Tigers lose series in game two at the hands of the hot-hitting Bulldogs

Tigers lose in game two at the hands of the hot-hitting Bulldogs.

On Friday, the Tigers looked to bounce back after a dramatic loss in game one of the series on Thursday night. It was the right-handed pitcher Trace Bright who took the mound for the Tigers while the Bulldogs started the righty, Preston Johnson.

The scoring came right off of the bat for the Bulldogs. In the bottom half of the first, catcher Logan Tanner hit a sacrifice fly into center that brought across one run. Next, it was designated hitter Hunter Hines that drove in first baseman Luke Hancock with a single into right field. At the end of the first, the Bulldogs led 2-0.

Both teams were held in check until the bottom of the sixth when Chris Lemonis’s squad scored two runs yet again. It was a double from second baseman RJ Yeager that score both Brad Cumbest and Kellum Clark. In the top half of the seventh, the Tigers finally put a run on the board. Second baseman Cole Foster hit a sacrifice fly into center field that scored right-fielder Bobby Peirce. That cut the lead to 4-1 Bulldogs.

Things would once again hit the fan in the bottom half of the seventh inning. The Bulldogs put up a five-spot off of three different relievers. Those three were Carson Swilling, Cade Graznow, and Chase Isbell. A Cumbest homerun got the party started as it plated three runs which increased their lead to 7-1. Then, Kamren James hit a home run that scored two increasing the lead once again to 9-1 heading into the eighth inning.

In the top half of the eighth inning, the Tigers’ bats woke up. The scoring started when center-fielder Kason Howell singled to left to bring across left-fielder Mike Bello. One batter later, first baseman Sonny DiChiara hit a single that brought across third baseman Blake Rambusch. Shortstop Brody Moore kept the scoring streak alive when he singled into right field to bring across Howell. The last run in the eighth for the Tigers came from a single from Foster that scored DiChiara. The score was 9-5.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, play was stopped for approximately 44 minutes due to a weather delay. It didn’t change anything as the Tigers were held in check in the ninth inning. Ultimately, it was the hits that haunted the Tigers in game two of the three-game series.

Auburn fell to 23-12 and 7-7 in conference while Mississippi State improved to 21-15 and 6-8 in the conference. The first pitch for game three on Saturday is scheduled for 1 CT on SEC Network +.