CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- After advancing to its school-record tying fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference Tournament berth, eighth-seeded Kentucky will face No. 9 seed Auburn in a single-elimination first-round game, with first pitch on Tuesday slated for 5:30 p.m. ET at the Hoover Met.
The game will be televised live on the SEC Network with Clay Matvick, Gabe Gross and Kayce Smith voicing the action. The game will also be broadcast on the UK Radio Network, with fans in Central Kentucky able to hear the game live on WLAP 630-AM, in Louisville on WKJK 1080-AM and online at UKathletics.com.
The winner of the elimination game on Tuesday will advanced to the double-elimination format and will face off with the regular-season league champion, top-ranked No. 1 LSU, on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Kentucky (30-24, 14-15 SEC) finished off its regular season with a series win at Missouri to earn the No. 8 seed. The Wildcats also posted a midweek win over Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, before posting a 1-0 win in the opener at Mizzou behind a complete-game shutout from sophomore Zack Brown. UK then suffered a 6-3 loss in the middle game to even up the series, before the Wildcats rode a dominating starting pitching performance from Kyle Cody and two-run homers from Evan White and JaVon Shelby in the ninth inning to an 8-2 win.
With the series win at Missouri, UK equaled its school record with three road SEC series wins, coming at No. 1 LSU, No. 5 Florida and Missouri. Only LSU and Vanderbilt have more SEC road series wins (four). UK also had a school-record three shutouts in SEC play in 2015, blanking Missouri, 1-0, No. 5 Florida, 3-0 and Arkansas, 5-0. UK’s 14 wins marks the eighth time in its SEC history the Wildcats have achieved 14 or more league wins.
The Wildcats have hit .289 as a team in 2015, with a .397 slugging, a .376 on-base percentage and 30 homers in 54 games, scoring 286 runs and stealing 53 bases. On the mound, UK has a 4.33 team ERA with 12 saves in 484 innings, allowing 492 hits, 163 walks and striking out 398. Defensively, UK has fielded .969, turning 52 double plays and catching 14 runners stealing.
At the plate, junior leftfielder Ka’ai Tom leads the club with a .368 average, belting 15 doubles, one triple, four homers and 49 RBI, stealing 15 bases. Junior centerfielder Kyle Barrett has hit .352 with 12 doubles, three triples, one homer and 25 RBI. Freshman first baseman Evan White has hit .319 with 12 doubles, one triple, two homers and 28 RBI. Sophomore second baseman JaVon Shelby has charted a .318 average with 12 doubles, two triples, nine homers and 44 RBI, owning a .449 on-base percentage.
In relief, junior righty Zach Strecker (2-2, 4.23 ERA) leads the team with 24 appearances, owning one save. Lefty Logan Salow (1-1, 5.32 ERA) has worked in 23 games, including eight straight scoreless, owning three saves. Senior righty Spencer Jack (1-1, 5.40 ERA) has five saves to lead the club in 19 games.
Auburn (34-22, 13-17 SEC) is coming off a series loss at Florida on the final weekend, winning the opener before falling the final two games, 4-3 and 3-1.
Anfernee Grier leads the Tigers at the plate with 78 hits and a .344 average, belting 22 doubles, two triples and one homer. Melvin Gray has hit .309 with 15 steals, with Robert Daniel belting three homers, allowing with Cody Nulph and Jordan Ebert. In relief, Justin Camp (2-1, 2.41 ERA) has eight saves in 25 games, with Trey Wingenter (1-5, 4.03 ERA) owning four saves.
2015 SEC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Tuesday, May 19
Wednesday, May 20
Game 5 9:30 a.m. #3 Texas A&M vs. Winner Game 1 [SEC Network]
Game 6 TBD #2 Vanderbilt vs. Winner Game 2 [SEC Network]
Game 7 4:30 p.m. #1 LSU vs. Winner Game 3 [SEC Network]
Game 8 TBD #4 Florida vs. Winner Game 4 [SEC Network]
Thursday, May 21
Game 9 9:30 a.m. Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 [SEC Network]
Game 10 TBD Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 [SEC Network]
Game 11 4:30 p.m. Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 [SEC Network]
Game 12 TBD Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 [SEC Network]
Friday, May 22
Game 13 3:00 p.m. Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11 [SEC Network]
Game 14 TBD Winner Game 10 vs. Loser 12 [SEC Network]
Saturday, May 23
Game 15 Noon Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 11 [SEC Network]
Game 16 TBD Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 12 [SEC Network]
Sunday, May 24
Game 17 3:30 p.m. Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 16 [ESPN2]
All Times Central
