AUBURN, Ala. (February 19, 2025) – The University of North Alabama baseball team fell to the No. 25 ranked Auburn Tigers 6-2 in Plainsman Park on Wednesday. The Lions kept it close through seven innings before the Tigers posted a three-run inning in the bottom of the eighth.
For the fourth straight game, North Alabama struck first in the game. Senior second baseman Jonathan Lane led off the top of the first with a single to right field. Junior left fielder Nash Rippen followed him up with a 1-1 count where he took the third pitch over the right-center wall to open the lead up 2-0.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Reese Young got the nod to start on the mound. The defense helped Young out early with two straight outs. After a couple of walks, Auburn shortstop Deric Fabian singled down the right side to score Ike Irish to make it 2-1 at the end of the first.
As the first inning saw the three scores from both teams, the pitchers then started to settle in. Auburn starting pitcher Andreas Alvarez went to work as he struck out seven batters in the next 10 faced.
Young leaned on the seven players behind him with two fly outs and a ground out in the bottom of the second. In the bottom of the third, two straight ground outs before a dribbler from the end of Irish's bat gets him a single. Right fielder RJ Sherwood finalized the inning after being backed up to the warning track to catch the fly ball from Fabian.
Young finished the day after 4.0 innings and junior right handed pitcher Landon Scruggs entered in the bottom of the fifth. On the second pitch of the Tiger's second baseman Chris Rembert's at-bat, he crushed it dead center to tie up the game 2-2 for a solo home run. After a pop out, ground out and fly out the Lions left a Tiger stranded in the bottom of the fifth.
The bottom of the sixth started well for Scruggs as he tossed two straight strikeouts. As third baseman Eric Snow dug into the batters box, he singled to left field and advanced to second on an error from Rippen. Freshman designated hitter Bub Terrell crushed one to the Auburn green monster that bounced back into play which scored Snow to make it 3-2.
Into the bottom of the seventh inning, senior right-handed pitcher John Allen Stogner stepped to the mound with the top of the Tigers lineup up to bat. He received help on the opening out as Craska chased down a pop out near the visiting dugout. After a battle with center fielder Cade Belie in a 3-2 count, Stogner caught him swinging. Lane finished the inning after Irish popped up near the pitcher's mound.
Head coach Jad Prachniak elected to keep it light on his pitchers, as redshirt junior right handed pitcher Justus Agosto got the nod for the bottom of the eighth. A bunt from the lead off batter and the next one walked, allowed for catcher Chase Fralick to sacrifice a bunt down third base line to move the runners into scoring position. Snow stepped back up and did so with a single to center field before Terrell hit a hard ground ball for a diving catch from senior shortstop Leighton Jenkins that notched another RBI as Fabian scored. The Tiger added two more runs to add cushion to their lead, 5-2.
After 14 pitches, junior right-handed pitcher Josh Bowerman took over for Agosto in the eighth. A 2-2 count for Rembert saw the fifth pitch scorched right to Jenkins that hit and bounced over him, which scored Snow for a third run of the inning. Bowerman retired the next batter with three strikes.
North Alabama only found two more hits after the opening inning.
"Reese gave us a strong start on the mound, I was impressed with how he carried himself in his first outing," said Prachniak. "Great start to the game for us, with the Lane single and the Rippen homer, but in order to beat a quality opponent we have to be able to string together more good at-bats as the game moves on. Some positive things to build on and some areas we need to tighten up, all in all this game will help us down the road."
Pitchers of Record
W – Griffin Graves (1-0)
L – Landon Scruggs (0-1)
S – Parker Carlson (1)
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions are scheduled to play the Saint Louis Billikens in Pearl, Miss. for a neutral site matchup with a double header on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
