Auburn Baseball: Road Woes Continue As Troy Topples Tigers

Jack Owen (44)
Photo: Wade Rackley /Auburn Athletics

In a game that featured two weather delays, Troy uses a late rally to knock off Auburn on Tuesday at Riddle-Pace Field

Auburn Baseball (35-18) had hopes of snapping a cold streak on the road Tuesday at in-state foe Troy (36-17). The Tigers entered the game on a three-game skid following a sweep at the hands of Ole Miss last weekend in Oxford and needed some sort of rejuvenation ahead of a big series at home against LSU.

Despite having a strong start, Auburn lost momentum following a pair of rain/lightning delays in the middle innings, ultimately giving way for Troy to score 8 runs over the final three innings to defeat Auburn, 9-5.

The Auburn offense provided support early for starting pitcher Jack Owen, who allowed just one earned run and five hits in 4.1 innings with 6 strikeouts. A wild pitch allowed Will Holland to score in the top of the 1st inning, while Jay Estes picked up an RBI by a bases-loaded walk, and Edouard Julien and Brendan Venter scored on a fielders choice to give Auburn a 4-1 lead before going to the bullpen in the 5th inning.

The Trojan bats found a spark with the first two relief pitchers Auburn used, Welby Malczewski and Calvin Coker. Troy scored six runs in innings 7-8, including a four-run 6th that gave them the lead.

The momentum shift worsened for Auburn in the top of the 7th inning, as that is when the two delays were present. Heavy rain caused the first delay, and lightning detected at an unsafe distance was the reasoning for delay #2. After the delay, Auburn was able to score one run on a bases-loaded walk in the 7th, but that was not enough to stop the Trojan’s push.

A two-run double by Cole Prestegard in the 8th and a two-run home run by Joey Denison in the 9th gave Troy the 9-5 win.

Coker was charged with the loss, he moves to 3-2 on the season. Jay Estes went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI, Judd Ward led the charge with 2 RBI for Auburn’s offense.

Auburn wraps up the regular season with a three-game series with LSU (32-21, 14-13 SEC) beginning Thursday at Plainsman Park. The Bayou Bengals defeated Northwestern State on Tuesday, 9-5, and took 2-of-3 from Alabama last weekend in Baton Rouge.