Auburn drops series opener to top-ranked LSU

Auburn’s bats had no answer for LSU ace Paul Skenes.

Despite a good night from the mound, the Auburn Tigers (25-19-1, 9-13 SEC) fell 3-0 to the No. 1 LSU Tigers (37-8, 16-5 SEC) in the first game of the series.

“All the way through, just a nice job all around,” Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “They just shoved it on us on the mound. That was the difference in the ballgame.”

Sophomore right-hander [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] got the start and allowed two runs to cross off of three hits, walked two batters, and struck one batter out.

Junior right-hander Paul Sknes got the start for LSU and tossed 7.1 scoreless innings in which he allowed six hits, walked one batter, and struck out 15.

LSU got the scoring started in the top of the first inning when first baseman junior Tre’ Morgan hit a two-run homer over the right field wall.

The visiting Tigers added on another run in the top of the seventh inning when Morgan singled through the right side of the infield to drive in redshirt junior catcher Alex Milazzo and give LSU a 3-0 lead.

Despite not putting any runs across, Auburn had three players with two-hit games: freshman left fielder [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag], senior third baseman [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag], and fifth-year center fielder Kason Howell.

The second game of the series is set for Saturday at 8:00 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

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