No. 11 Auburn held leads in both games of Saturday's doubleheader but couldn’t hold on, falling 11-7 in the first game and then suffering a heartbreaking 9-6 walk-off loss in the second game at Foley Field.
“I thought we did a nice job coming back after game one,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We kept playing. Carson Myers did an amazing job. We ultimately wound up chasing that all day because Myers gave us a full outing. (Ryan) Hetzler, who has been closing for us, we brought him in for multiple innings and scratched enough to get to extras. This is just an example of having to use this to try to build the team. We want to be what they are, and in the moment we just didn’t link it up enough.”
Game 1:
No. 11 Auburn had the tying run at the plate twice in the ninth inning but couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 4-1 to No. 2 Georgia in the series opener Friday night.
Georgia’s four runs were tied for the second fewest in a game this season, thanks to a strong performance from Auburn’s pitching duo of Samuel Dutton and Cam Tilly, who combined for 14 strikeouts.
The Tigers (20-6, 4-3 SEC) put eight runners on base in the first three innings through four walks, three hits, and a hit batter, loading the bases in both the first and third innings. However, they couldn’t capitalize as a groundout, lineout, and popup ended each of those frames without plating a run.
Dutton started strong with a scoreless first inning, striking out two, but Georgia (26-2, 6-1 SEC) struck first in the second inning with a leadoff single followed by a two-run homer to take a 2-0 lead. Dutton rebounded by retiring seven of the next nine batters he faced, but the Bulldogs struck again in the fourth with another two-run homer that doubled the lead to 4-0.
“I think 12 guys were left on base, eight in the first three innings,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We didn’t play offense. We got a couple of hits, walks, a HBP, but we did not get a big hit. To our guys’ credit, we got a couple of guys on in the ninth and were one big swing away from tying the game.”
Dutton notched his seventh strikeout of the game before giving way to Tilly in the fifth with a runner on first. Tilly quickly shut down Georgia’s three and four hitters with a strikeout and a flyout. The Bulldogs threatened again in the sixth, putting two runners in scoring position with one out, but Tilly escaped unscathed. He continued his dominance, striking out the side in the seventh after a leadoff single and ultimately matched his career high with seven strikeouts in 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just two singles and a walk.
“I like the effort to finish. I love the process,” Thompson added. “I love the energy that Cam Tilly gave us for four innings. That was one of the best outings of his Auburn career. I thought he was phenomenal. Fourteen-over-three strikeout-to-walk against an offense like that gave us a chance. If you told me they would score four tonight, I would’ve given us a great chance.”
Auburn’s offense stalled as 12 straight hitters were retired before Chris Rembert drew a two-out walk in the eighth, his second of the game. However, Georgia reliever Kolten Smith capped his impressive 5.0-inning outing with a strikeout to end the frame.
Auburn showed life in the ninth when back-to-back walks off Brian Zeldin brought the tying run to the plate. After a pitching change, Ike Irish delivered an RBI double to left-center to make it 4-1, but a strikeout and groundout ended the threat and sealed the first loss for the Tigers.
Game 2:
Auburn struck first as Ike Irish launched his second home run of the day in the top of the first inning, marking his sixth homer in the past six games and his fourth this week.
Georgia quickly responded by loading the bases with two walks and a single in the bottom half of the inning, tying the game with a bases-loaded walk. Carson Myers took over on the mound with one out and the bases loaded, allowing just one of the inherited runners to score on a sacrifice fly that was nearly snagged by a highlight-reel catch from Bub Terrell in left field.
Drew Fralick led off the second inning with a solo home run to right field, his second homer of the doubleheader. Auburn added another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Carter, who drove in his second run of the day after back-to-back singles from Fralick and Chris Rembert and a one-out walk from Fabian.
Myers kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard and set some personal records. He struck out the side looking in both the fourth and fifth innings, finishing with a career-high 10 strikeouts. Myers recorded seven consecutive strikeouts and retired nine straight batters via strikeouts between the third and fifth innings, ultimately delivering 4.2 scoreless innings in relief.
Dylan Watts entered in the sixth, but Georgia took advantage by loading the bases with a bloop double, an infield single, and a hit batter. The Bulldogs tied the game on a groundout and then took a 4-3 lead after another infield single.
Ryan Hetzler took over in the seventh and kept Georgia off the board through the eighth, keeping it a one-run game heading into the ninth. Carter led off the inning with a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored the tying run when Irish battled with two strikes and grounded out to second.
Hetzler continued his strong performance by tossing three scoreless innings to send the game to extras. In the top of the 10th, Terrell came through with a clutch two-run homer, giving Auburn a 6-4 lead.
Just when things were looking up for Auburn, in the bottom of the 10th Georgia staged an impressive rally. The first five batters reached base, and with the bases loaded and no outs, a comebacker to the mound was thrown away at home, allowing two runs to score and tie the game. Just two pitches later, Jackson ended the contest by sending an 0-1 pitch over the right-field fence for a walk-off, three-run homer.
Auburn returns to Plainsman Park for a midweek matchup against UAB on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT, followed by a weekend series against No. 10 Alabama.
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Grace is a Sophomore majoring in Speech Language Hearing Sciences. She joined the Plainsman in the spring of 2024.
