets the ball to Chris McClendon for the tag. Score the double play 6-3-4-5. Seventh-inning stretch time: Auburn 7, Kentucky 1.

Wildcats add two hits but no runs in 6th

In the bottom of the sixth, Kentucky gets a one-out single, up the middle, from Chris Bisson. One out later, Chris Wade singles, the fifth hit given up by Auburn right-hander Dexter Price. The threat ends as Keenan Wiley lines out to center. Going to the seventh inning: Auburn 7, Kentucky 1.

Fletcher goes deep again to give Auburn 7-1 lead

Brian Fletcher

A hit batsman and Brian Fletcher’s second home run of the game (16th of the season) produce two runs for Auburn in the sixth inning. Three homers have produced six Auburn runs. Trent Mummey, the other long-ball artist, drove in the Tigers’ other run with a bases-loaded walk. Going to UK’s half of the sixth: Auburn 7, Kentucky 1.

Cats leave 2 runners on in 5th, trail Auburn 5-1

Kentucky gets a leadoff single from Keenan Wiley and a two-out single from Cory Farris, but can’t score in the fifth. Two runners are stranded as Chad Wright flies to deep center. Going to the sixth inning: Auburn 5, Kentucky 1.

Nidiffer, Darnell quell Auburn threat in fifth

After the first batter grounds out, Auburn loads the bases with a single, walk and fielding error. UK catcher Marcus Nidiffer fires a strike to Andy Burns, successfully picking off Wes Gilmer at third. Logan Darnell then induces Justin Hargett to ground out to second. In the middle of the fifth: Auburn 5, Kentucky 1.

Burns homer puts Kentucky on the board

Andy Burns

Held to a walk through three innings, Kentucky gets a lift from Andy Burns. The third baseman rips the first pitch of the inning for a home run off of the light tower in right-center field. Five of his six homers this season have come on first-pitch offerings. Auburn righty Dexter Price retires the next two batters. Then, Chris Wade just misses a homer — a long foul down the left-field line — and then flies out to right. After four innings: Auburn 5, Kentucky 1.

Darnell strikes out Auburn in order in fourth

UK’s Logan Darnell strikes out the side in the fourth: Hunter Morris, Ben Jones and Brian Fletcher, all swinging. In the middle of the fourth: Auburn 5, Kentucky 0.

Wildcats’ bats remain silent in third inning

Kentucky goes down in order in the third via two fly balls and a called third strike. Through three innings: Auburn 5 runs, 3 hits; Kentucky 0 runs, 0 hits.

Fletcher homer increases Auburn lead to 5-0

Alex Meyer

Auburn’s half of the third inning starts out much like the first inning. Ben Jones draws a leadoff walk and Brian Fletcher follows with a home run, his 15th of the season, over the left-field wall. Then, just as in the first, UK righty Alex Meyer strikes out the next two: Casey McElroy and Wes Gilmer. Unlike the first, though, he doesn’t get a third whiff in a row, as Dan Gamache and Caleb Bowen walk — Meyer’s and seventh free passes of the day. Gary Henderson pulls Meyer and brings in left-hander Logan Darnell. For his third straight at-bat, Justin Hargett works the count full before drawing a walk — this one to load the bases. But Trent Mummey fouls out to third baseman Andy Burns and Auburn leaves the bases loaded for the second consecutive inning. In the middle of the third inning: Auburn 5, Kentucky 0.

Cats get a base-runner but nothing else in 2nd

Auburn right-hander Dexter Price handles Kentucky’s first two batters in the second. The freshman gets Gunner Glad on a fly ball to left and Chris Wade on a pop to short right. Keenan Wiley draws a walk. Right fielder Ben Jones, battling the sun, wind and a long run to Braden Kapteyn’s shallow fly, makes a circus catch. At the end of two innings: Auburn 3, Kentucky 0.

Auburn adds a run in 2nd, leads Kentucky 3-0

Auburn puts runners on first and second with one out, prompting Kentucky Coach Gary Henderson to make a visit to RHP Alex Meyer. The freshman responds, striking out Caleb Bowen but then issues Justin Hargett his second walk of the game. Trent Mummey, who homered in the first inning, pops a foul behind the plate. But catcher Marcus Nidiffer is slow to locate the ball and can’t make the catch. Mummey then walks, forcing in a run. Hunter Morris just misses a grand slam, flying out on a drive to the right-field warning track. In the middle of the second inning: Auburn 3, Kentucky 0.

Wildcats go down in order in first inning

Kentucky goes down in order in the first, with a groundout, lineout and fly out. At the end of one: Auburn 2, Kentucky 0.

Mummey homer gives Auburn early 2-0 lead.

Trent Mummey

In the top of the first, Auburn taketh and Auburn swingeth away. Leadoff man Justin Hargett takes a 3-2 pitch for ball four. Trent Mummey brings him around with a two-run homer to the deck in right-center, his 15th homer of the season. UK freshman right-hander Alex Meyer settles down to strike out the next three batters — Hunter Morris, swinging; Ben Jones, looking; and Brian Fletcher, swinging. After half an inning: Auburn 2, Kentucky 0.

SEC baseball: Auburn at Kentucky, III

Kentucky, which hadn’t won a home baseball series against Auburn since 1989, tries for a three-game sweep Sunday.

We’re about 20 minutes away from the first pitch on a beautiful day at Cliff Hagan Stadium — 64 degrees, mostly sunny and a 7 mph wind blowing out to left field.

Kentucky swept Saturday’s Southeastern Conference doubleheader 6-5 (10 innings) and 6-3.

UK (26-23, 11-15 SEC) still has hopes of qualifying for the eight-team SEC Tournament. The Wildcats start Sunday ninth overall, 1 1/2 games behind Vanderbilt and 2 games back of South Carolina. Vandy goes for a sweep of Georgia on Sunday, with South Carolina taking on Tennessee.

Saturday’s sweep virtually eliminated Auburn (27-24, 8-18) from contention.

 

Sunday’s starting lineups:

AUBURN — Justin Hargett, 2B; Trent Mummey, CF; Hunter Morris, 1B; Ben Jones, RF; Brian Fletcher, LF; Casey McElroy, SS; Wes Gilmer, 3B; Dan Gamache, DH; Caleb Bowen, C. Pitching — RH Dexter Price (3-2, 5.74).

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; Cory Farris, RF. Pitching — RH Alex Meyer (1-3, 4.67).

UMPIRES — Kevin Assman, plate; Nelson Graham, 1B; A.J. Lostaglio, 3B.

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.

Friday’s Southeastern Conference baseball game between Kentucky and Auburn has been postponed due to rain.

The three-game series at UK’s Cliff Hagan Stadium now will start Saturday with two games.

The game postponed Friday will start Saturday at 2 p.m. Saturday’s regularly scheduled game will be televised on the Big Blue Sports Network, starting at 7 p.m.. Sunday’s game is set for 1 p.m.

Probable pitchers in the opener are left-hander James Paxton (5-2, 5.40) of Kentucky against RH Jon Luke Jacobs (3-4, 6.23). The second game will pit another UK lefty, Chris Rusin (5-4, 4.07), against LH Grant Dayton (2-5, 5.61). Auburn will go with right-hander Dexter Price (3-2, 5.74) in the finale, with UK’s starter yet to be announced.

Kentucky-Auburn in a rain delay

It’s a beautiful day for baseball!

Just not at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Friday’s scheduled game, Auburn at Kentucky, will not get off at the scheduled time (6:30 p.m.) as rain continues to fall. Coaches and umpires are scheduled to meet at 6:40 to decide whether to play, postpone or wait some more.

The teams also have games scheduled Saturday and Sunday, both with hopes of being among the eight teams that will qualify for the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Kentucky comes into the weekend ninth in the SEC (9-15), Auburn 10th (8-16). Vanderbilt holds the eighth spot (10-13).

UK (24-23 overall) took two of three games from Tennessee last weekend. The Wildcats finish SEC play next week — at SEC East-leading Florida.

Auburn (27-22) has lost seven in a row in league play — one to South Carolina, followed by three-game sweeps at the hands of top 10 teams LSU and Ole Miss. Auburn finishes league play at home next week, facing arch-rival Alabama.