Stunning defeat in CWS opener
OMAHA | Auburn did almost everything right for eight innings, but it all fell apart in the bottom of the ninth.
Mississippi State scored four runs in the ninth, two after a throwing error by Edouard Julien with two outs, to rally for a 5-4 walk-off win over the Tigers in the first round of the 2019 College World Series.
“I thought we did so much well it just breaks your heart as a coach,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “At the same time, I like how we’re playing. We’re playing our best baseball of the year and did it tonight for 8 2/3.”
Auburn falls into the loser’s bracket will it will face Louisville in an elimination game Tuesday afternoon.
The Tigers went into the ninth up 4-1 and with Richard Fitts on the mound after the freshman had thrown two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. After giving up a leadoff double to the SEC’s all-time hits leader Jake Mangum, Fitts was replaced by Tanner Burns, who was making his first-career relief appearance after 32 starts.
Burns struck out the first batter he faced before walking the next one and giving up an RBI-double to Elijah MacNamee to cut AU’s lead to 4-2. A groundout by Justin Foscue drove in another run to cut the lead to 4-3 with two outs.
Dustin Skelton bounced an 0-1 pitch to Julien at third. He fielded the ball cleanly before taking two hops forward and throwing the ball over the head of first baseman Rankin Woley, allowing the tying run to score.
After an intentional walk, Josh Hatcher bounced a single up the middle off Burns to bring home the winning run.
“It sucks. I mean, we lost because I couldn't make a throw,” said a distraught Julien. “So I just hope I'll bounce back from it.”
Every one of Julien’s teammates stood up for him after the game including Conor Davis, who walked off the field with his arm around Julien.
“I think I was the first one out of the dugout to go grab him when he came off the field,” Davis said. “I told him ‘you understand we wouldn’t be in this game if it wasn’t for you’. We wouldn’t have been there without him in the first place. He has been making plays all year. One play doesn’t define his season, define his career. One play doesn’t define our season. We’re going to come back on Tuesday and compete.”
It was because of Julien that Auburn was able to build a three-run lead. He hit a two-out, two-run home run in the second inning off MSU All-American starter Ethan Small, and added a two-out RBI single in the fourth off Small as AU built a 3-0 lead.
Burns also tried to put the loss on his shoulders.
“Man, that’s the toughest thing I’ve ever been through or dealt with,” said Burns, who has been limited to just a couple of innings his last couple of appearances due to shoulder soreness. “We played pretty good at the beginning of the game. We just didn’t finish and that’s my fault. I was supposed to come get the last three outs and that was my fault.”
“It’s not their fault,” said pitcher Cody Greenhill of Julien and Burns. “This is a team effort. If Eddie didn’t hit the home run and have the other RBI, we wouldn’t be ahead.
“Tanner is giving us everything he’s got. That might have been his first time to close. I thought he came in and done good, got the ground balls that we needed.”
Burns (4-4) took the loss allowing three runs, one earned, in 0.2 innings. Auburn starter Jack Owen held MSU to a run on six hits in 5.0 innings.
MSU scored a run in the fourth off Owen before AU made it 4-1 in the sixth as Steven Williams singled with two outs, advancing Will Holland to third base, and Holland scored on an errant relay throw to third by second baseman Foscue.
First pitch at TD Ameritrade Park Tuesday is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN.