Auburn looked to sweep archrival Alabama on Sunday after two very close games the previous two days. Nobody could have predicted what happened, though, as the home finale at Plainsman Park ended in a no-contest due to weather.
Joseph Gonzalez started on the bump for the Tigers, looking to improve on his 6-2 record and 2.98 ERA that he carried into the game. For the part of the game that was played, he excelled.
Despite giving up five hits during his outing, he only threw 52 pitches in five innings, and faced the minimum through the first four innings. It seemed as if Gonzalez was pitching comfortably.
On the side, the Crimson Tide sent out Grayson Hitt, who also seemed to be pitching smoothly. Hitt also gave up five hits in his outing, but did not give up his first until the third inning of play. He forced Auburn into many quick outs despite throwing 82 pitches on the day.
The Auburn defense helped to move the game along quickly, turning two double plays that helped them to get out of the early innings.
The day overall was very lackluster for both offenses. Neither team really got a true sense of momentum until the fifth inning, when the few runs were finally put on the scoreboard.
The short scoring day began in the top of the fifth inning, when the Tide kicked off their half with some loud hits. After a Drew Williamson double down the right field line, Alabama catcher Dominic Tamez hit a towering fly ball off of the green monster in left field, scoring Williamson. After Tamez was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, the scoring ceased.
The bottom half featured what seemed to be a possible turning point for the Auburn offense. After two singles into left field by Nate LaRue and Garrett Farquhar, Brody Moore put down a sacrifice bunt that scored LaRue, tying the game at 1-1.
It was then that Sonny DiChiara, came up to the plate with a chance to blow the game open for the Tigers, but was instead intentionally walked. Blake Rambusch was walked on four pitches immediately after. That set up Bobby Peirce with the bases loaded and one out.
So what happened? A pop-up storm hovered over Auburn, full of lightning and some hard showers. After over an hour’s worth of delay and a frequently reset clock, the game was called off and declared a no-contest with no winner.
The Tigers will have one game on Tuesday against Samford before heading to Lexington to close out the regular season with a series against Kentucky.
The game versus Samford will be set to start at 6 p.m. CST at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
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Tyler Raley is a junior from Birmingham, Alabama, majoring in journalism.
Twitter: @traley34
