The No. 20 Auburn Tigers fell 11-9 to the Old Dominion Monarchs Saturday night at Plainsman Park, blowing a 9-2 lead late in this one to fall to 12-3 on the season.
“It felt like two different ballgames,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “ The swings were not as good in the second half of the ballgame, and that’s why it felt so much like two different games, on the mound and at the plate. Very unique ballgame.”
Auburn jumped out to a 9-2 lead in this one, enjoying a three-run third inning and a five-run fourth inning, including a Cooper McMurray long ball in the fourth that seemed to take the wind out of the Monarchs sails. However, the Auburn bats would go cold from the fifth inning on, and the Monarchs would explode in the seventh and eighth for a combined nine runs, including Kainen Jorge’s go-ahead three-run bomb over the wall in left field.
Old Dominion’s bullpen helped them secure the victory in this one, holding the Tigers scoreless in for the final five innings. While the Monarchs bullpen has struggled in the early going this season, but they rewrote that script in this one. Marco Levari took home the win, going 0.2 inning giving up no runs on no hits.
Griffin Graves took home the loss for the Tigers, going 0.2 inning and giving up three earned runs as the Monarchs made their roaring comeback. However, it was Parker Carlson who gave up the go-ahead blast to Jorge in the eighth. The Tigers will look to have their bullpen bounce back in the rubber match tomorrow, as the Tigers look to take the series.
The Tigers and Monarchs have moved their rubber match to 3:30 p.m. Sunday due to the threat of severe weather in the area. The Tigers will look to win the series and improve to 13-3 on the season. The game will be broadcast on SECN+ and on the Auburn Sports Network.
