FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Auburn dropped the series finale at No. 1 Arkansas in walk-off fashion, 6-5, Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Tigers (12-13, 1-8 SEC) led 5-0 after scoring three runs in the top of the sixth, but the Razorbacks (22-4, 7-2 SEC) scored five runs in its final four at-bats to force extra innings before winning it with a walk-off in the 10th.
"You're going to have to beat the No. 1 team in the country to beat them," head coach Butch Thompson said. "They stuck around. They came at us four different times. At the end of the day it's the 12 walks. We kind of created the offense for them and just opened the door. Winds up another one-run contest in extra innings."
Similar to Friday, Auburn jumped out to an early lead as two-hole hitter Judd Ward followed Ryan Bliss' leadoff single with a two-run home run to right field on just the seventh pitch of the game.
Auburn didn't record its next hit until the sixth inning, but Tyler Miller made it count as he swung on the first pitch he saw from Arkansas reliever Caden Monke and sent it over the fence in right-enter for a three-run homer, his ninth of the season.
Freshman right-hander Joseph Gonzalez held Arkansas scoreless on just one hit in his first five innings, but the Razorbacks got on the scoreboard as the first four batters of the sixth reached.
Carson Skipper entered in relief of Gonzalez with one run in and two on with nobody out and did a good job to minimize the damage by holding Arkansas to two runs in the frame.
Auburn turned a bases-loaded double play, one of its four in the game, to record the first two outs of the eighth and potentially minimize the damage, but three straight walks brought in another run and cut the lead to one.
A one-out walk and single put Arkansas runners on the corners in the ninth, and the Razorbacks tied it with a sacrifice fly to right field.
After a ground ball out started the 10th, a double and intentional walk put two runners on with one out before Christian Franklin snuck a ground ball inside the third base line to end the game.
Auburn put the leadoff hitter aboard in both the ninth and 10th innings but couldn't advance the runner.
The Tigers walked 12 batter and hit two more in the contest.
Auburn returns to the Plains to host Kennesaw State Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.
