Takeaways from Auburn baseball's loss to Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon
The Auburn Tigers baseball team dropped an ugly game against the Austin Peay Governors, 15-6, to even the series at one game each.
Here's what you need to know from the contest:
Auburn couldn't get out of its own way
The Tigers, a team asked to "dominate the routine play" by head coach Butch Thompson, did everything but that in this one.
Auburn finished with seven errors and several other sloppy defensive lapses, with most of them either resulting in unearned runs or artificially extending innings that could have ended.
It ran the gamut, too - missed defensive plays at a corner infield spot, with two different deflections off of a fielder's glove that allowed the runner to get on base when it would have been an out. Everyone attacking the ball and no one covering the base on a bunt attempt early in the game. A throwing error after a slick defensive play up the middle that took away a putout and extended an inning. A dropped popup in the outfield.
Of Austin Peay's fiveteen runs, seven of them were unearned due to the errors and two more of them came in innings where Auburn committed an error.
(Auburn also gave the Governors three free baserunners thanks to HBPs, although none of them came around to score.)
The offense could not get going
Stop me if you've heard this before: Auburn struggled to generate offense against a starting pitcher.
Andrew Devine, a Texas Tech transfer into Austin Peay, rebounded from a first-pitch single to Mason Maners and a homer to Cooper Weiss in the 1st to absolutely shut down Auburn's offense from that point forward.
By the time Devine came out after the 7th inning, he had put up six scoreless innings after the opening frame with one hit allowed, walking two and striking out five during that span. He threw 96 pitches, with only 56 landing for strikes, but just didn't allow Auburn to get any momentum at the plate. Several of Auburn's four baserunners after the first inning (two walks, one base hit, and an HBP) never even advanced to second base.
But unlike several of Auburn's previous opponents, who had a stout starting pitcher but allowed Auburn to get back into the game late against their relievers - thinking about Iowa and projected 1st round pick Brody Brecht here - the Tigers just couldn't do enough against the Governors bullpen, either. Cooper Weiss singled and Ike Irish immediately homered in the 8th to put two runs on the board and Auburn battled back with two more in the ninth, but just ran out of time in this one.
The Tigers pitching just wasn't up to the task today
Auburn used seven different pitchers in this one, but none of them were particularly effective.
Starter Carson Myers lasted just three innings, giving up seven hits and four runs. He started off behind the eight-ball, with Austin Peay scoring three runs before he recorded his first out.
The Tigers finished with having allowed sixteen hits, walking nine, and hitting three batters. Believe it or not, the score could have been worse, with the Governors leaving the bases loaded in the first inning and leaving a runner on third in two other innings, as well as twice ending an inning on a caught stealing.
(For the game, Austin Peay stranded fifteen runners.)
What's next for Auburn baseball?
The Tigers have the series-deciding matchup with Austin Peay on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM, and the game broadcast is available via streaming on SEC Network+.