A solid Tiger bullpen kept Binghamton off the scoreboard Friday, Feb. 13, but it was a short leash for Auburn's pitchers Saturday, Feb. 14, at Plainsman Park.
Auburn went through six pitchers in its 11-5 loss to Binghamton in the second game of the weekend series.
Trey Wingenter allowed five hits and two runs; Kevin Davis, two runs; Jacob Milliman, three hits and two runs; Will Thompson, one hit and one run; Dalton Rentz, three hits and three runs; Issac Yarborough, two hits and two runs.
Auburn's offense had 11 hits, but 10 strikeouts with four strikeouts in the six hole.
Binghamton pitching kept Auburn in check for the most part and showed what they can do at the plate.
"I think we loss some focus on the mound," said head coach Sunny Golloway. "When you're behind, I think it is easy to lose focus. We've got to develop some maturity on the mound and not lose focus. It's going to take games to do that."
Trey Wingenter pitched four innings, the most for the Tigers Feb. 14, but
allowed two runs to open things up for the Bearcats in the first inning.
"I still think our guys are really special," Golloway said. "I think (Trey) Wingenter starting it out was just a little nervous, but settled in really well."
Auburn was able to keep the scoreboard tied at 2-2 until the Bearcats pulled away in the fifth.
"That's what we tell the guys," Golloway said. "Don't let that scoreboard keep you from being able to focus both on the mound, at the pate or defensively."
Auburn's right-hander Kevin Davis only stayed in the game for five pitches after throwing four straight balls to his first batter and hit the second one with a pitch in the fifth inning.
Jacob Milliman took the mound with runners on first and second and no outs after Davis was pulled.
The senior gave up a three-run homerun over the left field fence on his second pitch to give his opponents the 5-2 lead, but settled down and struck out his second and third batters to close out the inning.
Auburn had a good start in the fifth inning offensively, but the offense missed some big opportunities to score.
With the bases loaded and only one out, JUCO transfer Bo Decker and redshirt sophomore Ben Craft could not deliver, and left three runners stranded on the base path, but the Tigers did came away with a point.
"I thought we had some good at bats," Golloway said. "We struck out too many times clearly. We just can't do that. We've got to cut down and make two strike adjustments and put the ball in play. You can't have that many strikeouts and find success."
Tigers chipped away at the Bearcats with right-hander Kevin Davis, who kept the Bearcats scoreless in the sixth inning.
Auburn's offense got going in the bottom of the sixth after a sophomore Damon Haecker ripped a pitch down the first base line and junior Sam Gillikin hit a hot shot off the pitchers glove for a close call single.
Gillikin hit a sac fly to drive in Haecker, but Auburn was still behind.
The Tigers went to the bullpen once again in the top of the seventh inning and put in left-handed pitcher Will Thompson, who had a short leash like the other five pitchers and wasn't productive.
With one out, and Bearcats at the corners, Auburn put in right-hander Dalton Rentz in the sixth.
Binghamton started to close the book as sophomore Brenden Skidmore smashed one of Rentz's pitches into center field to drive in two runs and extend their lead to 7-4.
The damage was done, but the Bearcats weren't.
Rentz gave up a single and walked one hitter to start a tough eighth inning, which ended in another Bearcat scoring off a bad throw to home plate from Decker.
With men on second and third, left-hander Issac Yarbrough took the mound for the Tigers.
The first Binghamton batter that the junior faced smoked a triple to right field, bringing in two more runs.
"Yarborough pitched well for one inning and when he fell apart, he had trouble getting his focus back," Golloway said.
Auburn didn't get out of the inning before giving up four more runs to the Bearcats.
The Tigers managed to make it a six-run affair in the bottom of the eighth.
After a sliding triple from Haecker, Gillikin drove in the sophomore to make it 11-5.
It was a 1,2,3 inning for Yarborough in the top of the ninth, but the Tigers' offense could not make anything out of their last chance to score.
Auburn will have a rubber match with the Bearcats Sunday, Feb. 15, in the final game of the weekend series at Plainsman Park.
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