On Sunday afternoon, the Auburn Tigers (18-13, 2-10 SEC) couldn’t keep up with the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers’ (26-6, 7-5 SEC) electric offense, who claimed the series finale 19-5 in seven innings.
“Their stats are unbelievable, and unfortunately, we saw it the last two days,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “That’s what’s disappointing when you have a chance.”
With a perfect day for baseball in Plainsman Park, Thompson and his Tigers hoped to secure their first series win in SEC play.
Auburn had a solid start to game three, claiming an early lead after Tennessee’s offense was sat down in order in the top of the first.
With shortstop Cooper Weiss and right fielder Ike Irish on base, first baseman Cooper McMurray stepped in the batter’s box and hammered a pitch 368 feet over the right-field wall to secure a three-run homer – his 12th home run of the season.
However, the Vols crushed that dream in the top of the second by scoring seven runs. Tennessee continued its offensive assault to the seventh inning, where the run rule was enacted.
“After winning Wednesday and Friday, you want this team to make a move to win a series,” Thompson said. “Tennessee’s strength absolutely outshined our strength and beat up on our weaknesses. But I give Tennessee a ton of credit, and we got a lot of work to do.”
In 28 at-bats, the Tigers recorded five runs, eight hits – one double and two home runs – and five RBIs. Comparatively, the Vols had 19 runs, 16 hits – six doubles and six home runs – and 17 RBIs in 37 at-bats.
Tennessee etched its name in Auburn’s history book, recording the most home runs in a series with 14 against Auburn. The Alabama Crimson Tide originally held this record with 12 home runs in 1997.
It was a rough day on the bump for Thompson’s pitching staff. In seven innings, Auburn’s bullpen collected seven strikeouts, seven walks, four hit-by-pitches and one wild pitch.
“I think we got a lot of guys, especially on the mound, where it looked like a decay and underachievement,” Thompson said. “Some guys are more capable than what they put out there this week, and we expect them to make some adjustments, get their head back right and do better.”
RHP Will Cannon, who usually is a closer, started on the mound for the Tigers and pitched 1.1 innings. Earning the loss, Cannon (0-1) had one strikeout, one hit-by-pitch and two walks, allowing six runs and three hits.
RHP Parker Carlson relieved Cannon in the second to pitch 0.2 innings, logging three walks and one wild pitch and allowing five runs and three hits.
Taking over in the third, RHP Cam Tilly secured two strikeouts, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and allowed one hit.
Pitching two innings, RHP Joseph Gonzalez replaced Tilly and recorded two strikeouts, one walk and one hit-by-pitch, allowing five runs and five hits.
RHP Alex Petrovic and RHP Ben Schorr wrapped up the game, pitching the final two innings. Collectively, they added two strikeouts and one hit-by-pitch to the stat sheet and allowed three runs and four hits.
“I commit to force our guys and our staff to figure out some solutions to get better and meet the expectations because we built something amazing together, and now these expectations must be lived up to,” Thompson said. “I think it starts immediately with the pitching staff that can change everything.”
Staying on The Plains, Auburn will host its midweek matchup against Alabama State on Tuesday, April 9. The game will be broadcast at 6 p.m. CST on the SEC Network.
“With six weeks to go, we got a lot of baseball left,” Thompson said.
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Caitlyn Griffin is a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @caitlyngrif99
