AUBURN, Al - Auburn had a chance of sweeping Tennessee in Knoxville, but fell short in game two of the Sunday double header against Tennessee 8-1.
Earlier Sunday morning, the Tigers got their second ever series win in Rocky Top and their first since 2002. A game three victory would not only have improved Auburn's conference record to 9-3, but it would continue to help them fight for the top spot in the SEC.
Tennessee got out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Kaili Phillips grounded out to second base and scored Kaitlin Parsons from third. The offense continued when Amanda Ayala hit Aubrey Leach in from third after her bunt earlier in the first inning.
Alyssa Rivera answered back quickly in the top of the second inning with a solo shot to center field to cut the deficit to 2-1. The game stayed at a standstill when neither team could put up any runs in the third and fourth innings.
Tennessee started putting the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Volunteers scored three runs with a 2 RBI single to shortstop from Phillips and an RBI single from Ayala for her second RBI of the game.
The offense did not stop there however for Tennessee as they added on their final three runs of the game in the sixth inning. A two-out rally was in effect as Sophomore Ashley Morgan hit a three run home run to put the nail in the coffin.
Tennessee with the 8-1 win prevented Auburn from completing the series sweep. Their 13 hits were the most in a game since their shutout win vs. Middle Tennessee State on March 12th. The Volunteers move to 29-8 (7-5 SEC).
Despite the loss Auburn still won the series and boasts a 32-8 (8-4 SEC) record.
Auburn is tied for second place right now in the SEC with Alabama, following LSU in first place who is 11-4 in conference play.
The Tigers will be back in action on Friday April 12th at 6:00 PM on SEC Network+. They will host the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Solutions by The State News
