The Auburn Tigers (16-7-1, 2-4 SEC) hosted the Georgia Bulldogs (15-9, 1-4 SEC) this weekend at Plainsman Park and were able to win two games of the three-game series.
Auburn picked up the first game on Thursday night, winning 7-6 in 11 innings. Tommy Vail got the start and went for five innings, allowing four runs off of seven hits, walking two batters and striking out seven. Will Cannon ended up with the win for the Tigers, allowing one run off of one hit, walking two batters and striking out three in three innings of work.
Kolten Smith got the first start of the series for Georgia. In 3.1 innings of work, Smith allowed one run off of two hits. Kyle Greenler ended up with the loss for the Bulldogs, only going for 0.2 innings and giving up one run off of two hits and walking two batters, one of those ending the game.
Georgoa took an early lead, going up 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning. Auburn trailed 6-3 going into the bottom of the ninth but rallied back to tie the game. Bryson Ware doubled down the right field line to score Cole Foster and Kason Howell, and Justin Kirby reached on an error on a play that allowed Ware to score. Connor Wright was walked in the bottom of the 11th inning and Ike Irish was forced home, walking-off the game for the Tigers.
"I didn't ask for a lot this week," head coach Butch Thompson said. "I just asked for these guys to kind of connect with one another. I asked the guys what it really means to stay in the fight and to keep punching back. We thought we took more punches than we really delivered last week. That ninth is a good symbol of hanging around and staying in there."
Auburn followed up the momentum from the first game by picking up another win on Friday night. The Tigers did not need any extra time, picking up the 6-3 win in 8.5 innings.
Tanner Bauman got the start for Auburn, allowing two runs off of four hits, walking two batters and striking out two in 2.2 innings of work. John Armstrong ended up with the win for 2.2 innings of work that saw no runs allowed off of five hits and one walk. Chase Isbell picked up the save, allowing only one walk and striking two batters out in the top of the ninth inning.
Jaden Woods got the start for the Bulldogs. He went for 5.2 innings, allowing five runs off of five hits, walking two batters and striking out six. He ended up with the loss for the Bulldogs.
Once again, Georgia got started early, holding a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning. Ike Irish hit a home run in the bottom of the fifth inning that represented Auburn’s first hit and run of the game and his first collegiate home run.
It was all Tigers the rest of the way as Auburn was able to coast to a 6-3 victory that clinched the series win.
"Of course we wanted to do a whole lot more early. I don't know how long it went before we got a hit, three of four innings or so, but we stayed in it," head coach Butch Thompson said. "That's another way to define our 'staying in the fight' is if you're drawing closer with these swings and approaches.”
The series finale ended about as poorly as possible for the Tigers. Georgia avoided the sweep by run-ruling Auburn 24-7 after eight innings. The final score would imply that this game was never competitive, but Auburn only trailed by one heading into the eighth inning after battling back from being down 8-2.
Zach Crotchfelt got both the start and the loss for Auburn in 2.1 innings of work that saw five runs allowed off of six hits and one walk and two strikeouts. Liam Sullivan started the game for Georgia, going for 4.1 innings that saw four runs allowed off of eight hits as well as one walk and four strikeouts. Collin Caldwell ended up with the win for 1.1 innings of work that only saw one walk.
The Bulldogs held a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning. Kirby singled down the right field line in the bottom of the third inning to score Ware, opening the scoring for Auburn. Georgia led 8-4 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but a three-run homer from Ware cut the deficit to one.
That is when the wheels fell of for Auburn, however, as Georgia scored 16 runs in the top of the eighth inning.
"Got down 8-2, I was so excited our guys make it 8-7," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "All I can hope is we continue to grow from that, hopefully our pitching staff still sees that and grows out from the top, understanding how important it is.”
Auburn will be back in action on Tuesday night when the North Alabama Lions make their way to Plainsman Park for the second meeting of the two teams this year. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. CT.
