Auburn once again erased an early lead Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs but unlike the first two games of the series, the Bulldogs kept adding on and crushed the Tigers 24-7 in Plainsman Park.
Auburn (6-7-1, 2-4 SEC) trailed just 8-7 entering the eighth inning but the pitching staff came unraveled, surrendering eight hits and issuing eight free passes as the Bulldogs scored 16 runs to take command of the game and end any chances of Auburn completing their third straight comeback win.
Charlie Condon walked to lead off the inning and scored after consecutive singles by Parks Harber and Corey Collins to make it 9-7. A four-pitch walk to Will David loaded the bases with nobody out.
A second-straight walk brought another run home before Mason LaPlante broke the game up with a two-RBI single to make it 12-7. They kept adding on as their next eight batters reached safely to make it 20-7.
Auburn needed to cut the deficit to under 10 in the bottom of the eighth inning to prevent a run-rule loss but was unable to do so.
For the third time in the series, Auburn fell behind early. This time Georgia did their damage at the top of the first. Ben Anderson led the game off with a double and scored two batters later when Condon singled him home.
Harber gave them some breathing room next when he belted a two-run homer over the left field wall to give them an early 3-0 lead. Connor Tate opened the third inning with a solo home run to make it a 4-0 game.
After the next three Bulldog hitters reached base to load the bases with one out, [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] replaced freshman starter [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag] with [autotag]Christian Hernandez[/autotag]. The right-hander struck out Sebastian Murillo but walked Cole Wagner to give the Bulldogs a 5-0 lead.
Auburn started chipping away in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally. [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] got things started with a single before [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] was hit by a pitch. After Georgia failed to get Ware out in a rundown, [autotag]Justin Kirby[/autotag] hit a shallow blooper into right field to score Ware and make it a 5-1 game.
The Tigers got another run back in the fourth after [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] walked and advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a single by [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag]. Kason Howell kept the rally going with a bunt single but Auburn was unable to get another run across and left two more runners stranded.
The Bulldogs struck again when Parks led the fifth inning off with a double and David singled him home to make it a 6-2 lead. Thompson once again went to his bullpen after that, this time calling for Parker Carlson.
Georgia once again loaded the bases after an error by [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] and Carlson walked a batter. The Bulldogs took advantage of the opportunity with a two-RBI single by LaPlante to make it 8-2 and break the game open.
The Tigers chased Georgia starter Liam Sullivan in the fifth inning after Kirby singled and Bobby Pierce reached on an infield single. Cooper McMurray entered as a pinch hitter and smoked a double to right field to make it 8-4 and get Auburn back in the game.
Auburn’s offense caught fire in the sixth inning. Howell walked to start the inning and Cole Foster doubled to bring Ware up with two runners in scoring position and nobody out. Ware smashed his 11th homer of the season to left center to make it an 8-7 game and seize the momentum for Auburn.
It would not last as the Bulldogs went on to score 16 runs in the eighth inning and prevent Auburn from sweeping the series.
