AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn surrendered a pair of big innings and fell to No. 7 Georgia, 11-2, in the series opener at Plainsman Park Friday night.
The Tigers (29-20, 12-13 SEC) held a 1-0 through three innings, but Georgia (38-13, 17-8 SEC) took the lead behind a six-run fourth inning and never looked back. The Bulldogs capped off the scoring in the contest with a four-run seventh.
Both starting pitchers factored into the decision as Auburn sophomore Jack Owen (4-1, 1.91) suffered the loss while Georgia's Tony Locey (9-1, 2.63) picked up the win.
"We're at the stage where you can't blink for a second," head coach Butch Thompson said on the Auburn Sports Network. "You've got to come out here tomorrow to try to even the series and try to get into your conference tournament. There's a ton to play for."
The Tigers struck first as Rankin Woley started the bottom of the second inning with a single and later came around to score on a two-out double from Kason Howell.
Owen retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced, including eight straight from the end of the first through the third inning. However, the first six Georgia batters reached in the top of the fourth and the Bulldogs ultimately took a 6-1 lead on five singles and a solo home run in the frame.
The two teams traded a pair of solo home runs in the fifth inning as Aaron Schunk hit one for Georgia in the top of the frame and Judd Ward answered with his third of the season in the bottom half.
Georgia extended its lead to 11-2 with a four-run seventh inning on a pair of two-run hits, and the score remained that way in the final two innings.
Bailey Horn retired six of the first seven batters he faced in his relief outing before running into trouble in the seventh. Kyle Gray finished the final 2.2 innings in scoreless fashion and struck out a pair while surrendering one hit.
Due to expected rain Saturday evening and Sunday, Auburn and Georgia will play a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 12 p.m. CT. The start of game to will be weather dependent.
Tickets for Saturday's originally scheduled game will be valid for the first game and tickets for Sunday's originally scheduled game will be valid for game two. The stadium will be cleared in between contests.
If unable to attend the rescheduled event, tickets can be exchanged for the last home game of the regular season vs. North Alabama Tuesday.
Seniors Brett Olson and Blake Schilleci as well as team manager Peyton Mask will be honored prior to the game as a part of the Senior Day ceremony. The recognition will begin at approximately 11:40 a.m. CT.