Auburn baseball first series of SEC play appeared with many challenges, none of which the Tigers were able to overcome as they lost game one of their conference opening series to Vanderbilt, 11-1.
That lone run scored by Auburn (13-4) came very early on in the game in the 1st inning.
After a lead off strikeout to open up the game, [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] sent a double into right center, giving the Tigers an immediate scoring threat. A groundout followed before Irish scored on a wild pitch later in the inning, putting them up early 1-0.
The Commodores (16-3) made their first move in the bottom of the 2nd when Calvin Hewett hit an RBI single up the middle to tie the game up. Jonathan Vastine came up right after him and hit a home run over the right field wall to make it a 3-1 Vanderbilt lead.
The next stroke of action came in the 4th inning. With bases loaded and one out, Vastine reached on a fielder’s choice, which resulted in a run. RJ Austin followed that up with a single to the third base side, scoring another run and making it a 5-1 Commodore advantage.
The 5th inning brought more of the same, as Jayden Davis singled with an RBI, leading to a Matthew Polk RBI double. Vanderbilt had added two more runs, padding the score at 7-1.
The Commodores put the nail in the coffin in the bottom of the 8th. After a lead off walk, Davis Diaz hit a single into left field, scoring Austin. Jack Bulger came in later in the inning, hitting a ground ball to third in which he was thrown out, but scored in another run. Davis stepped up immediately after and hit an RBI triple, before scoring on a passed ball right after.
The game officially ended at that, with Auburn losing via mercy rule in its first conference game of 2024.
[autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] took the loss for the Tigers, pitching just a full four innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits. He only struck out four and walked two in the process.
The loss puts the Tigers at 13-4 on the season, as they hope to bounce back in game two on Saturday. First pitch in the middle match is set for 2 p.m. CST.
| Runs | Hits | Errors | LOB | |
| No. 19 Auburn | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| No. 10 Vanderbilt | 11 | 13 | 0 | 8 |
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