No. 11 Auburn baseball fell victim to the sweep in the weekend series against No. 3 Georgia this weekend at Foley Park, ending an eight-series winning streak.
The Tigers fell 4-1 on Friday night, 11-7 in the first game on Saturday and lost a heartbreaker 9-6 in the backend of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Here’s a recap of the Tigers’ weekend:
Game one
No. 11 Auburn brought the tying run to the plate twice in the final inning and left 12 runners on base while only mustering four hits, dropping the series opener to No. 3 Georgia 4-1 on Friday night at Foley field.
“I think 12 guys were left on base, eight in the first three innings,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We didn’t play offense. We got a couple of hits, walks, a HBP, but we did not get a big hit. To our guys’ credit, we got a couple of guys on in the ninth and were one big swing away from tying the game.”
Georgia leads the country in hits (292), runs (282), home runs (74) and slugging percentage (.632). Its four runs scored were the fewest in a game this season as the Auburn pitching duo of Sam Dutton and Cam Tilly combined for 14 strikeouts.
“I love the energy that Cam Tilly gave us for four innings,” Thompson said. “That was one of the best outings of his Auburn career. I thought he was phenomenal. Fourteen-over-three strikeout-to-walk against an offense like that gave us a chance. If you told me they would score four tonight, I would’ve given us a great chance.”
The Tigers loaded the bases in the first and third innings but were unable to plate anyone as a groundout and a popup ended both frames, respectively.
Dutton threw a scoreless first frame with a pair of strikeouts, but Georgia got on the board in the second with a two-run home run. Dutton then retired seven of the next nine batters he faced, but another two-run blast in the fourth doubled the Bulldogs’ lead.
With two runners in scoring position and one out in the sixth, the Bulldogs threatened to extend their lead, but Tilly worked three straight strikeouts to get out of the inning unscathed.
In the ninth, Auburn drew back-to-back walks off Brian Zeldin, who then gave way to DJ Radtke. Auburn got on the board on an Ike Irish RBI-double to left center field to bring the tying run to the plate with one out, but a strikeout and groundout ended the game.
Game two
No. 11 Auburn saw its eight-series winning streak come to an end as it was unable to overcome two big innings from No. 3 Georgia in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Foley Field, falling 11-7.
Auburn starting pitcher Cade Fisher kept the Bulldogs hitless through the first three frames as the Tigers struck first in the third with a solo home run from Bristol Carter, and Fisher worked another scoreless inning in the fourth as he stranded two Bulldogs to end the inning.
But the fifth inning is when the fireworks began for the best hitting team in the country as Andreas Alverez gave up six runs on five hits out of the bullpen, giving way to John Armstrong, who allowed one more run to score on a wild pitch.
Auburn responded in the top of the sixth with a five-run inning, sparked by a walk from Eric Snow and a double to left from Ike Irish to put them both in scoring position. Lucas Steele drove them in with a single to center field an at-bat later. After a pitching change, Cooper McMurray walked and freshman Chase Fralick homered two at-bats later to cap off the inning.
Another four-spot from the Bulldogs in the home half of the inning was ultimately enough to edge the Tigers as they tallied five hits in the inning, scoring on a three-run homer and an error.
After Auburn tacked on one more run with an Ike Irish home run in the seventh, Georgia responded with one of its own in the eighth to ice the game.
The Tigers recorded eight hits and three home runs. Armstrong recorded the loss out of the bullpen, and Fisher was the only Auburn pitcher who didn’t allow a run in his four innings of work.
Game three
No. 11 Auburn couldn't hold onto Bub Terrell’s two-run blast in the 10th inning, which gave the Tigers a 6-4 lead with three outs to go, ultimately falling 9-6 as No. 3 Georgia completed a weekend sweep at Foley Field in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
With the 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the 10th inning, Hayden Murphy came in for the close but gave up two hits and a walk to load the bases with no outs. Jett Johnston entered to try and keep Georgia at bay, but allowed two runs to score on an errant throw to the plate on a grounder back to himself on the mound.
With the score knotted at six and two runners in scoring position, Georgia’s Dan Jackson blasted a three-run homer over the wall in right field to walk it off.
The Tigers scored three runs over the first four frames on a pair of home runs from Ike Irish – his sixth in the last six games – and Chase Fralick, along with an RBI sacrifice fly from Bristol Carter to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.
Georgia struck in the home half of the first, loading the bases against Auburn starter Christian Chatterton, who issued three walks – one bringing in a run – before surrendering another on a sacrifice fly.
The Bulldogs scored two more in the sixth on a groundout in a bases-loaded situation and an RBI single.
Auburn answered with one run in the top of the ninth to tie it and send it to extra innings as Bristol Carter led off the inning with a double and scored an at-bat later on an Irish groundout.
Carson Myers pitched 4.2 innings out of the bullpen in relief of Chatterton and recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Auburn will host UAB on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on SECN+.
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