In a last minute turn of events, the Tigers fell to the College of Charleston Cougars by an 11th inning home run, 7-6.
The Cougars claimed the first run early in the bottom of the second with a home run from Bradley Jones to left field. Soon after, the Tigers answered when Melvin Gray hit a grounder to first to bring in Cody Nulph for the Tigers’ first run.
The tie was broken by consecutive homers from Charleston’s Blake Butler and Nick Pappas, who help the Cougars grab their first lead 3-1.
The Tigers then bounced back in the top of the sixth when Daniel Robert’s single helped Gray to plate, followed by a double by Blake Logan to bring in another and tie the game for the second time. Auburn then took the lead off a balk on Charleston’s pitcher, Taylor Clarke for the lead run, 4-3.
In the meantime, Jackson Burgreen made the highlights with a high jump catch in deep left field to avoid another home run from the Cougars.
Ryan Brown was able to manage a double for the Cougars in the bottom of the sixth for the game’s third tie at 4-4, which didn’t last long when Trey Wingenter replaced Cole Lipscomb on the mound.
Wingenter loaded the bases, and all it took was a Cougar single to bring in two runners for Charleston.
Burgreen excelled on offense, slamming an infield triple followed by the Tigers’ first and only home run by Gray to tie the game for the fifth time at 6-6.
The next few innings were a defensive battle against the two teams with Justin Camp taking the mound for the final innings.
However, neither team could bring in a run, resulting in the need for extra innings.
The Tigers couldn’t muster a run in extra innings, and although Burgreen’s earlier catch was helpful, a home run was due for the Cougars in the bottom of the 11th from Erven Roper, sealing the win for Charleston.
With this loss, the Tigers will face the loser of the Florida State University versus Mercer game Saturday morning, May 30.
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