AUBURN, Ala (EETV) - In a ranked SEC matchup the No. 12 Auburn Tigers fell to the No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks Thursday night.
With a very low score of 0-1 the Razorbacks beat the Tigers in Plainsman Park. The game revolved around both teams' impressive pitchers.
In his first SEC start, Connor Mcrbride, a junior pitcher for Auburn, had a strong pitching game throwing around 59% strikes. Mcbride gave up one run, four hits, and two walks.
In the top of the 1st inning, with McBride pitching for Auburn, Stovall was hit by a pitch, putting him on base with no outs. However, on a subsequent play, Diggs struck out swinging, and Stovall was caught stealing, resulting in two outs. The only run of the game occurred after when Hawaii native Wehiwa Aloy stepped up to the plate and crushed a home run in the first inning giving Arkansas the lead.
The game continued with multiple strikeouts from both teams' pitchers. Auburn’s defense shined in the 2nd inning with an impressive play to try to regain momentum. However, Auburn only had three hits the whole game and wasn’t able to capitalize going forward.
In the top of the 3rd inning, Wilmsmeyer singled and Stovall walked, advancing runners but resulting in no runs for Arkansas. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Auburn's Hall struck out, Hernandez singled, but a double play ended their scoring chance.
In the 4th inning, Arkansas registered a hit but was unable to convert it into a run, showcasing Auburn's resilient defense. Despite having scoring opportunities in the bottom of the 4th, Auburn couldn't maximize on runners in scoring position, resulting in a scoreless inning.
The 5th inning saw both teams struggle offensively, with Arkansas failing to reach base and Auburn unable to produce any runs or hits. Throughout these innings, both teams demonstrated their defensive strengths, maintaining a competitive game.
Following the 5th inning, pitching changes occurred and defensive plays were made by both teams however the score never changed.
Coming into this game the Tigers were ready to face some of the best pitchers in all of college baseball. Hagen Smith, a pitcher from Tyler City, Texas had an outstanding pitching game with a total of 12 KO’s for Arkansas.
Overall, both teams' pitching crews shined and definitely made it hard to gain any offensive momentum on either side.
Auburn will face Arkansas again two more times in this series, Friday and Saturday in Plainsman Park.
