Despite jumping out to an early lead, No. 8 Auburn baseball fell to No. 1 Texas 3-2 in the series opener, snapping their six-game winning streak.
“I thought the guys handled being on the road against the number one team in the country,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “Having a lead late is really important, and that’s why they’re number one. We’ve been in every ballgame. Every one of these have been tight. The backend of the bullpen for those guys is so good, I think that was the difference tonight.
The Tigers recorded only five hits on the night with two of them coming in the third inning. Expecting to win in the SEC with just five hits is a tall task and Auburn wasn’t able to get it done.
Auburn’s only source of offense came in the third inning via who else but Ike Irish. The projected first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft gave the orange and blue a 2-0 lead with his eighth home run of the season.
Texas quickly responded in the home half of the inning. Singles from Kimble Schuessler and Ethan Mendoza brought the Longhorns within one.
Auburn’s Sam Dutton was once again electric, going five and two-thirds innings while allowing six hits, two earned runs, and striking out six. As the Tigers ace, he has only allowed two earned runs in his last 18 and two-thirds innings of work. If the senior from Southside, Ala. can continue to replicate these performances, the Tigers should be poised for a deep postseason run.
The two sides reached a stalemate until the sixth inning when Longhorns shortstop Jalin Flores tied the game with a two-out double, his 25th extra-base hit of the season.
In the seventh, Auburn turned to senior lefty Carson Myers out of the bullpen. He appeared to be cruising through the inning with two men retired until Schuessler left the yard on a 1-2 pitch. It was just his fourth home run of the year, but it proved to be a big one giving Texas a one-run lead.
The Tigers were unable to muster a hit the rest of the ballgame, with Texas fanning four of the last six batters Auburn sent to the plate.
“Their tying run and go-ahead run were just pitches we’d like to have back,” Thompson said. “Other than that, it was toe-to-toe and a pretty even ballgame. I thought our guys were connected. If they can keep us in every game like that, it’s not who we play it’s how we play. We had every chance to be right there on the road against a really good ballclub. We just came up short with those two pitches we’ll look back on.”
Auburn will look to avoid dropping the series tonight. First pitch between the top-10 squads is set for 6 p.m. CST.
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Rory is a freshman majoring in journalism sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @RorymGarvin
