AUBURN – It seemed a near-two-hour weather delay was just what the doctor ordered.
With the game knotted up at six in the bottom of the ninth, a revamped No. 4 Auburn baseball squad had gained its footing and was staring a sweet victory straight in the eyes. With no outs and two runners on, the Tigers had a golden opportunity for a storybook ending to Game 1 of its Super Regional showdown with Coastal Carolina. Instead, an inning-ending double play in the ninth and a solo blast off the bat of Caden Bodine in the 10th gave way to a Chanticleers’ 7-6 victory at Plainsman Park, putting Auburn in a must-win situation on Saturday.
Giving up six runs in the first four frames, the Tigers were staring defeat straight in the eyes. They had stranded six runners on base through the first three innings, Coastal Carolina – not known for its power at the plate as it was just 125th in the nation with just 62 home runs heading into the game – had cashed in on three longballs and ran Auburn’s ace, Samuel Dutton, from the game after 3.2 innings of work.
But it seemed a new day – literally – was on the horizon for the Tigers as they clawed their way back in front of a record-breaking crowd of 7,891.
In relief, Carson Myers relinquished just one hit, and his counterpart, Griffin Graves, followed suit by holding the Chanticleers hitless, to combine for 5.1 scoreless innings against a red-hot Chanticleer offense.
Meanwhile, Auburn was chipping away as it scored in four consecutive innings after the third.
But Blake Barthol had other plans, ending the Tigers’ ninth and 10th inning hopes with a near-identical pair of double plays with diving catches up the middle.
Auburn scored in the first inning as Ike Irish doubled to center field and Cooper McMurray followed suit with a single through the left side to plate Irish. The Tigers then went on to strand six baserunners through the first three frames – they were just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position on the night.
With the momentum on the Tigers’ side through one, Dutton was cruising through the order, retiring the first five batters he saw. But the Chanticleers’ Blagen Pado disrupted Dutton’s flow with a no-doubt solo blast in the top of the second to knot things up at one.
The Chanticleers jumped in front with another solo-blast in the third. A majority of their offense came in the fourth, though, with a four-spot highlighted by Pado’s second homer of the night to plate three. A walk and a hit-by-pitch gave way to Myers, who relinquished an RBI-single up the middle, ending the frame with a Chanticleers’ 6-1 cushion.
Auburn began its comeback efforts in the home half of the inning as a leadoff double down the left field line from Chase Fralick led to a run on a sacrifice fly to deep right from Chris Rembert, shortening the Chanticleers’ lead to 6-2.
Ike Irish brought some life back to the Auburn faithful with his 19th home run of the season off the batter’s eye to lead off the Tigers’ half of the fifth, cutting the Chanticleers’ lead in half.
Resuming play after the delay, Bristol Carter singled through the left side and moved to second on a wild pitch with two outs. Rembert dribbled a slow roller back to the pitcher, presuming the innings’ end, but an errant throw to first gave way for another run for the Tigers to make it a 6-4 ballgame.
As the midnight magic continued, McMurray ripped a double off the wall in right field and later advanced to third on a wild pitch. A groundout plated McMurray, but that wasn’t it. Eric Snow blasted a solo home run over the monster in left field to tie the game at six, sending Plainsman Park into a frenzy.
But Barthol’s heroics and a 10th inning blast became too much for the Tigers in game one. They’ll return to action on Saturday, facing elimination in game two of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
