Auburn finished with more hits, but not runs.
Free bases came back to haunt No. 15 Auburn in its 9-3 loss to Georgia Tech (20-9, 7-5 ACC) on Tuesday night. The Tigers gave up nine walks, nine hits, threw three wild pitches and hit two batters on the night.
Auburn walked in two runs and allowed another two on wild pitches while finishing the night with nine total strikeouts and nine walks.
With the loss, Auburn ended its 14-game winning streak at home.
“Every time that we needed to make a pitch in a competitive moment or a critical situation we helped them,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “We just assisted the inning along and helped them.”
Auburn (22-7, 6-3 SEC) took an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second with RBI singles from Kason Howell and Will Holland. Conor Davis tried to score a fourth run for the Tigers on the Holland single, but he was called out at home.
Georgia Tech responded with a run in the top of the third. In the fourth, the Tigers turned to their bullpen after Garrett Wade threw a wild pitch and walked a batter that put runners on first and second with no outs.
Wade finished the night with three strikeouts while allowing three runs on five hits and three walks in three innings of work.
Kyle Gray came in to pitch for Wade and allowed two runs on two walks and one hit before being replaced by Bailey Horn. Horn was the third pitcher to take the mound in the fourth, striking out one.
In the fourth, Georgia Tech scored four runs on two hit, three walks and one hit-by-pitch. Auburn pitchers walked in a run and allowed another on a wild pitch during the inning.
In the fifth inning, Blake Schilleci came in to pitch for Auburn. He faced the minimum nine batters for his first three innings of work while striking out three. In the eighth, Schilleci walked three batters and allowed one hit that resulted in four runs.
Just like the fourth inning, Georgia Tech scored four runs on two hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch in the eighth.
“I think it starts on the mound, like the game of baseball does,” Thompson said. “But I thought in the competitive moments Georgia Tech did a much better job offensively at the plate and definitely on the mound they made pitches when it mattered most tonight.”
While Auburn’s pitchers struggled, the offense went cold as well. The team finished with five hits in the remaining seven innings after six in the second inning. Cumulatively, Thompson's squad left eight on base while being walked three times.
While the Tigers did have 11 hits on the night, they could not connect with the ball when it counted.
“We wound up with 11 hits,” Thompson said. “ We had more hits but three runs. That’s pretty inefficient.”
Auburn starts its three-game series at home against Arkansas (22-6, 5-3 SEC) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
