AUBURN | The bats never got going for Auburn Saturday night.

The Tigers had just five hits as Holy Cross evened the three-game series with a 4-2 win at Plainsman Park.

“I didn’t think it was a competitive effort. I thought we got more tense as the game went on,” said AU coach Butch Thompson. “I felt like we needed that big hit to get something going and relax. It felt like more tension was added and we never had that big hit to get anything going.”

Auburn was 1 of 15 with runners on base, 1 of 12 with runners in scoring position and 1 of 10 with two outs.

Auburn batters recorded 15 fly-ball outs. The defense committed three errors and allowed two unearned runs. Five AU pitchers combined to walk seven batters.

“They really beat us in all three phases. This was no fluke,” said Thompson. “We kept hitting consecutive fly balls over and over without any adjustment.”

AU starter Samuel Dutton (0-1) took the loss allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits in 4.1 innings. He struck out seven and walked three on 80 pitches.

Holy Cross scored unearned runs in both the second and third innings on errors by shortstop Eric Snow, who swapped positions with second baseman Deric Fabian in the fourth.

John Armstrong got the final two outs of the fifth inning and Jackson Sanders threw 2.0 scoreless innings with two walks and two strikeouts.

Parker Carlson threw a scoreless eighth and Hayden Murphy allowed a run on a walk and hit in the ninth.

AU’s two runs came on a Cooper McMurray sacrifice fly in the first and a balk with Bristol Carter on third base in the fifth.

The rubber game of the series is Sunday at 1 p.m. CT on SECN+/ESPN+.