KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 19 Auburn and No. 1 Tennessee battled back and forth in the series finale with the Volunteers ultimately winning the decisive game, 5-3, Sunday in Knoxville.
Tied 3-3 with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Tennessee hit a two-run home run that proved to be the difference.
"It was a battle all the way through," head coach Butch Thompson said. "The effort was tremendous. We fought in our at-bats, and Joseph gave us an unbelievable opportunity like he does every third game. Credit to our guys who didn't blink after Friday and pushed this series all the way to late Sunday to give us a chance to win."
Auburn sophomore Joseph Gonzalez (6-1, 2.30) suffered the tough-luck loss, pitching 7.1 innings and allowing five runs on seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Gonzalez faced just three batters over the minimum from the second through the seventh innings.
"I was so excited to get to the ballpark today with Joseph on the mound," Thompson said. "We'll continue the same mindset and keep moving forward and try to put our best foot forward anytime we step on the field with an Auburn uniform on."
Tennessee (40-4, 19-2 SEC) scored first for the third straight game, plating a run on a sacrifice fly before scoring two more on a two-out, two-run home run to right field to take a 3-0 lead in the first.
After allowing the home run, Gonzalez responded by retiring nine of the next 10 batters he faced. Tennessee put a pair of baserunners aboard with a two-out error and walk in the fourth, but the sophomore right-hander stranded them both.
Auburn (31-14, 12-9 SEC) got its first hit in the fourth and cracked the scoreboard in the fifth. Bobby Peirce hit a solo homer off the scoreboard in right, his fourth homer of the season and second in his last three at-bats, to start the scoring. The Tigers proceeded to load the bases with three straight one-out singles and made it a 3-2 ballgame on a sacrifice fly from Cole Foster.
Gonzalez set the Volunteers top of the lineup down in order in the fifth and Auburn tied the game with a run in the top of the sixth. Kason Howell drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on Peirce's RBI single, his fifth run driven in in the last two games. The Tigers put two aboard with nobody out, but a pair of ground ball resulted in three outs and kept the scored tied, 3-3.
The Tigers managed a two-out hit in the seventh, but that was all against hard-throwing righty Ben Joyce, who recorded the final 12 outs for Tennessee.
Auburn returns to the Plains for final exams this week before hosting No. 4 Arkansas (34-10, 14-7 SEC) in a three-game series from Friday through Sunday.
No. 19 Auburn battles No. 1 Tennessee to brink in series finale
