Auburn baseball lost to Arkansas 7-2 for the first time since the College World Series on Friday to begin conference play in the SEC.
The last time the Tigers faced the Razorbacks, Arkansas defeated Auburn 11-1, concluding its time in Omaha, Nebraska. Auburn was unable to pull out a win for the first game in the series and had similar luck to its 2022 season.
The Tigers were able to pull out a brief lead and start the score in the top of the third with a home run from senior Kason Howell.
The fourth inning sealed the deal for Arkansas. The Tigers increased their lead to two runs thanks to Caden Green bringing Bryson Ware home with a sacrifice pop up to right. However, the Razorbacks scored five in the bottom of the inning with back-to-back walks and a three-run homer. The final two runs of the game were scored by Arkansas in the bottom of the sixth.
We hung in there for a little while, but they were opportunistic both times,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “The two pressure points, they got their stuff done. They walked us five times, but we didn’t do it together or do it at that moment to get that one big hit like they did. That was a huge difference in the ballgame today.”
Offensively, Justin Kirby led Auburn at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles as the Tigers designated hitter.
Pitching for the Tigers started out strong, but slowly started to fizzle throughout the game. Tommy Vail, the left hander from Seattle, struck out four in his 3.1 innings on the bump, but also earned four runs. Vail ultimately obtained the loss for the Tigers.
“We just didn’t get anything going at the end of the game there,” Thompson said. “Tommy (Vail) was tremendous coming out of the gate. It was really exciting to watch him the first three innings."
Chase Isbell, Parker Carlson and Drew Nelson made brief appearances on the mound. Nelson struck out five batters in relief after entering in the seventh in his SEC debut. Sophomore John Armstrong entered the ring for two innings but was unable to sustain reliable pitching and earned two runs.
The Razorbacks didn’t share the same inconsistent fate on the mound with only two pitchers hitting the field. Junior Hunter Hollan had a lively six innings for Arkansas with three strikeouts. When Hollan started losing steam, sophomore Hagan Smith swooped in and closed. Smith snagged five strikeouts and earned no runs while on the hill.
Game two between the Tigers and Razorbacks is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.
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