Auburn just couldn’t get that one big hit or pitch when it needed it most. It was the opposite for No. 2 Georgia.
The Bulldogs finished off a three-game sweep of the 11th-ranked Tigers Saturday at Foley Field by sweeping a doubleheader. AU falls to 20-8 overall and 4-5 in the SEC.
“This is just an example of hopefully building a team because we want to be what they are,” AU coach Butch Thompson told the Auburn Network. “In the moment, we just didn’t link it up offensively overall. And there were a couple of plays there that just have to be made. We can’t help them that much.
“That’s what we’re trying to get to and we’re not there yet.”
In a tight series finale, Bub Terrell hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning to give Auburn a 6-4 lead.
But UGA was able to load the bases with no outs off Hayden Murphy with a pair of singles and a walk. Murphy was replaced by Jett Johnston, who fielded a ground ball from the next batter but made an errant throw home to allow two runs to score.
The next batter crushed a three-run home run over the right field wall for the walk-off 9-6 win.
Murphy (0-1) took the loss allowing three runs, one earned, without recording an out.
Auburn starter Christian Chatterton couldn’t make it out of the first inning, but Carson Myers stepped in to throw 4.2 shutout innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts.
After Dylan Watts gave up two runs on three hits in the sixth, Ryan Hetzler allowed just one hit and no runs over the next three innings.
The Tigers scored a run in the first on a solo home run by Ike Irish, another in the second on a solo home run by Chase Fralick and took a 3-2 lead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Bristol Carter.
Trailing 4-3 in the ninth, AU tied it up as Carter led off with a double and scored on an Irish groundout.
In game one, Auburn’s bullpen allowed 11 runs on 13 hits in 4.0 innings in an 11-7 loss. Andreas Alvarez gave up six runs in 0.2 innings and John Armstrong (1-1), who took the loss, four runs in 1.0 inning.
Parker Carlson closed out the game holding UGA to a run on three hits in 2.1 innings.
Cade Fisher had his best start of the season shutting out the Bulldogs for 4.0 innings on just one hit.
Carter staked AU to an early lead with a solo home run in the third. The left fielder also threw out a runner at home to end the fourth inning.
Trailing 6-1, AU scored five runs in the sixth on a two-RBI single by Lucas Steele and a three-run home run by Fralick. Irish closed out the scoring for AU with a solo hime run in the seventh.
Over the two games, Irish was 3 of 8 with three runs scored, one double, two home runs and three RBI, Carter was 3 of 5 with two runs scored and two RBI, and Fralick 3 of 9 with three runs scored, two home runs and four RBI.
Terrell, who didn’t start game one, was 3 of 5 with a run scored, one double, one home run and two RBI.
Auburn hosts UAB Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT and will return to conference play hosting Alabama for a three-game series beginning Friday night at 6 p.m. Both games will be on on SECN+/ESPN+.
