Despite leaving the bases loaded three times throughout the game, Auburn baseball held on to a 2-1 victory over No. 10 Alabama behind the stellar pitching performances by Dillon Ortman and Keegan Thompson.
Ortman earned the win with seven innings pitched, five hits allowed and one earned run. Thompson came out of the bullpen for the first time this season and kept Auburn's tight lead for the save by throwing two innings with five strikeouts and only allowing one hit.
Blake Austin led off the top of the second with a walk and advanced to third thanks to a Daniel Robert hit-and-run. Connor Short then brought Austin home for Auburn's first run with a sacrifice fly RBI to center field. Later in the same inning, Jordan Ebert hit a two-out RBI single with the bases loaded to make it 2-0 after Robert scored.
Those two were the only runs Auburn would get for the night.
Two walks and a single loaded up the bases for Auburn with one out in the top of the fourth, but Auburn left all three runners on.
Alabama responded in the bottom of the fourth by loading up the bases as well, but they got a run across with an RBI single to make it 2-1. Ortman forced a double play to get out of the bases loaded jam.
Ortman retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.
But, in the bottom of the eighth, Alabama hit a leadoff double and that was it for Ortman's night as Thompson came out of the bullpen to replace him.
Thompson finished the eighth inning off with two consecutive strikeouts.
After Short reached on an error and Damon Haecker walked, Dan Glevenyak then was hit by a pitch for the fourth time of the night, which is an Auburn record and only the 21st time that has happened in Division I NCAA history.
But after a groundout and fly out, Alabama managed to get out of yet another bases loaded jam going into the bottom of the ninth.
Thompson started the ninth off with two straight strikeouts and continued with a third strikeout but the tying runner advanced after the ball went past Austin. Alabama then got their first hit off of Thompson to put two runners on put Thompson closed it out by getting the next batter out to clinch Auburn's 2-1 win.
Game two of the series at Tuscaloosa is tomorrow at 6 p.m.
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