Auburn Pitching Solid Again, Quiet Bats, Errors Lead to First Loss of Year

The Auburn Tigers couldn't a sluggish night at the plate and miscues in the infield to take the series over Holy Cross Saturday night

Auburn's Samuel Dutton struck out 7 in 4.1 innings and gave up just one earned run in a loss to Holy Cross. | Luke Allen / Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers stumbled in the second game of the three-game series against the Holy Cross Crusaders, losing 4-2. Early on, it became clear that it was going to be a pitcher duel between the Tigers’ Samuel Dutton and the Crusaders’ Sean Scanlon. Both pitchers had good days overall and kept their teams in it. Ultimately, the Tigers' loss can be attributed to sloppiness at the plate and in the field. Auburn was held to just two runs and the defense committed three errors. 

“When we did hit the ball hard, I think about Fabian there in the eighth inning, they didn’t fall,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “No ball was really getting out tonight and we hit too many fly balls. Leadoff guys didn’t get on, and to Holy Cross’ credit they shoved the ball in the strike zone. It feels like we need one big hit, and when that hit didn’t come it felt like there was some tension in our swings.”

Sunday’s matchup will now be a rubber match to decide the series winner.

Errors Spoil Solid Night on the Mound

The Tigers once again displayed greater control on the mound, striking out 11 batters as a team. Starting pitcher Samuel Dutton was responsible for seven of them. Another addition from the transfer portal gets the job done out of the gate. 

Auburn's bullpen was featured several different times as four other pitchers were used outside of Dutton. They used relievers John Armstrong, Jackson Sanders and Parker Carlson before ultimately closer Hayden Murphy finished the game. 

Sanders, who had been committed to the Tigers since he was in eighth grade, made his debut for the Tigers. He tossed two scoreless, no-hit innings and struck out two batters. 

However, miscues in the field overshadowed the strong night. Dutton allowed three runs, but only one of them was earned. There were errors in the infield in the second and third innings, allowing a run to score each time.

Silent Night at the Plate

The Tigers managed eight baserunners in the game but were only able to plate two of them. None of their five hits drove in a run. One came on a sac fly and the other came on a balk. 

One of the bright spots in the evening was outfielder Bristol Carter. Carter was making his season debut. He went 3-for-5 with a walk. He scored both runs and swiped three bags in the losing effort. 

“Yeah, I trust fully in my guys,” Carter said. “Like I said, it's baseball and it happens. We’re going to put this game behind us and worry about tomorrow's game. We’ll come back out here and try to bounce back and win the series.”

In the rubber match, the Tigers will be putting another freshman in, Christian Chatterton, to start the game. The Holy Cross Crusaders have tabbed junior right-hander Jaden Wywoda for Sunday’s game. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CST.