AUBURN, Ala. – No. 19 Auburn couldn't hold on to an early advantage as the Tigers fell to Jacksonville State, 11-6, Tuesday night at Plainsman Park.
The Tigers (23-10) jumped out to a 6-0 lead through three innings, but Jacksonville State (17-15) tied the game with a six-run fourth inning and scored five more in the seventh en route to the win.
"We're hung in the same trend," head coach Butch Thompson said on the Auburn Sports Network. "I loved how we came out after getting shut out in game three versus Arkansas. We scored the first three innings. But after they worked back and got it tied, walking the six batters in one inning deflated the whole deal. We just have to keep making adjustments."
Auburn wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard as Edouard Julien launched a two-run home run over the batter's eye in center field in the bottom of the first.
The Tigers added three runs in the bottom of the second on a pair of RBI singles from Judd Ward and Conor Davis to go along with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Julien.
Brody Moore, who made his first career start in the contest, continued the scoring for the Tigers in the next frame as he battled with two strikes and two outs to drive in his first career run.
However, Jacksonville State was able to come all the way back and tie the game with a six-run fourth inning.
After the two teams went scoreless in the fifth and sixth frames, the Gamecocks took the lead on a two-run double in the seventh inning and extended the advantage to 11-6 on three walks with the bases loaded.
Ward and Ryan Bliss collected a pair of hits in the contest, while Julien drove in multiple runs for the 12th time this season.
Julien's 415-foot home run in the first inning was his seventh of the season. With three RBI in the contest, he now has 101 RBI in 94 career games and becomes the fifth fastest player to 100 RBI in program history behind Tim Hudson (78 games), Gabe Gross (86 games), Frank Thomas (89 games) and Todd Faulkner (90 games).
Will Morrison turned in 3.0 scoreless innings and faced just eight batters in his outing. He entered the game with the bases loaded and nobody out in the top of the seventh and escaped the jam by inducing a double play and fly ball.
Auburn continues its SEC schedule with a weekend series at No. 12 Texas A&M (25-9-1, 7-4-1 SEC). The series opener in College Station, Texas, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.