AUBURN, Ala. – No. 22 Auburn fell behind in the third inning and failed to make up the difference in a 4-2 loss to Holy Cross Saturday night at Plainsman Park.
One of Auburn’s best chances to even the score came in the eighth inning. Trailing 3-2 with runners on the corners, Deric Fabian hit a screaming line drive to third base, but it was snared out of the air to end the threat.
“When we did hit the ball hard, I think about Fabian there in the eighth inning, they didn’t fall,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “No ball was really getting out tonight and we hit too many fly balls. Leadoff guys didn’t get on, and to Holy Cross’ credit they shoved the ball in the strike zone. It feels like we needed one big hit, and when that hit didn’t come it felt like there was some tension in our swings.”
After 4.0 innings from starting pitcher Sean Scanlon, Holy Cross relied on two freshmen pitchers to throw the final 5.0 innings with Derek Volz getting the win and Pedro Leon earning the save.
Offensively, Bristol Carter accounted for two of Auburn’s five hits and scored both runs. The sophomore outfielder reached base three times and stole three bases.
“Yeah, I trust fully in my guys,” Carter said. “Like I said, it's baseball and it happens. We’re going to put this game behind us and worry about tomorrow's game. We’ll come back out here and try to bounce back and win the series.”
Auburn (1-1) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning after Carter started the game with a single and ultimately scored on a sacrifice fly from Cooper McMurray.
Holy Cross (1-1) answered with an unearned run following a one-out error in each of the next two innings to take a 2-1 lead.
Making his Auburn debut, Samuel Dutton (0-1) struck out seven batters in his first four innings, including multiple batters in three of his four full innings of work. The seven strikeouts marked a career high for the senior.
The Tigers threatened with two runners in scoring position and one out in the fourth, but a popup and groundout ended the threat with the score remaining 2-1.
Holy Cross scored its third unanswered run with three hits in the fifth, but Auburn answered in the home half. Carter continued to make things happen as he stole his second base of the game and ultimately scored by drawing a two-out balk from third.
Jackson Sanders made his Auburn debut to start the sixth and ran into trouble with a walk and throwing error on a comebacker. However, the freshman southpaw buckled down and got out of the inning unscathed with a strikeout and double play before also throwing a scoreless seventh.
Parker Carlson held Holy Cross at bay in the eighth, but the visitors added an insurance run on a sacrifice fly after a leadoff walk and one-out double in the ninth.
The rubber game between the Tigers and Crusaders is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.