AUBURN, Ala. - For the second time in less than as week, Georgia was one strike away from winning a big SEC game only to have the opponent roar back, handing the Bulldogs another heartbreaking loss.
Last week it was South Carolina that scored the tying and go-ahead runs with two out and a two-strike court. Thursday, it was Auburn's turn.
The Tigers were down by three with two out and a two-strike count, before rallying for three runs to tie before winning in 11 innings 7-6.
"This was another tough one because we were in a position to win and we didn’t close it out,” said head coach Scott Stricklin. “It hurts. It’s supposed to hurt when you lose like this, but the good thing about baseball is you can’t dwell on it because we get to come right back out here Friday and play again. We have a chance to even up the series, and we need to come out and play well. I know Jaden Woods is going to give us a good start, and our offense is going to score some runs.”
Georgia led 6-3 going to the ninth and was a strike away from its first Southeastern Conference win when the Tigers (15-6-1, 1-3 SEC) began their rally. Auburn got a two-out, two-run double from Bryson Ware, and he eventually tied the game when he scored on a throwing error. With two outs in the 11th, Carter Wright drew a bases-loaded walk for the Tigers' first SEC win as the Bulldogs dropped to 14-8 (0-4 SEC).
Georgia struck first in the fourth. After tossing three perfect frames, Auburn left-hander Tommy Vvail issued a leadoff walk to Ben Anderson. Graduate Connor Tate followed with an infield hit to bring up redshirt freshman Charlie Condon. He extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a run-scoring single. Junior Parks Harber delivered an RBI-single to move his hitting streak to 10 games. With one out, junior Fernando Gonzalez smacked a run-scoring double to centerfield as the Bulldogs claimed a 3-0 lead.
Auburn got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on a one-out, RBI-double by Ike Irish. Georgia turned to graduate Dalton Rhadans in relief of freshman Kolten Smith. After a walk, he battled back to strike out the next two Tigers to keep it 3-1. In the fifth, Tiger second baseman Caden Green notched his first home run, a solo shot to make it 3-2. In the sixth, the Bulldogs went up 4-2 on an RBI groundout by Will David. Corey Collins and Fernando Gonzalez began the inning with base hits and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Sebastian Murillo. Auburn made it a one-run game again in the sixth when Ware led off with his 10th home run.
In the seventh, Tate smacked a one-out double for the 13th three-hit game of his career, however, he would be stranded at third. Georgia looked to freshman Matthew Hoskins in the seventh after Rhadans provided 2.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits with five strikeouts. The Tigers threatened as the first two reached on walks, however, Hoskins and the Bulldogs maintained a 4-3 edge.
In the ninth, David smashed a ball off the left-field wall for a leadoff double. Auburn brought in Will Cannon after Christian Herberholtz had pitched three innings and allowed just a pair of hits. The Bulldogs would add a couple of insurance runs for a 6-3 lead. However, in the ninth, the Tigers rallied to tie the contest. In the 10th, Auburn had runners at second and third with one out, and Will Pearson and the Bulldogs retired the next two Tigers to send it to the 11th.
Auburn reliever Will Cannon (2-0) pitched the final three innings and allowed one run on one hit for the win. Georgia graduate Kyle Greenler, who came on in the 11th, dropped to 1-1.
The series continues Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 7:02 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ and available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
