GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Auburn fought back from an early deficit to take a lead in the middle innings but couldn’t hold on in a 17-8 loss at No. 2 Florida Sunday afternoon at Condron Ballpark.
Bryson Ware hit a three-run home run to give Auburn an 8-3 lead in the top of the fifth, but Florida scored 14 runs on 10 hits, nine walks and two hit batters in its final four at-bats en route to the win.
“We got right where we wanted to,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We built that 8-3 lead and when I saw them run and catch us, just so many freebies to allow them to get back in the ballgame there.
“We didn’t throw the ball well, and Florida really started hitting and running away,” Thompson added.
Auburn (18-9-1, 3-6 SEC) threatened out of the gate for the third straight day, but the Tigers came up empty in their first at-bat and it was Florida (24-5, 7-2 SEC) who scored in the bottom of the frame. With the bases loaded and two outs, a single to left field resulted in all three runs scoring.
The Tigers answered immediately as Cooper McMurray hit a 2-2 pitch well beyond the wall in center to put Auburn on the scoreboard. The ball left McMurray’s bat at 110 miles per hour and was his third homer of the year. A pair of walks put the tying run aboard, but a well-hit ball from Bobby Peirce was tracked down on the run in center field to end the inning.
Auburn got right back to even in the game with two runs to start the fourth. Nate LaRue singled through the left side and Caden Green yanked a two-run home run down the left field line, marking his second homer of the season. Later in the inning, a hit batter loaded the bases and Peirce scampered home on a wild pitch to give Auburn the lead. However, the Tigers left the bases loaded, bringing their four-inning total to nine stranded.
After surrendering the three runs in the first, Auburn starter Tommy Vail held Florida scoreless and without a hit in the second through fourth innings, allowing only one baserunner in the span.
Auburn continued to produce at the plate with four runs in the fifth. Peirce hit a one-out single back up the middle to score Green from second and, two batters later, Ware hit a three-run homer the other way to extend the lead to 8-3. The homer was Ware’s team-best 14th of the season, including his sixth in SEC play and seventh in the last 10 games.
Florida cut its deficit to two with three runs on one hit, four walks and a hit batter in the fifth, but Chase Isbell entered with the bases loaded and struck out the leadoff hitter to end the inning and maintain the lead.
Isbell recorded the first out of the sixth and got to an 0-2 count on the cleanup hitter before being forced to leave the game with an injury, and Florida went on to score a pair of runs on a bases-loaded walk and sacrifice fly to tie the game. The Gators took the lead on a two-RBI single from starting pitcher and designated hitter Jac Caglianone in the seventh and extended it lead with two more RBI hits later in the inning.
Hayden Murphy made his SEC debut in the eighth inning and struck out the first two batters he faced before five straight batters reached and a solo homer and grand slam capped off the scoring in the contest.
Justin Kirby doubled immediately after Ware’s three-run homer in the fifth, marking the Tigers’ 10th hit of the game, but Florida retired the next 13 Auburn hitters to end the game.
Peirce collected multiple hits in his third straight game in the series, and Ware extended his hit streak to 12 games and his reached base streak to 29 games dating back to last season.
Non-conference play continues for Auburn with a midweek matchup against UAB (9-17, 3-5 C-USA) at the Birmingham Barons’ Regions Field Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.
