The night after Tommy Vail tossed six scoreless innings, the Auburn starting pitcher only lasted one inning.
The Auburn Tigers (20-14-1, 5-9 SEC) lost 4-2 in the second game of the series to the Alabama Crimson Tide (25-11, 5-9 SEC).
“We’ve got to start turning the corner,” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson. “I absolutely loved the engagement of our ballclub and giving us a chance when the game didn’t get started the way we wanted it to. I thought we were one barrel away and had the guys who could do it.”
Freshman left-hander Drew Nelson got the start for Auburn and was pulled before recording an out in the second inning, ending up with the loss. Nelson allowed three runs off of two hits, walked three batters and struck out one.
Sophomore right-hander John Armstrong provided two innings of relief and allowed one hit and walked one batter. Graduate left-hander Tommy Sheehan pitched 0.1 innings and one run and walked one batter before being pulled.
Sophomore right-hander Parker Carlson pitched for 1.2 innings and walked two batters. Freshman left-hander Zach Crotchfelt pitched the final three innings and allowed two hits, walked one batter and struck out four.
“(Armstrong and Carlson) stayed intact,” Thompson said. “The other thing that stayed intact was our defense. Kason Howell in right-center field, Bobby Peirce in deep left, a couple double plays.”
Senior right-hander Garrett McMillan got the start for Alabama and picked up the win. It was only the third appearance of the year for McMillan due to injury and allowed one hit and struck out four batters in five innings of work.
Junior right-hander Zane Probst provided 1.1 innings of relief and allowed one run off of one hit. Junior left-hander Hunter Furtado pitched for 1.2 innings and allowed one run off of three hits and struck one batter out. Freshman left-hander Alton Davis II picked up the save in one inning of work in which he allowed one hit, walked one batter and struck one out.
Alabama got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning when redshirt junior center fielder Andrew Pinckney was walked to force in a run. Junior catcher Mac Guscette doubled to left field to drive in two more runs.
The Crimson Tide added on another run in the fourth inning when graduate second baseman Ed Johnson was walked to force in another run and extend the lead to 4-0.
Auburn was finally able to get something going offensively in the seventh inning when redshirt senior left fielder Bobby Peirce hit a solo home run over the scoreboard in left field.
The Tigers' other run came in the ninth inning when junior shortstop Cole Foster singled through the left side of the infield to drive in a run. The late rally would fall short as freshman designated hitter Ike Irish grounded into a double play to end the game, the fourth straight inning Auburn hit into an inning-ending double play.
The rubber match is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
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Daniel Locke, junior in journalism, is the community editor for The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @danieljlocke
