Saturday afternoon, No. 12 Auburn lost the second game in the series at No. 8 Vanderbilt 13-5. This brings Auburn’s record to 0-2 in the conference and 13-5 overall.
The Commodores took the first game of the series 11-1. This win puts them up 2-0 in the SEC.
Redshirt junior Cooper McMurray and senior Javon Hernandez led the Tigers with two hits apiece. McMurray also brought in multiple runs for the eighth time this season.
“I just think this is a team that’s won 11 or 12 in a row in Vanderbilt,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “They’re a handful at the plate, and we’re doing everything we can. They’re absolutely having a little bit tougher at-bats, but at the same time I think our guys are absolutely competing. The difference has been their at-bats are just a tick better up and down the lineup. They linked up with two outs and made us pay.”
Auburn started off strong scoring in the top of the first as graduate senior Bobby Peirce hit a cue shot to bring home graduate senior Cooper Weiss. A pitch later, McMurray followed with a two-out double to left center to put the Tigers up by two.
Going into the bottom of the first, the home team got started off quickly with a leadoff homer. The first five Commodores reached on four hits and a walk resulting in Vanderbilt putting up three runs in the inning.
Auburn starter junior left-handed pitcher Carson Myers locked in to work a 1-2-3 second inning to shut down the Commodores' offense.
By the fourth inning, McMurray tied the game with a solo home run to start the fourth which was his seventh of the season.
Vanderbilt, who was again quick to respond, answered with a run on four straight one-out baserunners. Junior right handed pitcher John Armstrong replaced Myers with one out, allowing one more runner in for the home team, but followed with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
The Commodores loaded the bases in the fifth, eventually getting four runs in. They also added three two-out runs in the following inning to extend their lead to 11-3.
In the seventh, Auburn came back and scored two runs courtesy of sophomore Ike Irish and a two-out single from Peirce.
Auburn attempted to draw closer to the Commodores in the eighth, but a ground ball to second with two on resulted in a double play to end the first half of the inning.
Vanderbilt solidified its win by tacking on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, resulting in a 13-5 win as the Tigers were scoreless in the top of the ninth.
Up next, the series finale at Hawkins Field is set for Sunday March 17. First pitch is set for 1 pm CST.
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Alexa Gardner is a junior at Auburn, majoring in exercise science. From Birmingham, Alabama, she started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @alexagardner_
