Auburn lost to Mississippi State 10-3 in the opening game of their series on May 7, following a first-inning grand slam by the Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field.
The result puts Auburn behind in the series and highlights how an early mistake set the tone for the rest of the game. The team was unable to recover from an initial four-run deficit and struggled against strong pitching from Mississippi State.
Head coach Butch Thompson said, “They wound up getting those bases loaded and got the big swing right there, but we have to be able to overcome things like that, too. Even if we’re used to it or not. All-in-all, if you look at the game, we did not get a leadoff man on. We were the puppet tonight, and they were the puppeteer, and I think it was on both sides.”
Mississippi State scored in five out of eight innings at bat and answered each time Auburn managed to score. Jake Marciano started for Auburn but gave up a grand slam after an error extended the first inning. Tomas Valincius pitched for Mississippi State and retired nine straight Auburn hitters with six strikeouts before allowing a hit in the fifth inning.
Despite some offensive highlights such as Bub Terrell’s two-run home run tying him for most home runs on his team this season, Auburn could not close the gap as Mississippi State continued adding runs throughout. Abe Chancellor provided relief pitching with his eighth straight scoreless appearance.
Chancellor said, “I’m just going in, filling up the strike zone, trusting my defense. That’s a huge part. I can go out there, throw strikes and try to get the first guy out and go from there.”
Thompson added: “There’s no time to feel sorry for yourself. We’ve been squeezing for five weeks, but that doesn’t matter. We have to get right back out here, get behind (Andreas) Alvarez, make whatever adjustments we need to and come out and try to win a baseball game.”
Game two between Auburn and Mississippi State is scheduled for Friday evening.
