Despite two home runs from Ike Irish Friday night, the No. 8 Tigers fell to top-ranked Texas 8-3 to drop the series at Disch-Falk Field.
The series loss marks Auburn’s second series loss of the season, the first coming at Georgia in late March, and brings the Tigers’ record to 9-8 in conference play.
“These guys are getting to the floor and putting us away,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “It’s just a strike zone thing for me. Last weekend, we got out of each of those innings. Tonight, they get two, and two, and two. They don’t have the big inning, but every time they had a guy sitting at second base they got just enough to get through. Just one or two of those moments with two outs, it could’ve been a different ballgame tonight.”
The inability to drive in runs headlined the Tigers’ second straight loss to the Longhorns, as Auburn left 10 runners on base with multiple missed opportunities to capitalize.
Auburn threatened early by putting two aboard with no outs in the second inning, but a pair of popups and a strikeout ended the frame with the game remaining scoreless.
Cade Fisher faced the minimum in the opening two innings, but the Longhorns posted two runs in the bottom of the third on three hits and a walk to take a 2-0 lead.
The Longhorns scored another pair of runs on three more hits in the home half of the fourth, but following a Deric Fabian walk in the top of the fifth, Irish responded with his second two-run homer of the series to cut the lead in half.
With Texas in front 4-2 heading into the sixth, Auburn was in business after a leadoff hit batter and one-out single by Bristol Carter put two aboard for the Tigers. The Longhorns brought in a couple of relief pitchers in the inning who recorded two quick outs, resulting in a scoreless inning and another missed opportunity for Auburn.
Texas extended the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth, but Irish answered in the the seventh with his second home run of the game and team-best 10th of the season, marking his third multi-homer game of the year.
Irish is accountable for all five runs the Tigers have scored thus far in Austin, as he is 4-for-8 at the plate with 5 RBIs in the past two outings.
The Longhorns produced two more in the seventh, then brought in freshman closer Dylan Volantis in the ninth inning to pitch on back-to-back nights. Auburn loaded the bases on a single and two hit batters, but a strikeout by Cooper McMurray capped off the game.
Auburn will look to steal a game from Texas to avoid the sweep on Saturday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. CT on SECN+.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
