Comeback falls short
Auburn’s comeback bid came up a little short Tuesday night.
The 6th-ranked Tigers rallied for three runs in the eighth and another in the ninth, but Georgia Tech held on for a 6-4 win at Russ Chandler Stadium.
“You always learn something from a game, a win or a loss, and we got punched in the mouth for about seven innings tonight,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “It took us a while to get back in the ballgame. Then when we started to get back in it, they made an unbelievable play at second base to end the (sixth inning) rally and we really didn’t get anything going until the eighth inning.
“I hope it’s a good gut check for our guys to know they can’t just roll their gloves out. They got themselves in position to win some ballgames by coming out and attacking and we actually got attacked tonight.”
After leaving two on in the sixth and the bases loaded in the seventh, Judd Ward came up in the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs, and delivered a two-RBI single to get the Tigers on the board. Will Holland followed with an RBI single to make it 6-3 heading to the ninth.
Brendan Venter opened the ninth with a infield single, and with two outs Jay Estes brought him home on another infield single. Dylan Ingram walked for the fourth time in the game to bring the go-ahead run to the plate in Brett Wright, but Yellow jacket reliever Jared Datoc got Wright to groundout to third base to end the game.
Auburn starter Jack Owen (0-1) took the loss allowing six runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings. The freshman struck out three and walked two. The Tigers bullpen held Georgia Tech scoreless the rest of the way as Elliott Anderson allowed just two hits in 2.0 innings, Ryan Watson no hits in 1.2 innings and Corey Herndon no hits in 1.0 innings.
“That’s a six-run game at the end of four innings, 6-0, and it ends 6-4. That lets you know how good the bullpen did the fifth through the eighth inning to keep them at bay and give us a chance,” Thompson said.
Holland, Ward, Steven Williams and Conor Davis had two hits apiece for the Tigers. Ward, a freshman who came on in the seventh as a pinch hitter, finished 2-of-2 with two RBI.
Georgia Tech plated one in the first inning and then jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth with five runs including a three-run home run by Michael Guldberg.
Brant Hurter (1-1) earned the win holding Auburn to one hit and striking out four in 5.0 innings.
Auburn, which falls to 19-3 overall, will continue its five-game road trip with three games at No. 8 Kentucky this weekend. Friday’s game is set for 5:30 p.m. CT on SECN+ and WatchESPN, Saturday’s will be 11 a.m. on SEC Network and Sunday’s at noon on SECN+ and WatchESPN.