April 8, 2018
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" A lack of a home run call in the top of the third inning changed the momentum in the game and No. 13 Auburn ultimately lost to No. 5 Arkansas, 5-4, at Baum Stadium Sunday evening.
Leading 3-0 in the top of the third, the Tigers extended their lead on what appeared to be a two-run home run from Jay Estes. However, a signal was not made by the umpires, and Estes was ruled out on the play because he passed Brett Wright, who was retreating to first base on what he thought was a fly out. Wright ultimately scored and Estes was given a RBI single with a putout.
One Tiger reached base from that point on, and Arkansas eventually won on a RBI single from Heston Kjerstad in the bottom of the ninth.
Auburn fell to 23-10 overall and 4-8 in Southeastern Conference play, while Arkansas improved to 24-9 overall and 8-4 in league action.
"Give (Arkansas) the credit," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We got six goose eggs in the end and couldn't get anything going. Every one of our guys battled for us to get those four runs early. Tanner Burns was masterful against a great lineup. I hope that gives him confidence going forward."
After threatening with runners on the corners in the top of the first, Auburn got on the scoreboard on a RBI double from Josh Anthony followed by a two-RBI double from Edouard Julien in the top of the second. The Tigers six hits in their first two at-bats matched the team's totals from games one and two.
Arkansas cut into the Auburn lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Casey Martin drove one in on a RBI double and later came in to score on an infield single that resulted in a throwing error.
The Razorbacks tied the game with a pair of unearned runs that followed a fielding miscue in the bottom of the seventh inning and ultimately won it two innings later.
Burns turned in arguably his best outing of the season as he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in a hostile environment on the road.
Fellow freshman Cody Greenhill (1-1, 1.19) suffered the loss in relief, while Arkansas reliever Jake Reindl (2-1, 3.60) earned the win after throwing the final 7.0 innings.
Auburn returns to action at Samford (19-14, 7-2 SoCon) Tuesday evening. First pitch in Birmingham, Ala., is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.