Auburn falls in tough fashion to No. 4 Mississippi State

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn surrendered a tough-luck run in the eighth inning that proved to be the difference in a 6-5 game against No. 4 Mississippi State Friday night at Plainsman Park.
 
After the Tigers (12-14, 1-9 SEC) scored three runs to tie the game, 5-5, in the seventh, but Mississippi State (22-7, 6-4 SEC) scratched the go-ahead run across in the top of the eighth.
 
The Bulldogs put a runner aboard after an infield fly ball was lost in the night sky and resulted in a double. A groundout moved the runner to third base, and the winning run scored on a wild pitch.
 
"I asked the guys to just keep battling and try to fight to get back momentum," head coach Butch Thompson said. "It's a three-game series, so we'll come back out and hopefully that momentum will be captured at the end of the ballgame tomorrow and we'll go from there."
 
Auburn took the lead and tied the game at two different points Friday night, but the Bulldogs responded in their next at-bat on both occasions.
 
The game marked Auburn's the seventh one-run contest in the first 10 league games.  
 
Mississippi State started the scoring with an unearned run on two walks, an error and a hit-by-pitch in the top of the second, but Auburn responded and took the lead on a pair of solo home runs from Rankin Woley and Bryson Ware in the bottom of the fourth. The home runs were the third of the season for both Woley and Ware.
 
However, similar to the Tigers' response, Mississippi State followed an error with back-to-back homers to reclaim the lead, 4-2, in the fifth.
 
The Bulldogs added a run with back-to-back doubles to start the seventh, but Auburn got all three back and tied the game in the home half.
 
The Tigers started the seventh with back-to-back walks and a one-out single to load the bases, and Tyler Miller came through with a two-out, two-RBI single to draw within one. With the tying run 90 feet away, Brody Moore hit a chopper up the middle and was safe at first as the throw took the Mississippi State first baseman up the line.
 
Carson Skipper (0-1, 2.53) suffered the tough-luck loss, while Mississippi State's Brandon Smith (4-1, 2.66) picked up the win and Landon Sims earned the save.
 
Cody Greenhill made his seventh start of the season and pitched 6.0 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Richard Fitts relieved Greenhill to start the seventh and pitched an inning.
 
Ryan Bliss led the way at the plate, collecting his 15th multi-hit game of the season, while Miller drove in multiple runs for the 10th time.
 
The two teams return to Plainsman Park for game two Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.