Auburn entered Sunday night’s game one win away from its first Super Regional berth since 1999. The Tigers got as close as one out away, but heartbreak was the story of the night for Auburn.
After a dramatic ninth-inning rally, Auburn took a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Cole Lipscomb, Auburn’s ace reliever, retired the first two batters, leaving Auburn one out away from a joyous celebration. Florida State made sure there was no party Sunday night.
Florida State leadoff hitter Taylor Walls drew a two-out walk, and slugger Dylan Busby launched a game-tying triple off the wall in center field, mere inches away from Auburn center fielder Jonah Todd’s glove.
The Seminoles would walk off on a hit by pitch one inning later to win 8-7 and set up a winner-take-all regional championship game Monday night.
“I had a blast tonight, Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “I got my heart ripped out, but I had a blast. I’ve never had more fun in 25 years of coaching than being the head coach of the Auburn Tigers right now. That’s all I can ask.
“I don’t know what else I could ask from my ball club. They’re giving us everything that they have and I’ve never been more proud to coach a group of guys. I want them to just wipe it clean and come back out here and compete for nine more innings and we’ll have no regrets.”
Auburn got the night started the way it has in all three of its games in Tallahassee – jumping out to an early lead in the early innings.
Jay Estes gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning with a sacrifice fly, but the Seminoles would knot things at one in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by Quincy Nieporte.
Auburn regained the lead in the second inning with an RBI single by Blake Logan, but the lead did not last long.
The Seminoles jumped on Auburn freshman starter Davis Daniel, tagging him for four runs on five hits in just one inning of work.
Tyler Holton gave Florida State a 3-2 lead just three batters into the second inning, chasing Daniel from the game.
Lipscomb entered the fray, and quickly gave up a three-run home run to Busby. In the blink of an eye, Florida State led 6-2.
Auburn slowly chipped away at the Seminoles’ lead as Lipscomb was near flawless on the mound for the Tigers. He retired 15 straight batters between the third and seventh innings.
Lipscomb finished the night with a season-high 7.2 innings pitched and struck out a career-high 10.
“Cole, I think that’s the best he’s ever thrown in my short time here and I couldn’t be more proud for him,” Thompson said.
Estes and Daniel Robert each had RBI hits to close the lead to 6-4 as the game entered the ninth inning.
Logan and freshman Will Holland led off the ninth inning with base hits, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Todd followed with an opposite-field single to cut the Florida State lead to 6-5.
With runners on the corners, Luke Jarvis reached on a catcher’s interference call, which loaded the bases with nobody out. Auburn appeared poised to take a big lead against Florida State closer Drew Carlton.
Carlton followed with back-to-back strikeouts of Robert and Estes, and got two strikes on Auburn third baseman Josh Anthony. Carlton was one strike away from giving the Seminoles another day to play.
Anthony chopped a two-out, two-run single up the middle to give Auburn a 7-6 lead. The Tigers were now just three outs away from history.
Lipscomb returned to the mound in the bottom half of the inning after already firing a season-high 81 pitches. He got two quick outs, and was one strike away from a regional championship before walking Walls and giving up the triple to Busby.
In the bottom of the 10th, Auburn reliever Andrew Mitchell recorded two quick outs before walking back-to-back hitters on nine pitches.
Calvin Coker entered the two on, two out jam, and allowed an infield single to Steven Wells to load the bases.
Coker got two quick strikes on JC Flowers, but on the fourth pitch of the at bat, a breaking ball got away from Coker and hit Flowers, giving the Seminoles the 8-7 win.
“Baseball is a game of inches and our centerfielder was about three inches away from winning the regional and they’re on the winning end of it and that’s just how it went tonight,” Lipscomb said.
Auburn and Florida State will play a winner-take-all regional championship Monday night at 6 p.m. CT.
“There’s no time for feelings or thoughts,” Thompson said. “We have another ballgame to come out and play. You’ve got the rest of your life to look back at something. As long as we got an opportunity to play one more game, have one more pitch, one more at bat, that’s my job to try to keep them there.”
Thompson announced that either Ryan Watson or Gabe Klobosits will likely start for the Tigers.
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