The Auburn Tigers took on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on the road at Dudy Noble Field this weekend and were unable to find success.
Auburn fell 8-1 in the series opener on Friday, Saturday's game was postponed to Sunday, the Tigers lost 3-1 in seven innings in the first game of the double header and 4-3 in eight innings in the second.
Auburn got on the board first in game one when Cale Stricklin scored on a passed ball in the top of the third inning. The Tigers had a quiet night at the plate after that.
Dylan Watts got the start for Auburn and allowed two runs off five hits in four innings of work. The Tigers' bullpen struggled to keep the Bulldogs off the board.
“We have to bring some offense on the road, especially with where we’re at pitching wise,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “We saw a real No. 1 tonight in Stephen but still had a chance. We had the bases loaded twice, and when he was able to get us out of the bases-loaded jams, that was huge. He made a couple of big pitches in the moment that held up for him tonight.”
Despite producing only four hits, Auburn was able to remain competitive in game two. The Tigers' one run came from a solo home run by Kaleb Freeman in the top of the fifth inning.
Tanner Bauman got the start for Auburn and allowed two runs, one of them earned, off six hits in 3.1 innings of work. John Armstrong pitched the final 2.2 innings and allowed just one run off of five hits.
A three-run rally in the top of the fourth inning gave Auburn a 3-1 lead in the series finale, but Auburn ended up falling in extra innings.
Carson Myers got the start for Auburn and had the team's best pitching performance of the weekend. In six innings on the mound, Myers allowed just one run off of four hits and struck out five batters.
“We have, time and time again in these games, gotten exactly where we wanted to with our personnel, so we’ll keep trying some different stuff,” Thompson said. “Offensively, we’re in a tough spot with Bobby (Peirce) and some of these guys. That’s been tough, but I thought we were going to find a way to win a ballgame with only two hits there in the last because (Carson) Myers did an amazing job for us, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Auburn is now 19-20 on the season and 2-16 in SEC play.
The Tigers return to action on Tuesday to host the Florida A&M Rattlers at 3 p.m. CT. The game can be found on SEC Network+, and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be heard locally on Wings 94.3 FM or streamed anywhere on the Auburn Athletics app.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.locke@1819news.com.
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