No. 12 seed Kentucky stuns No. 5 Auburn to survive, advance in SEC Baseball Tournament
Kentucky’s batters took up for their pitcher right when he needed it most.
Oraj Anu led off the top of the ninth inning with a home run to dead center field, and Adam Fogel followed with another long ball to left, and the Wildcats survived and advanced in the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament at Hoover, Ala., with a 3-1 victory over 21st-ranked Auburn on Wednesday afternoon.
Kentucky (31-24) kept its season alive by becoming the first No. 12 seed to win a game in the history of the SEC Tournament by beating No. 5 seed Auburn. The Wildcats and Tigers were originally scheduled to play late Tuesday night but the game was postponed to Wednesday morning because of rain. More wet weather Wednesday pushed the tournament’s first game of the day to an early-afternoon start.
“We’re better than what our record says,” Anu said on the SEC Network broadcast when asked how the Wildcats were able to overcome the 12-seed jinx.
Kentucky starting pitcher Sean Harney tossed seven innings of shutout ball, allowing only four hits as the Wildcats clung to a 1-0 lead. He seemed to be cruising into the eighth inning, but two shaky pitches into the frame, UK’s coaches visited Harney on the mound and removed him from the game. Moments later, video on the SEC Network broadcast revealed Harney banged his head on the top of the UK dugout while jumping up from his seat in excitement during a key play in the top of the inning.
Harney was replaced on the mound by Daniel Harper, who quickly retired the first two Auburn batters. Kentucky’s luck ran out when Sonny DiChiara, the SEC Co-Player of the Year, struck a 3-2 pitch to left for the game-tying home run.
Just as Auburn (37-19) seized the momentum, the Wildcats bounced back with their ninth-inning home runs.
Kentucky brought on Lafayette High School graduate Tyler Guilfoil to close the door on the Tigers in the bottom of the ninth. Guilfoil allowed the first two batters to reach base, then retired the side in order.
Kentucky Coach Nick Mingione expressed pride in his Wildcats afterward, noting Anu’s role in particular.
“This is a guy, this is his last year of college baseball, so this is it for him,” Mingione said. “He and a bunch of our other guys, they just want to keep playing. I heard in the dugout multiple times, we’re not done yet, we want to keep playing.”
Harney did not address his injury after the game but said that he was prepared for the moment Wednesday.
“I wanted the ball,” UK’s starting pitcher said. “I was ready for it. So just gave it my all.”
The victory in the single-elimination portion of the tournament secured for Kentucky a spot in the eight-team double-elimination section of the tournament, which was scheduled to get underway Thursday, weather permitting. The entire tournament schedule has been disrupted repeatedly by rain.
The Wildcats were next to face No. 4 seed LSU in a game scheduled to take place sometime Thursday evening.
The victory was Kentucky’s fifth in its last six games and its third in four outings against Auburn in the past week.
SEC Tournament
At Hoover, Ala.
Tuesday
No. 11 seed Alabama 5, No. 6 Georgia 3
No. 7 Florida 2, No., 10 South Carolina 1
No. 8 Vanderbilt 3, No. 9 Ole Miss 1
Wednesday
No. 12 Kentucky 3, No. 5 Auburn 1
No. 11 Alabama 4, No. 3 Arkansas 3
Thursday
No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 7 Florida
No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Vanderbilt
No. 4 LSU vs. No. 12 Kentucky
No. 3 Arkansas vs. Texas A&M-Florida loser
