No. 14 Oklahoma Unable to Escape Early Hole in Loss to No. 11 Auburn

After giving up three runs in the first two innings of Friday’s game against No. 11 Auburn, the Sooners were forced to play catch-up.

No. 14 Oklahoma mustered only one hit in the first three innings of the contest before finally finding an offensive rhythm in the middle of the game. The better approach at the plate, though, didn’t translate to a victory, as the Tigers won Game 1 of the series in Auburn 6-4.

The Sooners and the Tigers got off to two very different starts.

OU got Jaxon Willits to third base after a single, an error and a balk in the first inning, but he didn’t come in to score. The Sooners didn’t put any more runners on the bases over the next two innings.

Auburn, on the other hand, shelled Oklahoma starter LJ Mercurius. The Tigers scored three runs on five hits over the first two innings, and two of those knocks were solo home runs.

The Tigers held a 3-0 lead after three innings — and they held that same three-run advantage for most of the next six frames.

Oklahoma finally got on the board with RBI hits from Deiten Lachance and Brendan Brock in the fourth. But Auburn’s Eric Guevara hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to get the Tigers’ lead back to three.

That pattern continued in the sixth inning when Auburn answered a Jason Walk RBI single with a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 6-3 advantage.

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Lachance drove in another run on an RBI single in the eighth and Auburn didn't answer it, but the Sooners went down in order in the ninth as the Tigers sealed their win.

Mercurius collected the loss, allowing four earned runs on five hits, two walks and two hit-by-pitches in three innings. His ERA jumped to 5.33 after his rocky outing.

Auburn starter Andreas Alvarez got the win, giving up three earned runs on five hits and a walk in 6 ⅔ innings.

Lachance and Walk each logged two hits in the loss, while Guevara recorded a game-high three hits for the Tigers. Auburn outhit Oklahoma 11-9.

After Friday’s loss, Oklahoma is 28-13 overall and 10-9 in SEC play. The Sooners have lost five of their last six series openers.

Auburn improved to 29-12 and 11-8 with its victory.

The Sooners must win on Saturday to avoid a series loss to the Tigers. The first pitch of Game 2 is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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