Recap: Auburn baseball struggles carry on, loses to Ole Miss
Auburn baseball is attempting to fight its way into the SEC Tournament after it has struggled for the entirety of conference play, only winning three games up to this point. The Tigers have to play nearly perfect from here on out, which begins by playing Ole Miss.
Unfortunately, the start to this series did not go as Auburn hoped, as it lost to the Rebels in game one of this set on Friday, 11-7.
The scoring in this game got started early. In the top of the 1st, Ole Miss left fielder Jackson Ross took the first pitch he saw and sent it over the left field wall, putting his team on top 1-0.
The Tigers did not let that early run pass by so easily, though. With two runners on and one out in the bottom of the 2nd, Caden Green reached on an error that was able to score in an Auburn run, tying the game up.
This is where the Rebels started to pour on though, as they wanted to put this game to bed quickly. They got two runners on with one out in the top of the 3rd before Ross came back to the plate and doubled down the left field line to score in one.
Andrew Fischer followed this up with a three-run homer to right field, giving Ole Miss a quick 5-1 lead on the road.
The Tigers clawed back in the bottom of the 4th with one out. Green got down the line quickly to complete an infield single to third base, putting two runners on. Mason Maners then hit an RBI single and advanced to second base on a throw, putting two runners in scoring position.
Immediately after this, Deric Fabian stepped to the plate and hit a ball towards the right side, where an error was made that allowed both runners on base to score, making it a 5-4 game.
The Rebels did not let this last for long. In the top of the 5th, Ross got things going with two outs in the form of a single to center field. Fischer then followed this up with a double down the right field line, putting Ross at third.
This set Will Furniss up to send a deep shot into center field and over the wall for another three-run home run.
Luke Hill kept the party going with a double into right center, before Judd Utermark hit a double right after to score him. This put Ole Miss up 9-4.
The Rebels struck again in the top of the 7th, when with the bases loaded and two outs, Eli Berch took a free pass and brought in the 10th run for his team.
Auburn made a quick answer in the bottom half of the inning. With Carter Wright on second, Green came in clutch once again, singling to center field and making it a 10-5 game. However, the Tigers still needed some late heroics to win this.
Ole Miss made those even harder to come by later on. In the top of the 9th, Treyson Hughes rattled off an RBI single to extend the lead back to six runs.
The Tigers did make some noise in their final chance. With two runners on and one out, Kaleb Freeman, scoring Cade Belyeu from second.
Christian Hall then walked to load the bases, creating some tension on the field. After a strikeout, Ike Irish walked to bring in another run for Auburn. That would be all, though, as Gavin Miller then struck out to end the game.
Dylan Watts was given the loss for the Tigers, dropping to 0-3 on the season. He pitched for three full innings, giving up five runs on six hits, while striking out two and walking one.
Riley Maddox earned the win for the Rebels. He worked for five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. He also struck out three and walked two.
Auburn has a chance to even the series up in game two on Saturday night. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. CST, and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34
