ATHENS, Ga. – No. 11 Auburn had a lead in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader but ultimately came up empty, dropping game one 11-7 before losing 9-6 in walk-off fashion in game two at Foley Field.
“I thought we did a nice job coming back after game one,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We kept playing. Carson Myers did an amazing job. We ultimately wound up chasing that all day because Myers gave us a full outing. (Ryan) Hetzler, who has been closing for us, we brought him in for multiple innings and scratched enough to get to extras. This is just an example of having to use this to try to build the team. We want to be what they are, and in the moment we just didn’t link it up enough.”
GAME ONE
Bristol Carter started the scoring in the third inning with a solo homer to left center, his second of the season. Carter sat on a 0-2 breaking ball down in the zone and sent it into the trees beyond the outfield wall to give Auburn a 1-0 lead.
Auburn starter Cade Fisher worked around four walks in the first three innings, and Georgia loaded the bases on a hit, walk and hit batter in the fourth. With one out and a 3-1 count, Daniel Jackson lifted a fly ball to shallow left field and Carter threw a strike to the plate to cut down the runner at the plate and preserve a 1-0 lead.
With Andreas Alvarez pithing in relief of Fisher to start the fifth, Georgia again loaded the bases with one out and tied the game on a RBI fielder’s choice. The Tigers were a strike away from getting out of the inning with minimal damage, but Georgia rattled off back-to-back RBI singles, a hit batter, a two-run ground-rule double and a run-scoring wild pitch to take a 6-1 lead.
Auburn responded by running Georgia starter Brian Curley from the game as the first three batters of the sixth inning reached. Eric Snow drew a leadoff walk and Ike Irish doubled before Lucas Steele drove them both in with a single back up the middle. Tyler McLoughlin entered in relief and issued a leadoff walk to Cooper McMurray, and Deric Fabian sacrificed both baserunners into scoring position. Chase Fralick then lifted a high fly ball to left field that carried over the fence for a three-run homer to tie the game, 6-6. The home run was Fralick’s second of the season, including his first since Opening Weekend.
John Armstrong retired the first two batters of the bottom of the sixth inning, but Georgia reclaimed the lead with back-to-back singles and a three-run home run of its own. The Bulldogs extended the advantage to 10-6 with a run on a wild pitch.
Georgia reliever JT Quinn retired the first two Auburn batters of the seventh inning, but Irish hit his fifth home run in the last five games to cut the deficit to three. The home run left Irish’s bat at 107 miles per hour and traveled 440 feet.
Georgia answered with a solo homer from Nolan McCarthy in the bottom of the eighth to cap off the scoring in the contest and secure the series win for Georgia.
GAME TWO
Auburn wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Irish hit his second homer of the day in the top of the first inning, marking his sixth home run in the last six games and fourth this week.
Georgia answered by loading the bases on two walks and a single and tied the game with a bases-loaded walk in the home half of the first. Carson Myers entered in relief with one out and the bases loaded and allowed just one of the inherited runners to score on a sacrifice fly that Bub Terrell made a highlight-reel catch on in left field.
The Tigers came right back as Fralick started the top of the second with a leadoff home run to right, marking his second homer of the doubleheader, and eventually reclaimed the lead on a sacrifice fly from Carter in the fourth. The sophomore’s second RBI of the day came after back-to-back singles from Fralick and Chris Rembert and a one-out walk from Fabian.
Myers held the Bulldogs in check in the second through fifth innings, striking out the side looking in both the fourth and fifth innings to record a career high 10 in the contest. He struck out seven straight batters and recorded nine straight outs with strikeouts from the third through the fifth innings and ultimately pitched 4.2 scoreless in relief.
Dylan Watts relieved Myers to start the sixth inning, and Georgia loaded the bases on a bloop double, infield single and hit batter before tying the game on a groundout to first and taking a 4-3 lead on the second infield single of the inning.
Ryan Hetzler held Georgia scoreless in the seventh and eighth to keep it a one-run game heading into the top of the ninth, and Carter started the inning with a double down the left field line. He moved up 90 feet on a passed ball and scored the tying run as Irish battled with two strikes and hit a ground ball to second.
Hetzler ultimately turned in 3.0 scoreless innings to send the game to extra innings, and Terrell hit a two-run home run to give the Tigers a 6-4 lead in the top of the 10th.
However, the first five Georgia hitters in the bottom of the 10th reached and the Bulldogs won it on a walk-off, three-run home run. With the bases loaded and nobody out, a comebacker to the pitcher was thrown away at home plate and two runs scored to tie the game. Two pitches later, Jackson sent a 0-1 pitch over the fence in right field to end the contest.
The Tigers return to Plainsman Park for a midweek vs. UAB Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT before a weekend series vs. No. 10 Alabama.