Auburn played host to the Alabama State Hornets on Tuesday night at Plainsman Park and lost a closely contested game 3-2 — its first loss in the midweek this season.
The Tigers held the Hornets scoreless through the first six frames of the ballgame, but two solo-home runs from Ali LaPread and Randy Flores to lead off the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, gave Alabama State a lead it would not look back from.
An error from second baseman Eric Guvara allowed LaPread to score the third, and winning, run for the Hornets in the top of the ninth.
“We are committed to Guvara there, but you know, two disadvantage counts at 3-1 and 2-0 that left the ballpark and then a lead-off walk there in the ninth too, you see how it plays out to where you could have got back in and tied and we could still be playing,” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson.
Auburn countered back in the home-half of the ninth when Cade Belyeu led things off with a triple to right field to give the Tigers hope at a potential comeback. Belyeu has now recorded a hit in the last five games he’s appeared in.
Chris Stanfield drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right field to cut the Hornet’s lead down to 3-2. But, Cooper Weiss hit a fly out to right field, with runners on first and second base, to end the Tigers’ rally and give the game to the Hornets for good.
Auburn’s first run of the contest came by way of a wild pitch from Alabama State pitcher Luis Rodriguez, allowing Gavin Miller, who reached on a hit-by-pitch, to score.
The Tigers only recorded five hits on the night marking the second time in three games Auburn’s offense has had five or less hits — which was predated by a streak of eight games of nine or more hits a piece.
“Can of corn game, right?” Thompson said. “Ton of fly-balls, they stayed in the ballpark. It didn’t take more than a reasonable effort, I think, to catch most of them we hit tonight. I felt like offensively there you’re getting to them, but too much length with the starter, too much length with the first reliever, and I think it helped them get to the finish line there. So, the at-bats were not competitive enough for sure.”
After earning the start, Christian Herberholz went five innings and recorded three strikeouts on three hits.
Tanner Buaman relieved Herberholz in the sixth inning. He got one inning of work and struck out three Alabama State batters on one hit. Hayden Murphy and John Armstrong both got one inning of work each with Murphy giving up one hit.
Zach Crotchfelt was recorded with the loss, giving up the first two runs of the night as he came out of the bullpen to begin the top of the seventh.
Auburn will look to get back in the win column as they return to conference play this weekend with No. 8 Kentucky coming to Plainsman Park for a three-game series beginning Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. CST with television coverage on ESPNU.
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Logan Fowler is a junior from Sumiton, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in Spring 2024.
