Auburn’s bullpen collapses in series finale loss to Kentucky

JD McCarthy
·2 min read

Auburn took an early lead against Kentucky but was unable to add on and the bullpen collapsed to drop the final game of the regular season 6-3 Saturday.

With the loss, Auburn ends the regular season with an overall record of 37-18 and 16-13 in the SEC. The loss means the Tigers missed out on the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament next week.

Blake Rambusch led the game off with a single and came around to score on a Brooks Carlson two-out double to take a 1-0. Those were the only Tigers to reach base until the seventh inning.

The offense’s inability to score kept Kentucky in the game despite a strong start from Joseph Gonzales. The sophomore pitched five shutout innings before leaving after a weather delay paused the game after the fifth inning. The right-hander gave up just three hits and two walks while striking out three Wildcats.

The rain delay forced Auburn to turn to the bullpen and the Wildcats took advantage of the change. Scoring five runs in the sixth inning to take a commanding 5-1 lead.

Carson Skipper came in to pitch the sixth inning after the delay and gave up a lead-off double. A strikeout and a walk gave the Wildcats their best scoring opportunity of the game and they took advantage, tieing the game at one run a piece on a throwing error by Nate LaRue. Skipper walked another batter before being pulled for John Armstrong.

It was the same results for Armstrong, who walked the first batter he faced to load the bases with two outs. Kentucky made Auburn pay for the mistakes, hitting three consecutive singles to take a 5-1 lead, that they would not relinquish.

The Tigers were not done yet as Bobby Pierce smacked a solo home run in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 5-2. Sonny DiChiara hit a solo shot of his own to lead off the ninth to make it a 6-3 Kentucky lead but that was it from Auburn’s offense. The Tigers managed just five hits and did not record a walk in the loss.

Auburn will now be the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament and is set to play Kentucky Tuesday night in Hoover.