AUBURN | Auburn has played in eight one-run SEC games this season and lost seven.

Alabama opened the bottom of the 10th inning with three consecutive singles off Carson Skipper to beat the Tigers 8-7 Thursday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in the opener of a three-game series.

Auburn falls to 13-17 overall and 1-12 in the SEC, continuing its worst-ever start in conference play.

“You want to win a game like that when they’re laying it out there and playing like that,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson told the Auburn Network. “It means a lot more. It gets swallowed up in a loss. When you’re playing your rival, you’ve got to find a way to win it in the end.”

The Tigers took a 7-6 lead in the eighth when Kason Howell led off with a solo home run over the centerfield wall. But Alabama tied it right back up when Sam Praytor hit the first pitch from Richard Fitts in the bottom of the inning over the left field wall.

Skipper (0-2) threw a perfect ninth before giving up the three hits in the 10th. Alabama reliever Landon Green (3-0) was perfect over the final 2.0 innings with four strikeouts to earn the win.

Fitts allowed two runs on two hits, both solo home runs in 4.1 innings.

Howell was 3 of 5 with two runs scored and three RBI. He drove home two in the fourth on an inside the park home run that bounced off the centerfield fence. Steven Williams was 2 of 5 with two runs scored and two RBI, hitting a solo home run in the second and a triple in the fourth.

“Williams and Howell were special,” said Thompson. “I thought that was Fitts’ best outing of the year. Hopefully, we can build off of that.”

Tyler Miller and Rankin Wiley added two hits apiece and Judd Ward drove in two with a double in the fifth.

Auburn starter Cody Greenhill lasted just 3.2 innings allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits and one walk. He struck out four. All five of the Tide’s opening runs came with two outs.

Game two will be Friday night at 6 p.m. CT and the series finale Saturday at 4 p.m. Both games will be on SECN+/ESPN+.

“We’ve just got to keep trying to play,” said Thompson. “How can we continue to motivate ourselves to come out and play a really good brand of baseball. It was a great baseball game tonight. Can we continue to do that one day at a time.”