Errors in seventh cost Tigers

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama scored three runs while only getting two balls out of the infield in the seventh inning as the Auburn baseball team fell, 5-4, on Saturday afternoon.

The loss dropped Auburn to 24-20, 8-12 SEC while Alabama moves to 24-21, 9-11 SEC.

With Auburn holding a 3-2 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh and Michael Hurst (2-3) on the mound, Alabama scored three runs to go up, 5-3. Pinch-hitter Matt Bentley was hit by Hurst’s first pitch and then moved to second on Jake Smith’s bunt single, a pop-up that Auburn first baseman Joseph Sanders couldn’t get to in time to make a play.

Kyle Moore then laid down a bunt that Hurst fielded cleanly, but his turn and fire to third went wide of David Cunningham, allowing Bentley to score the tying run. Pinch hitter Tyler Odle then singled to right, scoring Smith and giving Alabama a 4-3 lead. Brandon May’s two-out single three batters later scored Moore.

“We messed up two bunt defenses, and that gave them three runs,” Auburn coach Tom Slater said. “I am disappointed in the fact that we have been such a good defensive club all year; the one thing we haven’t done a lot is beat ourselves with our defense and today we did.”

Alabama struck for two runs in the bottom of the first as Kent Matthes hit a two-out, two-run double to the gap in right-center, scoring Josh Rutledge and Alex Avila for an early 2-0 lead.

Matt Hall’s third home run of the year, a two-out rope over the wall in left-center, made it a 2-1 game in the top of the fifth.

Auburn then took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth with Friday night’s hero, Brian Fletcher, coming through again as the freshman scorched a game-tying double to right-center that scored Mike Bianucci, who singled to lead off the inning, stole second and went to third on Sanders’ single. Cunningham’s groundout with the infield in scored Sanders to give Auburn its first lead of the day.

After the wild seventh, Bianucci got Auburn to back within a run at 5-4 with his eighth home run of the year, and the 30th of his career, with a leadoff blast into the oak tree in right-center in the top of the eighth, but Auburn was unable to get a runner in scoring position the rest of the way.

Josh Copeland (3-2) picked up the win for Alabama, allowing a single hit in 1 2/3 innings of work.

Austin Graham earned his first save of the season by throwing the final two innings, allowing a run on three hits.

Auburn starter Cory Luckie left the game in the bottom of the third after two innings due to an unspecified arm injury. He allowed two runs on two hits with two strikeouts and a walk before departing.

The two teams will square off in the rubber game today at 2 p.m. in a game televised live by CSS (Channel 27 in Lee County).

Auburn will send freshman right-hander Bradley Hendrix (1-1, 5.21) to the hill while Alabama will counter with junior rightie Robert Phares (1-3, 6.31).