With the weekend series tied 1-1, Auburn and Alabama met again to decide the three-game set. Ryan Tella doubled down the right field line in the first inning and probably has a sore neck for his troubles. Mikey White probably has a bruise on his leg:
Will Kendall, still returning from last year’s Tommy John surgery, had another solid outing under his rehab pitch count. He went three innings and allowed only one hit and one run. He walked two and recorded two strikeouts. That’s Austen Smith leading off first for Alabama:
Daniel Koger was solid in long relief. He pitched six innings, walked three, allowed only one hit and one run:
Auburn’s second baseman Jordan Ebert beats a throw back to first. Not that it mattered much. He’d be out on a double play soon after:
And despite pitching a two-hitter, Auburn was down two runs in the ninth inning. Alabama’s Spencer Turnbull was pitching a complete game, with a great defense behind him. Auburn would not get a runner to second base after the first inning.
Auburn hit into four double plays today.
Ryan Tella lined out in the ninth inning:
Auburn lost 2-0 today and have now dropped the first three series of the year.
The biggest problem right now is the bats. Only two players in the lineup are hitting over .300. (To be fair, in conference play they’ve faced five incredible starting pitchers.) The Tigers left two on base today — a statistical anomaly because of all of the double plays. Auburn is stranding eight runners a game so far this season.
The Tigers are 10-44 against the SEC in the major sports – football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball – since the 2012 SEC baseball tournament.
