AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn and No. 7 Georgia battled for 19 innings and ultimately split Saturday's doubleheader at Plainsman Park.
The Tigers (30-21, 13-14 SEC) won the opener, 4-3, on a walk-off single from Conor Davis in the 10th inning, and Georgia (39-14, 18-9 SEC) won the decisive game three, 10-8, thanks to a three-run home run in the eighth inning.
"We were playing a national seed today," head coach Butch Thompson said on the Auburn Sports Network. "It was a great day of baseball, and we competed for every pitch. It was a long day and we left everything on the field. It's just that time of the year where there are no moral victories."
Davis' walk-off single in game one was the third of his career and his second of the season, and freshman Ryan Bliss paced the Auburn offense by going 5-for-8 with five runs and a RBI in the doubleheader.
Auburn also honored its three seniors in Brett Olson, Blake Schilleci and team manager Peyton Mask prior to the game.
GAME ONE
Tied 3-3 through nine innings, Davis stepped into the box in the bottom of the 10th and ripped a 1-1 fastball off the wall in left field to score Judd Ward from third and send his Auburn teammates pouring out of the home dugout to meet around first base.
The inning started after the first two Auburn hitters were retired, but Ward and Bliss delivered back-to-back singles to move the game-winning run just 90 feet from home plate.
Tanner Burns made the start after missing last weekend with a shoulder injury and allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks in 5.2 innings.
With the game tied, 1-1, in the top of the fourth, Ward recorded his seventh outfield assist of the season and a flyball double play with the final out being recorded at the plate.
After Georgia tied the game on a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the sixth, Cody Greenhill (2-2, 3.05) held the Bulldogs scoreless in the final four frames. The Auburn closer allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out a season-high five batters.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 3-1 lead against Georgia starter Emerson Hancock on a solo home run from Will Holland in the second and a pair of runs on RBI single from Holland and RBI fielder's choice from Rankin Woley in the fourth.
However, Georgia battled back with a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings to tie the score at three apiece, where it would remain until the 10th-inning dramatics.
GAME TWO
The Tigers battled all the way back from a five-run deficit through the top of the sixth to tie the game, 7-7, in the bottom of the seventh, but a three-run home run from Cam Shepherd in the top of the eighth was the difference in the ballgame.
Auburn's five-run comeback started with a four-run sixth inning. The Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out and got a pair of two-RBI hits from Matt Scheffler and Rankin Woley to get right back in the ballgame.
An inning later, Bliss started the frame with a single and Scheffler came back around to deliver the game-tying hit on a two-out single to left. Bliss went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and a RBI in the contest, while Scheffler drove in a season-high three runs.
However, much like Auburn's rally in the first game of the day, Georgia started its eighth inning after the first two batters had been retired, and Shepherd delivered the big blow.
Schilleci (0-2, 7.16) retired the first five batters he faced in relief but ultimately suffered the loss. Georgia's Zac Kristofak (4-0, 3.95) picked up the win.
Auburn wraps up its regular season with four games next week. The Tigers take on North Alabama Tuesday before traveling to Baton Rouge to take on No. 17 LSU from Thursday through Saturday.