A strong offensive start for the Tigers was not enough to push them to victory in game one of Thursday’s double header in Nashville as they fell to Vanderbilt 5-2.
The Tigers were without senior Jordan Ebert and junior Niko Buentello in game one after the two were benched due to a violation of team rules. They are expected to play in game two on Thursday night.
Auburn plated two in the top of the first inning after a Blake Logan single made the score 2-0, but those would be the only runs scored by the Tigers in game one.
Senior right-hander Justin Camp had a quality start, throwing seven innings, striking out seven, and giving up four runs on eight hits.
"Justin did a great job," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "He got us deep into the ballgame. He really battled and just did a great job. I thought he out-pitched, in some regards, Sheffield who is a great pitcher and was kind of struggling at times. When you've got good stuff you've got that margin for error."
Vanderbilt proved to be too much for the Tigers offensively in the fourth inning. A double from Alonzo Jones, followed by a base hit from Will Toffey drove in two runs for the Commodores and extended their lead to 3-2. A triple steal in the seventh and a two-out double from Connor Kaiser was all Vanderbilt needed to secure the victory.
"I thought our best shot was when we got the bases loaded and Melvin (Gray) absolutely crushed a ball that (Bryan) Reynolds ran down in the left-center field gap," said Thompson. "We just have to come back out this second game. We'll start with (Cole) Lipscomb this second game and hopefully try to get a 'W'."
Game two of the double header is set for Thursday at 6:30 CST at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tennessee. It can be seen on the SEC Network+.
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