AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - Auburn comes from behind ending the game in the bottom of the eleventh in an odd way. Auburn won 7-6 giving the team their first conference win of the season. This marks Auburn's eighth comeback win of the season.
Down three runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Tiger's night seemed over. However, after a two-out double by Kason Howell and a hit by pitch from Cole Foster, Bryson Ware smashes a 2-run RBI double down the rightfield line. Georgia then intentionally walked freshman standout, Ike Irish, before giving the bat to Justin Kirby. Kirby put a ball in play to Bulldog shortstop Sebastian Murillo and reached base on a crucial throwing error. This error allowed Ware to score and extend the game into extra inning play.
"That's a guy that's had an unbelievable year and he didn't try to do too much. That's between the first basemen and the first base bag. If your head flies off or if you try to circle and pull off the pitch, you just can't have success. He just took what was given and shot the ball down the right field line," said head coach Butch Thompson on Ware's RBI double in the ninth. "That shows you maturity in an at-bat and a ton of believability for how locked in he is. Just taking what was given and making the most of it. Oh my gosh, that was a huge swing for us in the ballgame."
Reliever Will Cannon then held the Bulldog offense silent for the next two innings giving the Tiger offense a chance to show what they're made of. Cannon went 3.0 IP allowing one run with one hit and three strikeouts. Cannon is credited with the win.
Irish and pinch hitter Cooper McMurray got the bottom of the eleventh started with back-to-back singles with a single. With runners on first and third, the electric crowd made its presence felt, especially by Georgia reliever Kyle Greenler. The pitcher collapsed walking the bases loaded before walking Carter Wright to give the Auburn Tigers the one run they needed to win.
"We've been down a lot all year," Irish said. "It just shows the type of guys we got on our team and we're blue-collar and have a lot of grit. This is a gritty team and we play with grit. We don't have the best players or best anything but we got grit."
Starter Tommy Vail came out of the gate dominating the Bulldogs, striking out five and allowing no hits and no runs in the nine batters he saw during the first three innings. The fourth inning is a different story. The Bulldog's lineup had all seen Vail's stuff before, and they saw his fastball better this time through. Vail ended up going 5.0 IP with seven strikeouts allowing 4 earned runs in seven hits.
The Tigers take on the Georgia Bulldogs again Friday at 6 CDT for game two of the three-game series. Tanner Bauman will get the start. for the Tigers.
