Causey gives up 8 earned runs, Tennessee drops series opener to Auburn, 9-5

Another rough outing for the Vols’ starter

Vols’ starter AJ Causey gave up eight earned runs in his second-straight outing — this time in just 1.1 IP — and the offense managed just two hits and no runs after the second frame as Auburn took game one of the weekend series by a comfortable 9-5 margin.

The fireworks went off early Friday as the teams scored 13 of the game’s 14 runs in the first two innings.

Tennessee struck first with a Christian Moore double followed by Blake Burke’s 17th double of the year, which places him in a tie for first in the NCAA. One batter later, Kavares Tears hit his ninth long ball of the season. The ball traveled 425 feet and left his bat at 106 MPH.

The Vols had to feel good after the top of the first with the three-run lead, and then Causey struck out the first two batters of the bottom half of the inning. But then he gave up a solo home run, three-straight singles, the last of which plated a run, and a three-run home run to put the Tigers up 5-3. Causey struck out the final batter of the half inning to stop the bleeding, but the damage was done.

The bats battled back in the top of the second, when Cal Stark singled and Christian Moore brought him home with a home run to straight away center that was just absolutely crushed. It put Moore in first place on the team with 11 dingers so far this year.

The ball went nearly 440 feet with a 112 MPH exit velocity. Moore’s hit four home runs since conference play began and is tied for the team lead in total bases.

After the fifth earned-run allowed, Auburn switched pitchers, but Tennessee answered with two singles and a four-pitch walk to load the bases. But Dean Curley struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied at five. Those three men stranded came back to haunt the Vols.

In the bottom of the inning, Causey K’d his fourth hitter of the game, but then surrendered a double, a bunt that went for a hit, and another single that plated a run. Vitello switched Causey out for Aaron Combs, but Combs immediately issued a full-count walk, then a run scored on a fielder’s choice and another single scored another run. Auburn tried to bunt another run in, but Tennessee got the out and got out of the inning. But the Tigers went for four hits and three runs, which broke the tie and put Auburn up 8-5.

Unfortunately for the Vols, Auburn’s two relief pitchers — Carson Myers and Jim Armstrong — pitched 7.2 innings of four-hit ball. Myers settled in after his rocky start in the second frame and worked around four walks but gave up one run, just three of the hits and struck out four out of the 15 batters he faced. Even worse for Tennessee, Armstrong was even better. He struck out six, gave up just one hit and one walk in four IP. He notched his second save of the year with his performance.

This is a disappointing loss for UT, considering the Tigers were just 17-11 entering the game and had just one win in nine SEC games. It’s also a bit worrying, considering this was another awful performance from Causey, who was the best starter in a rotation that doesn’t appear to be the team’s bright spot. Luckily there’s still two games remaining this weekend for TN to secure the series win.