Auburn (4-1) trailed Florida A&M (2-2) 7-0 before entering the bottom of the fifth, tying the game 8-8 in the bottom of sixth. Two runs in the sixth and four in the eighth gave Auburn a 12-8 win. It was the largest home comeback for Auburn since 2013. Cole Lipscomb earned the win to improve his record to 1-0.
“Long one, long one,” says Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “We had six very routine outs to get going and they really got out the gate. They come out swinging the ball really, really well.”
The Rattlers started the afternoon hot for consecutive three-run innings in the first and second. Brian Davis hit his first home run of the season coupled with a two-run single in the second for three RBIs. Davis would later strikeout in the fourth and fifth before grounding out in the seventh.
“We hesitated, they hit all our pitches -- hit us hard,” says Thompson of the Florida A&M offense. “We tried to change it right after the first inning and it continued. Eventually we’re down seven in the ballgame.”
Gabe Klobosits got the start and was pulled following the three-run first as Elliot Anderson took the mound for the second inning. Klobosits allowed four hits for three earned runs in his single inning.
Auburn took four pitches in the bottom of the first for three consecutive ground outs for Luke Jarvis, Jay Estes and Daniel Robert. The Tigers would not reach base until Bowen McGuffin was hit by a pitch in the third.
Anderson was out of the game after walking two and giving up a double, earning two runs with Daniel Sprinkle on the mound. Giving up two singles and striking out one, Sprinkle made it out of the three-run second inning with no earned runs.
Sprinkle had two shutout innings before giving up a home run to Willis McDaniel in the fifth. McDaniel was a triple shy of a cycle.
Calvin Coker was installed two batters after McDaniel’s hit, and would be taken out after loading the bases on a single by Russell Rauh. With Corey Herndon on the mound, Auburn’s momentum appeared to shift in its favor. Florida A&M would make the lead 7-0 with a sacrifice fly from John Capra.
“We were feeling fine,” says redshirt senior Bo Decker about the deficit entering the bottom of the fifth.
Decker would hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the fifth as bats got started in the Tiger’s favor. He had three hits on five at-bats, striking out once.
Both Blake Logan and Estes would bring in RBIs each with sacrifice flies, Josh Anthony would add on with a RBI single. Jonah Todd earned a RBI on a hit by pitch, Decker hitting again with a RBI single. Bowen McGuffin’s swing to finish off the inning ended in an error, leading to a runner on third scoring to make the score 7-6 entering the sixth.
“It was only the fourth inning, we’re down by seven, we knew we had it,” concludes Decker about the offense in the fifth. “It was just a matter of time -- our hits started falling, we started stringing a couple together and it happened.”
Entering the bottom of the sixth trailing 8-6, Jarvis hit a leadoff single that implied more heat from Auburn’s offense. Jarvis then stole second base to move into scoring position with Robert at the plate. Robert hit a two-run home run that tied the game 8-8, further igniting the comeback effort into the eighth inning.
“It was huge,” Decker says of Robert’s two-run home run, “to tie the game up in the [sixth] inning… and how far the ball went, we were all like ‘Alright, we got this.’”
Decker would add on two RBI to make it 11-8 after a RBI single from Todd gave Auburn its first lead of the outing at 9-8. After Decker stole his first base of the season, Auburn tallied on another run to make the final score 12-8 following a balk.
“Number two storyline of the game was how our guys stuck together,” Thompson said on the comeback effort. “I’m not sure we get back in a baseball game in a contest last year with this club... I thought they really hung in there for the whole ballgame.
“We thought we had a chance in the ballgame if we didn’t give anything else up"
Auburn will have to give up some pitching effort for Friday’s game against Holy Cross after utilizing seven pitchers in the win.
“There’s a concern for depth,” Thompson says of the need to use so many relievers. “We can’t continue to do that all year. We’ll need some guys to step for us and do more for us.”
Auburn continues their home stretch against Holy Cross on Friday at Plainsman Park starting at 2 p.m. CST.
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