Auburn got behind early and failed to put together a rally, as it dropped game two versus LSU by a score of 9-2 to even the series going into decisive game three.
Down three runs after six innings, Auburn showed some life in the seventh by pushing across two to make it a one-run difference.
However, LSU immediately laid the comeback effort to rest with a five-run explosion in the home half of the inning to go up 8-2. A run on a wild pitch for LSU in the eighth summed up the scoring for the day to give LSU the victory.
"We got the game close, and we got the guy that we wanted in the game," said head coach Butch Thompson. "Last night it worked out, but tonight it got away from us."
Trace Bright started on the mound for Auburn and looked rough out of the gate, giving up a solo homer in the top of the first. From that point, he settled in and retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced.
Bright kept Auburn in the game until the fifth inning, when he was chased from the game after surrendering two runs on three hits and only getting one out.
Carson Swilling came in to relieve Bright and limited the damage, getting two consecutive outs to end the frame.
While the pitching kept them in the game for a while, the offense was silent. The Tigers found themselves being shut out through six innings but were still only trailing by three.
Auburn had some chances early in the game. Most notably, it got the bases loaded in the third inning but no runs came of it.
Blake Rambusch, who had a 2-for-4 night to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, made things interesting in the seventh with a sacrifice fly before Kason Howell notched a two-out RBI single to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
Squashing Auburn's comeback hopes, LSU put up five in the bottom of the seventh on four hits and an error.
This lead was not relinquished, and the only other run in the game came against Mason Barnett in the eighth inning on a wild pitch.
Despite the tough loss, Auburn takes a few positives into the decisive series finale, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Rambusch continues his tear for Auburn in the game. He racked up two of the team's seven hits, and hit 17-game hit streak stands as the longest by an Auburn player since 2016. He now has 15 multi-hit games on the campaign.
Making his first start of the season in right field, Bobby Pierce also put together a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-3 with a run.
Howell also got a pair of base knocks, and those three guys accounted for six of Auburn's seven total hits in the game. The team combined to strike out 13 times and left 11 runners on base. LSU kept slugger Sonny DiChiara at bay by walking him three times.
"We just have to reset and hopefully come out and be more competitive inning-by-inning with our offense," Thompson said.
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