FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 18 Auburn jumped out to an early lead but ultimately dropped its Southeastern Conference opener at No. 3 Arkansas 7-2 Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Kason Howell hit a solo homer in the third to start the scoring, and Auburn (13-4-1, 0-1 SEC) added a run in the fourth to double its lead. However, Arkansas (16-2, 1-0 SEC) responded with five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead and ultimately scored seven unanswered.
"We just didn't get anything going at the end of the game there," head coach Butch Thompson said. "Tommy (Vail) was tremendous coming out of the gate. It was really exciting to watch him the first three innings.
"We hung in there for a little while, but they were opportunistic both times," Thompson added. "The two pressure points, they got their stuff done. They walked us five times, but we didn't do it together or do it at that moment to get that one big hit like they did. That was a huge difference in the ballgame today."
Tommy Vail (2-1, 2.55) set down the first six batters he faced, and Auburn started the scoring in the top of the third on Howell's solo homer to left. The long ball was the center fielder's second of the season, both of which have come in the last three games.
Thanks to a pickoff from Nate LaRue in the bottom of the third, Vail worked around a two-out double to hold Arkansas scoreless, and the Tigers doubled the lead in the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out, Caden Green lifted a 2-2 pitch deep enough to right to score Bryson Ware from third.
Vail faced just one batter over the minimum in the first three innings, but Arkansas took the lead on back-to-back walks and a three-run homer to start the bottom of the fourth. Auburn ultimately walked four batters in the frame and all four came in to score on the three-run homer and a pair of RBI singles.
After Arkansas plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 7-2 ballgame, the Tigers threatened with two one-out walks in the seventh. However, reliever Hagen Smith was able to retire the next two hitters and escape the inning.
Drew Nelson entered in relief in the bottom of the seventh and struck out the side in his SEC debut. Nelson pitched 1.2 innings and all five outs he recorded were strikeouts.
Auburn started the game with five hits in the first four innings but managed just one in the final five frames against starting pitcher Hunter Hollan (4-0, 2.36) and Smith. Justin Kirby led the way from the plate with multiple hits in his second straight game, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.
Game two between the Tigers and Razorbacks is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium.
No. 18 Auburn falls at No. 3 Arkansas in SEC opener
