After six hours and 36 minutes, the final game of the series between Auburn and Alabama finally ended. Alabama defeated No. 4 Auburn 11-9 in 15 innings at Plainsman Park on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.
The Crimson Tide, which led four times in extra innings, scored two runs in the 15th inning off Auburn freshman Ryan Watson to put away the Tigers.
“There were five or six times that both teams probably thought they could win the ballgame,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “You can’t make a living on two-out hits, but we sure could’ve used one a few times to finish it off.”
“I thought both teams kept competing, playing their heart out. I’ve never been more proud to be the head coach of Auburn baseball to work with these guys. They did everything that I asked them to do as far as coming out competing until the last pitch.”
Auburn jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings on a bases-loaded walk by Damon Haecker and RBI double by Jay Estes.
Alabama came back in the fourth inning to grab a 3-2 lead on a two-run home run by Hunter Alexander and a RBI ground-rule double by Connor Short.
The Tigers tied the game at three in the bottom of the fifth on a RBI single to left by Dylan Ingram.
Auburn regained a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out, full-count opposite field RBI single by Estes.
Then, in the seventh inning, controversy struck.
With runners on second and third and one out, Alabama second baseman Cobie Vance stepped in against Auburn left-hander Andrew Mitchell. Vance hit what appeared to be a pop up to Ingram at first base, who threw to third to double off the runner and end the inning. However, the umpires ruled the ball hit the bat, then the ground, which gave Vance a game-tying RBI single.
“Multiple umpires in the field had the pitch hit the dirt, ball hit the bat, then hit the ground again,” Thompson said.
Alabama would take a 5-4 lead later in the inning on an error by Estes.
In the bottom half of the inning, Auburn got runners to first and second with one out for Bo Decker. Decker grounded a ball to second for what appeared to be an inning-ending double play. However, Decker was called safe at first, and while Alabama argued the call, Anthony sprinted home to tie the game at five.
The game remained knotted at five until the 10th inning when Alabama freshman Walker McCleney earned his first-career RBI with a single up the middle to give the Crimson Tide a 6-5 lead.
Auburn came back in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at six with a pinch-hit RBI single by Daniel Robert, who had been out the entire weekend with an injured elbow.
The teams traded runs in the 11th inning with Chandler Taylor hitting his third home run of the series for Alabama and Jeremy Johnson driving in a run with a groundout.
Both teams scored two runs in the 13th to keep the game tied at nine.
In the 13th, Sam Finnerty grounded a RBI single to left field to give Alabama a 10-9 lead. Connor Short added one more for the Tide with a sacrifice fly.
567 pitches were thrown in the marathon game, with 17 pitchers being used. Auburn left 22 men on base, while Alabama left 16. The teams combined to go 8-for-45 with runners in scoring position.
Sonny Potter earned the win for Alabama, while Watson took the loss.
Alabama, which entered the weekend 2-19 in the SEC, improved to 18-29 and 5-19 in the SEC. Auburn fell to 32-17 and 14-10.
“What I need from them now is to make sure they keep working hard,” Thompson said. “They’ve played so well and stayed together so good that they’ve built up for a rainy day and now we’ve cashed that in. Every bit of the series is my responsibility. In return, what I’d ask from our young men is to stay connected, get together and make sure we can come right back out on Tuesday when we head to Birmingham for UAB and LSU this weekend.”
Auburn will play its final non-conference game of the season Tuesday at UAB. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
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