TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Offense continued to elude No. 5 Auburn, which tallied only two hits Sunday in a 3-1 loss to No. 22 Alabama at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Auburn pitchers held Alabama to four hits, but the Crimson Tide scored a pair of runs on one hit in the bottom of the eighth to sweep the series.
“When we got to that part of the game, we lost command of the strike zone. Not enough competitive at-bats. You almost have to be perfect on the mound,” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson. “The three starters were great and they’ve been pretty consistent. We’ve prevented runs at a high level and have not scored enough.”
Scoring in the top of the first for the third straight game, Auburn took a 1-0 lead when Chris Rembert and Chase Fralick were hit by pitches, with Rembert scoring from second on Eric Guevara’s single to right.
Auburn starter Alex Petrovic held Alabama hitless until the third inning when the Tigers struggled to locate a popup that landed a few feet in front of home plate, with Luke Vaughn credited with a double. The Crimson Tide tied the score at 1-1 when Justin Lebron singled to left with two outs.
The Tigers chased Alabama starting pitcher Myles Upchurch in the top of the fifth after Cade Belyeu was hit by a pitch and Rembert walked. Reliver Ashton Crowther induced a grounder to first and a line drive to right to preserve the tie.
Eddie Madrigal led off the top of the sixth with Auburn’s second hit but a strikeout, grounder and line drive to second ended the inning, the seventh runner left on base for the Tigers in six innings.
Auburn starter Alex Petrovic worked 5.0 innings, striking out six while scattering three hits.
“Do everything I can to put up those zeros,” said Petrovic, who lowered his ERA to 2.80. “That was the whole goal, get ahead, stay ahead and make great pitches. I know we’ve got a good defense.”
Freshman LJ Cormer, a Tuscaloosa native whose father, Lance, was an All-American pitcher at Alabama, worked two scoreless innings, retiring six of seven batters and pitching around a leadoff HBP in the bottom of the seventh.
Auburn threatened again in the top of the eighth when Alabama’s third pitcher, Matthew Heiberger, hit Guevara and Madrigal on back-to-back pitches, the fourth and fifth HBPs by the home team. Auburn grounded into a double play on the next pitch, ending the inning.
Alabama (22-7, 6-3) broke the tie in the bottom of the eighth without a hit, capitalizing on a hit batter, a stolen base and consecutive wild pitches from Garrett Brewer (1-2), who took the loss.
The Crimson Tide added an insurance run in the inning on Will Plattner’s RBI single off Jett Johnston, Auburn’s fourth pitcher.
Auburn went down in order in the bottom of the ninth against Alabama closer Hagan Banks, who earned the save after recording the victory Saturday night in game two.
“It’s got to get better as we march through these next seven weeks of SEC play,” Thompson said.
Auburn (20-7, 4-5) travels to Atlanta to meet No. 3 Georgia Tech (21-5, 8-3 ACC) Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT at Russ Chandler Stadium, looking to sweep the season series with the Yellow Jackets.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer