No. 5 Auburn continued its slide, falling 3-2 to Alabama, marking its fourth loss in its last five games.
The Tigers have now been outscored 14-3 in two games in Tuscaloosa and once again struggled in big moments, going 2-for-17 with runners on base.
“For two nights, they’re the winner because they’ve had better at-bats,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “We fought tooth and nail to find a way to stay in this ballgame and try to win it.”
Alabama left-hander Zane Adams allowed an early run but went into cruise control, tossing five straight scoreless innings and silencing the Tigers’ bats in the middle innings. Auburn was only able to muster three hits off the junior over those five innings.
Auburn southpaw Jackson Sanders took the hill looking to bounce back following a rough outing last weekend against Texas, when he allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings.
The sophomore did his job, going five innings while allowing two runs, one earned, and striking out six to give the Tigers a chance to win.
“Another good start for their guy,” Thompson said. “Jackson Sanders rebounded, responded very well from last week. I’m tickled to death with his outing. He did a nice job.”
After recording three hits in the series opener, Auburn got its bats going early Saturday night, jumping out to a 1-0 lead on a passed ball that allowed Chris Rembert to score.
The Crimson Tide responded in the fourth with singles from right fielder Brady Neal, catcher John Lemm and first baseman Luke Vaughn to take a 2-1 lead.
Neal finished the evening 2-for-4 with one extra-base hit.
In the seventh, Auburn finally chased Adams from the ball game, and Bobby Alcock took over for the Tide. The Porter, Texas, native finished his seventh outing of the season after 6 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run and striking out eight.
Following the pitching change, Brandon McCraine immediately beat out an infield single, and Eddie Madrigal pinch-hit for Todd Clay, looking to provide a spark.
The redshirt junior came through for coach Thompson, lining a single into center field, setting the table for Auburn with runners on the corners and one out. Logan Gregorio capitalized for Auburn, trading an out for a run with a sacrifice fly to center field, evening the score at two.
After a quiet eighth from both sides, McCraine drew a walk for the orange and blue, helping Auburn pose a threat in the ninth. Gregorio was unable to come through, popping out to center, setting up Alabama with a chance to walk it off.
The Tide wasted no time getting the winning run in scoring position as Brennan Holt smashed a double into the right-center gap.
As the lineup turned over, Bryce Fowler laced a double beyond the reach of Bub Terrell, securing the series win for Alabama.
“We’ve got a quick turnaround,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to get back out here and find a way to fight and claw like we did today to have a chance to win a game tomorrow.”
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Rory is a sophomore majoring in journalism sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @RorymGarvin
