The Auburn Tigers could not capitalize on a ninth-inning surge against the Purdue Boilermakers Friday night, losing 9-8 in Plainsman Park.
Auburn falls to 6-5 on the season while Purdue moves to 6-1.
"I'm proud of the way our guys battled back we just dug ourselves a hole early," said Auburn coach John Pawlowski. "You dig yourself a hole early against good teams, makes it tough. We grabbed the lead, but we couldn't put them away. They kept battling back and it's unfortunate that we couldn't finish it tonight."
The Tigers had five errors in the loss.
"I think we mishandled some balls. We didn't play a solid defensive game," Pawlowski said. "The things we talk about are pitching and defense, and we just mishandled some balls and we've got to get better at that. Lots of things to work on--the biggest thing is we've got to continue to mature as a team. We've got to continue to understand what it takes to be successful and what it takes to win at this level."
Senior right-hander Derek Varnadore had a shaky start on the mound for the Tigers, allowing seven hits and four runs in the first two innings. Varnadore finished with 11 hits, four earned runs and three strikeouts in just more than five innings.
"I think his location was off a little bit," Pawlowski said. "He didn't command his fastball as well as he has. There's always something to work on, so we'll go back and work on that and he'll be ready to go again."
Junior designated hitter Cullen Wacker lead the way for the Tigers offensively. Wacker went 2-for-5 with four RBIs and recorded his first career triple.
"He's a guy who's experienced, a quality hitter," Pawlowski said. "He can handle any type of pitcher out there and he's given us some really good at bats. We need to have good at bats up and down the lineup, and he's a guy who's provided some good at bats for us."
The Tigers were down 4-0 going into the bottom of the fourth inning when Wacker started the scoring for the Tigers with a two-run triple, sending in senior Creede Simpson and sophomore Ryan Tella.
Simpson singled in the fifth inning to bring in sophomore Bobby Andrews, but was called out attempting to steal second base. Tella crossed the plate after a single by junior Garrett Cooper led to a fielding error by the Boilermakers, and sophomore Dan Glevenyak sent in the final run of the inning with a single, scoring Cooper and giving Auburn a 5-4 lead.
Purdue responded by scoring one run in the sixth to tie, three in the eighth and one in the ninth to bring the score to 9-5.
The Tigers rallied in the bottom of the ninth, starting with a ground out by Cooper to bring in runner Jay Gonzalez, and a two-run double from Wacker brought the score to 9-8 with one on and one out.
The Boilermakers retired the next two batters to seal the victory, however.
"The first couple of innings we had nothing going our way," Pawlowski said. "But they battled back and they got themselves in a position to win a ball game. That's all you can ask. I'm proud of our guys, the way they fought back, obviously we're all disappointed with the final outcome."
Sophomore pitcher Dillon Ortman took the loss, allowing one hit and one run in two innings. Ortman falls to 0-1 on the year.
Blake Mascarello earned the win for the Boilermakers, allowing four hits, three earned runs and striking out three. Mascarello earned his second victory of the season to move to 2-0.
The Tigers next take the diamond at home against Charleston Southern March 3 at 4 p.m.
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