May 6, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Jonah Todd singled in both games of a doubleheader to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, but No. 4 Auburn baseball came up short to Alabama 4-3 and 7-5 at Plainsman Park.
"We just never had a big inning whatsoever," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "I thought we played more cautious and hesitant probably over two games, maybe then in recent memory, especially in weekend games. I just talked to the guys about nothing can change here. You've got to keep playing your same brand of baseball. We're kind of that reckless, throw it out there and we just play baseball, but I thought we were the most hesitant team today, and I thought that the Alabama squad was the one that had nothing to lose."
Todd's hitting streak is the longest for an Auburn player since Anfernee Grier recorded a hit in 22 consecutive games from 2015-16.
The Tigers and Alabama conclude the series Sunday at 4 pm on SEC Network.
GAME ONE: Chandler Taylor hit a pair of homers as Alabama took the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 4-3.
Alabama took the lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Taylor and bases-loaded infield single by Chandler Avant. The Tigers got a run in the bottom half on a RBI single by Todd and trailed 2-1 after two.
The Crimson Tide added a run in fourth on a RBI double from Connor Short to extend their lead to 3-1.
Taylor's second homer gave Alabama a 4-1 lead in the seventh. He finished with three hits.
Josh Anthony doubled off the wall in the seventh to score a run and Conor Davis plated Anthony on a single as the Tigers closed the gap to 4-3.
Keegan Thompson (5-3) tied his season high with eight innings. He allowed four runs (two earned) with two strikeouts and three walks.
Alex Webb had two hits for Alabama.
Jake Walters (5-4) allowed one run on five hits in five innings. Davis Vainer got the final out for his fourth save.
GAME TWO: Dylan Ingram hit his eighth home run of the season, but No. 4 Auburn baseball came up short 7-5 in game two of the doubleheader.
The Tigers closed within a run on a RBI single by Johnson, but stranded pinch runner JJ Shaffer at third on a strikeout to end the game. He finished with two hits and three RBI.
Todd and Anthony both had three hits for the Tigers. Anthony scored three times.
Alabama (17-29, 4-19) took a 2-0 lead in the third inning scoring two runs on an error.
Ingram's fourth-inning homer was his fifth in the last nine games. Jeremy Johnson delivered a sacrifice fly three batters later to tie the game at 2-2.
Auburn (32-16, 14-9) fell behind 3-2 in the sixth, but Anthony knotted the game at three with his second homer of the season. The solo blast bounced off the scoreboard in left-centerfield.
Casey Mize allowed three runs (two earned) with four strikeouts in six innings in his first start since April 13. Andrew Mitchell (5-2) allowed four runs (two earned) in 1.1 innings of relief.
Alabama scored two runs in the seventh to re-take the lead and added two more in the eighth. The Tigers got one in the bottom half on a RBI groundout by Johnson and a run-scoring single from Todd, but trailed 7-4 after eight.
Dylan Duarte was charged with three runs in 5.1 innings. Zac Rogers (2-1) pitched one scoreless inning. Vainer pitched the final two innings to earn his second save of the day and fifth of the year.
Ingram, Bo Decker and Damon Haecker each had two hits.