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May 9, 2017
Birmingham - The #14 Auburn baseball team closed its regular season non-conference road slate with an 8-2 loss to UAB at Regions Park Tuesday night. Senior catcher Damon Haecker led the Tigers with a pair of doubles, two walks and an RBI.
"It's not just our opponents, but it has more to do with us," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "Sometimes a team hits a stretch and I think we are in ours now. We will have to make sure we evaluate ourselves and not just our opponents. We need to make some adjustments. We need to learn our lessons quickly at this point in the season."
Auburn plated its first run in the fourth on Will Holland's RBI single scoring Conor Davis from second base to tie the game, 1-1.
The Blazers scored two runs on Dylan Hicklen's two-out triple off the base of the centerfield wall in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-1 advantage. UAB extended the lead to 5-1 with a run in the sixth and another in the seventh.
Auburn plated its second run in the eighth inning on Haecker's double over the head of left fielder Colton Schultz scoring Dylan Ingram. Ingram led off the frame with a single before scoring four batters later.
UAB added three runs in the eighth on a two-run double from Price Visintainer and an RBI single by Schultz.
"After you've played 50 ballgames, it's more mental than physical," Thompson said. "This becomes a mind game with what you've got and pulling together as a team. We have to continue to do a good job locking in and playing baseball with better effort."
Tiger freshman starting pitcher Christian Camacho (2-3) took the loss after allowing three runs on five hits with a career-high six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings of work.
Isaiah Gonzales-Montoya (2-2) allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings of relief for UAB to earn the win. Starter Ryan Ruggles surrendered a run in 2 1/3 innings. Pierce Ressmeyer had three hits to pace the Blazers.
UAB improved to 23-26, while the Tigers dropped to 32-18.
Auburn continues its four-game road swing Thursday against #10 LSU in Baton Rouge with a three-game series against the Fighting Tigers. Thursday's opener at Alex Box Stadium will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT and air on ESPN2.