FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 18 Auburn lost the series finale at No. 3 Arkansas 5-0 Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks (18-2, 3-0 SEC) scored all of their five runs in the third and fourth innings and held the Tigers (13-6-1, 0-3 SEC) scoreless on three hits in the contest.
"Kind of similar early on to the first two games, except we steadied ourselves," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We played much better today but got the same outcome."
Sophomore reliever Will Cannon matched a career best with 4.2 scoreless innings pitched to settle the game in the middle innings and give Auburn a chance.
"Will Cannon did an amazing job and just gave us chance after chance," Thompson added. "If you come into Arkansas and score five runs on the weekend, it's going to be a challenging weekend."
Arkansas threatened in the top of the second as the first two hitters reached on a walk and hit batter, but Konner Copeland buckled down to get out of the inning. He induced an infield fly and ground ball that resulted in a double play to escape the jam.
Copeland retired the first two batters of the third, but Arkansas extended the frame with a two-out double and hit batter before starting the scoring with a three-run homer to left center.
Auburn was retired on six pitches in the top of the fourth, and the Razorbacks added to their lead with two runs in the home half. The inning started with a single and a double to put a pair in scoring position, and both runs came in on a single back up the middle. Cannon entered with two on and nobody out and did a good job to avoid further damage with a double play and pickoff.
Cannon steadied the game in the middle innings, allowing just one hit and facing two batters over the minimum in the fifth through seventh innings. His 4.2 innings were the most by an Auburn reliever this season, and his four strikeouts matched a season high.
Offensively, Auburn managed one hit in the first six frames but threatened with back-to-back, one-out singles in the seventh. However, Arkansas got out of the inning with an infield popup and ground ball to third.
The Tigers put two on in the top of the ninth and forced Arkansas to bring in reliever Hagen Smith for the second time on the weekend, but the lefty retired the two batters he faced to end the game.
Auburn returns to action next week with a midweek matchup against South Alabama (8-12, 0-3 SBC) in Montgomery, Alabama, Tuesday at 6 p.m.
No. 18 Auburn falls in finale at No. 3 Arkansas
