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A spirit that is not afraid

Miscues costly for Auburn in loss to Jacksonville State

<p>Jordan Armstrong (52) pitches against Jacksonville State on March 29, 2022 at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Jordan Armstrong (52) pitches against Jacksonville State on March 29, 2022 at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.

It seemed as if Auburn was riding a wave of momentum before Tuesday.

The Tigers had everything going for them: a series win at Texas A&M last weekend, a sellout crowd for a midweek game and a rare opportunity to host a celebration of the World Series Champions.

But in baseball, a game in which a single miscue or swing of the bat can be the difference between victory or defeat, momentum can end quickly.

The Tigers found this out the hard way, suffering a 5-2 loss to Jacksonville State in front of the program’s first-ever midweek capacity crowd. 

“You’re either trying to get momentum or keep it,” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “And I think these young people still have lessons to learn… Because every time we grab a little bit of momentum and its time to start rolling, you get a sellout crowd on a midweek that we haven’t had here, you’re supposed to try to take advantage.”

The defeat came despite the fact that Auburn had 10 hits to the Gamecocks’ six.

“It just didn’t link up and happen for us offensively at all tonight,” Thompson said. “Two runs on 10 hits, you just look at that disconnect; we never put those together, and when we did hit the ball hard it seemed to be right to somebody.”

To Thompson’s point, the Tigers left 11 men stranded in the game, including at least one in every inning except the fourth and sixth.

It was a frustrating loss for the Tigers and Thompson, who hoped to see his team perform at a consistent level.

“We’re just trying to find consistency,” Thompson said. “You talk about the next eight weeks, which is two months, and you’re asking young people to do it every single day. Are they trying? Yes, of course, they’re trying. But you want to push them too. I want to have more.”

The Tigers (17-8) fell behind early. Just three batters into the game, Auburn was down 1-0 after back-to-back doubles from T.J. Reeves and Carson Crowe against Auburn starter Jordan Armstrong put the Gamecocks in the driver’s seat early.

“Those are the guys that have had the best seasons,” Thompson said. “Those are the guys that have had the best numbers… Coming out of the bullpen for a first inning, you’d better have something set because their best hitters are coming to the plate.”

The Tigers tied it up in the third, taking advantage of one of the few series of hits Auburn had. It started with a Kason Howell double, then a Sonny DiChiara single. It culminated in a Cam Hill RBI single to score Howell and even the game at one.

Sonny DiChiara on base against Jacksonville State on March 29, 2022 at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.                               

Armstrong would be pulled after the third inning in favor of Parker Carlson, who retired the Gamecocks in order in the fourth inning.

The fifth inning, though, was more difficult for Carlson and the Tigers. After getting the first two outs, Carlson seemed to lose command, issuing a pair of costly two-out walks. 

Carlson committed another costly mistake when he threw a wild pitch, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Then a Crowe double, Jacksonville State’s first hit of the inning, extended the Gamecocks’ lead to 3-1. Both of the runners that scored reached via a free pass. 

“You’ve got to be able to shove it in the strike zone,” Thompson said. “There were two outs and nobody on. That’s one of the cardinal rules of baseball, when you have an open base with the best guy, you’ve got to let the next guy beat you and we failed to do both of those things. And that kind of set the game up for the finish and the comeback never happened.”

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Auburn tried to claw its way back into the game. 

In the seventh, Kason Howell doubled home Blake Rambusch to cut Auburn’s deficit to a single run, and though the Tigers left two stranded, it seemed as if they had a chance to come back and win. 

Those hopes, however, were all but dashed by more costly miscues in the eighth.

Tyler Drabick, who had pitched a perfect seventh inning, hit a batter with his first pitch of the inning. The very next batter, on a ground ball that could have gotten the lead runner if not both runners, Brody Moore committed an error that allowed both runners to be safe. 

"We made it 3-2 and hit a batter and had our one error of the game," Thompson said. "That cost us there."

For the second time in the game, Jacksonville State plated two in the inning, though neither scorer reached base with a hit. The Gamecocks (12-11) would sustain their 5-2 lead and earn the road win.

A bright spot in the loss for the Tigers was the return of Joseph Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who had not seen game action since Mar. 13, came on with one out in the eighth inning and retired all five batters he faced.

Joseph Gonzalez (45) pitches against Jacksonville State on March 29, 2022 at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.                           

"He'll be ready to go now," Thompson said. "Maybe we could have gotten him in at a different time of the ballgame, but that looked like Joseph out there again. That was good."

The road ahead is not any easier for the Tigers. 

For the second weekend in a row, Auburn will hit the road to play an important conference series. This weekend, Auburn will visit Alex Box Stadium to take on No. 12 LSU in a series that will begin on Thursday at 6 p.m. CST on the SEC Network.


Matthew Wallace | Assistant Sports Editor

Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.

Twitter: @mattwallaceAU


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