Auburn looked like it was going to pull off a massive upset over the No. 3 Florida Gators before the bullpen collapsed on the second straight Sunday. The Tigers had an 8-3 lead but the Gators scored 14 unanswered runs to take control of the game and win 17-8 in Gainesville.
Six Auburn pitchers combined to allow 17 runs on just 12 hits, but they walked 13 batters and hit three more. Auburn is now 18-9-1 overall and 3-6 in SEC play.
“We got right where we wanted to,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “We built that 8-3 lead and when I saw them run and catch us, just so many freebies to allow them to get back in the ballgame there.”
After allowing three runs in the first inning, Auburn starter [autotag]Tommy Vail[/autotag] was able to settle in and give the Tigers 4.2 innings. He allowed five runs, four earned on just two hits. He struck out six Gators but walked five and hit two more.
He left in the bottom of the fifth with two on and two out and Auburn leading 8-3. Thompson turned to [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] to try and end the threat. He was unable to get an out as he walked the first batter, gave up a two-run single, and walked two more before [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag] came in to end the inning.
Disaster struck Ibell in the sixth inning as he was forced to call for a trainer and leave the game. That forced [autotag]Drew Nelson[/autotag] into the game.
He walked the first three batters he saw to make it an 8-7 Auburn lead before a sacrifice fly tied the game. He managed to escape the inning with the game tied but was unable to do so in the seventh. He hit the leadoff man and after a Wyatt Langford double put two men in scoring position Auburn once again went to the bullpen.
Jac Caglianome greeted [autotag]Konner Copeland[/autotag] with a two-RBI single to give Florida a 10-8 lead that they would not surrender. The Gators added two more runs in the seventh and five in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
The Tigers fell behind 3-0 after one inning but immediately started chipping away. [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] blasted a solo home run in the second inning and the Tigers took a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning when [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] scored on a wild pitch.
They got some breathing room in the fifth when Peirce drove in Green and [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] smacked a three-run homer to make it an 8-3 lead.
The Tigers will return to action Tuesday night when they take on UAB at Regions Field in Birmingham. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. CT.
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