© Photo by David Gray/Auburn Tigers
Takeaways: Auburn baseball falls 3-2 to Alabama State
Auburn continued to struggle against an in-state opponent. What are the biggest takeaways from the game?
The Auburn Tigers hosted the Alabama State Hornets at Plainsman Park tonight and lost 3-2.
The Tigers trailed by two in the bottom of the ninth inning, but managed to make it a one-run game. The comeback ultimately fell short, however, and Auburn lost its first midweek contest of the season.
What are the main things to take away from the game?
Christian Herberholz had a solid start
Christian Herberholz got the start for the Tigers tonight and had one of the best starts the team has seen all season. That is one of the few positives for Auburn tonight.
Herberholz pitched five scoreless innings in which he allowed only three hits and struck four batters out while walking none.
Herberholz' last outing was not his best, so the Tigers were happy to see him bounce back.
Auburn was stagnant at the plate
As a team, the Tigers were only able to put two runs across of of five hits. No one had a strong night individually as all five hits came from a different player.
Cade Belyeu hit a triple which was Auburn's only extra-base hit of the night. The Tigers' lone RBI of the evening belonged to Chris Stanfield.
More often than not, a full-team effort is needed at the plate to coume out with a win. Auburn did not get that tonight.
It is time to hit the panic button
Auburn had about as bad of a start to conference play as could be expected, but has consistently taken care of business against non-conference opponents this season. Tonight was a different story.
The Tigers are only four games above .500 on the season, hold the worst record in the SEC and are in serious danger of not making it to the conference tournament.
Additionally, Adam Cole of the Opelkia-Auburn news reported that star players Ike Irish and Bobby Peirce are both dealing with injuries and could miss time.
Things have not gone according to plan this season, but Auburn's schedule does ease up after this weekend.
Auburn is now 18-14 on the season and 2-10 in conference play.
What's Next?
The Tigers take on the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats at Plainsman Park this weekend. Game one is set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT, game two is Friday at 6 p.m. CT and game three is Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Game one will be broadcast on ESPNU and games two and three will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The Auburn Sports Network broadcast for each game can be heard locally on Wings 94.3 FM or streamed anywhere on the Auburn Athletics app.
