AUBURN, Ala. – No. 15 Auburn couldn't come back from an early deficit as the Tigers tell to No. 9 Arkansas, 8-0, in the decisive game three Saturday at Plainsman Park.
The Tigers fall to 23-9 overall and 7-5 in Southeastern Conference play, while Arkansas improved to 24-8 overall and 8-4 in the league.
"It's just hard when you're pitching behind. You just don't want to give up any more," head coach Butch Thompson said on the Auburn Sports Network. "We never got into it offensively to give us any kind of spark. Julien had two hits, but other than that we were pretty quiet."
Richard Fitts (2-1, 4.84) suffered the loss in his first career start. The freshman righty pitched 4.1 innings and allowed five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Fitts extended his scoreless innings streak to 11.1 innings after facing the minimum through the first two innings and retiring the first batter he faced in the third. However, the Razorbacks took the lead on a two-RBI single from Heston Kjerstad.
Two innings later, Arkansas extended its advantage on a three-run home run to center field off the bat of Trevor Ezell.
Blake Schilleci made his second appearance of the week and pitched 0.2 scoreless. Kyle Gray worked a scoreless inning in the sixth before issuing a walk to start the seventh. The walk eventually came around to score on a RBI double, and the Razorbacks made it an 8-0 ballgame with a two-RBI base hit later in the frame.
Will Morrison pitched a season-high 3.0 innings to finish the game for the Tigers.
Edouard Julien collected two hits in the game, including his team-best ninth double of the season. Ed Johnson recorded his first career hit with a pinch-hit single in the ninth.
Auburn continues non-conference play with a midweek matchup against Jacksonville State (15-14, 7-3 OVC) Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.