Takeaways: Auburn baseball loses 6-5 to No. 8 Kentucky in series opener

Auburn fell to Kentucky in the series opener. What are the things to take away from the game?

AUBURN, AL - APRIL 05 - Auburn Pitcher Carson Myers (24) during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the #4 Tennessee Volunteers at Plainsman Park in Auburn, AL on Friday, April 5, 2024. / Photo by Noelle Iglesias/Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers opened up their series against the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats tonight at Plainsman Park with a 6-5 loss.

Kentucky got out to a quick 4-0 lead, but Auburn rallied back and tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. A two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning by Ryan Nicholson put the Wildcats in control, marking the beginning of the end.

What are the main things to take away from the game?

Auburn's bullpen had to get involved early, but it changed the game

Auburn went with Dylan Watts to start the game for the second time this season. In 2.1 innings, Watts allowed four runs (two of the earned) off of five hits, and walked one batter while picking up one strikeout.

Carson Myers took over in the third inning and stopped Kentucky's offense dead in its tracks. Myers pitched (insert) innings, allowed (insert) runs off of (insert) hits and struck out (insert) batters while walking).

Will Cannon had a 2.1 inning outing that saw no runners get on board.

A big fourth inning changed the tide for Auburn

Heading into the fourth inning, it appeared that the Tigers were on their way to another blowout loss in SEC play. Auburn proved that it would not go down quitely in the bottom of that inning.

Deric Fabian hit a two-run double and Cale Stricklin hit a two-run single. The Tigers showed fight in this inning and scored runs against quality pitching.

Despite not coming out on top, Auburn used this inning to remian competitive in the game as opposed to getting blown out.

Auburn did not show up at the plate

The Tigers showed promise at the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning, but was never able to get anyting going outside of that.

Auburn finished with nine hits as a team. Only two Tigers had multiple hits and five had none.

It requires a team effort to get things accomplished at the plate in the SEC and Auburn was unable to succeed in that category tonight.

Auburn is now 18-15 on the season and 2-11 in SEC play.

What's next?

Game two is set for Friday at 6 p.m. CT. The television broadcast can be found on SEC Network+ and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be heard locally on Wings 94.3 FM and streamed anywhere on the Auburn Athletics app.