Auburn’s series opener (15-19, 3-10 SEC) against Tennessee (20-14, 4-9 SEC) was one to quickly look past. An early Vols lead, challenges on the mound and errors plaguing the field contributed to Auburn’s 13-4 loss Thursday at Plainsman Park.
Having a pitcher out of the bullpen who is used to throwing more innings proved important for the Tigers, who needed help after an ugly first inning.
Starter Ben Braymer pitched only the first inning before being relieved by Cole Lipscomb, who was moved to the bullpen just this weekend.
The grueling 40-pitch first inning saw two wild pitches, one passed ball, three hits, a walk and a fielding error. Adding to the pain were four stolen bases and four runs scored by the Vols.
“Tennessee came out and threw three or four punches early,” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson. “We didn’t make enough pitches in the first and we didn’t make enough plays in the field. I thought we pressed a bit early.”
Coming in to start the second inning, Lipscomb took control on the mound early. He held the Vols to just one hit in the second inning and one in the third inning. However, Tennessee’s offense was unable to be slowed down entirely.
The Vols went on to score three unearned runs off Lipscomb in the fourth, increasing their lead to 7-1. They scored four more runs to make it 11-1 in the eighth before Marc Frazier came in to relieve Lipscomb.
In 6.2 innings pitched, Lipscomb struck out six and walked just one.
The Vols scored five unearned runs as Auburn committed five errors. The Tigers now lead the SEC with 56 errors on the season.
Damon Haecker led Auburn offensively, going 2 for 3 with a two-RBI double in the eighth inning. Melvin Gray went 2 for 4 with an RBI double that drove in Auburn’s first run in first inning, and a triple to right-center field in the sixth inning.
The Tigers scored three runs to cut their deficit to 11-4 in the eighth, but Tennessee responded with two more in the ninth for a final score of 13-4.
Braymer was charged with the loss, falling to 3-3 on the season. He gave up four runs, two earned, on three hits. He walked one and had one strikeout.
Tennessee’s starting pitcher, Aaron Soto (4-1), held Auburn to one run on six hits in 6.1 innings pitched. He walked just three and had struck out six.
Auburn hopes to see Joshua Palacios, who has a .408 batting average — second-best on the team and third-best in the SEC — back in the lineup during this series. Palacios is day-to-day with a wrist injury.
The series continues with game two Friday at 6 p.m. as Auburn’s Justin Camp (2-2) faces Tennessee’s Zach Warren (4-3). The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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