Astros reliever and UWM alum AJ Blubaugh excited about win over Auburn
Astros reliever AJ Blubaugh is a UW-Milwaukee product, and he was thrilled to see the Panthers beat Auburn in the NCAA tournament on May 29.
- The UW-Milwaukee baseball team lost to Auburn 8-1 in the NCAA Tournament regional final.
- Due to the double-elimination format, the two teams will play a winner-take-all game.
- Auburn scored five runs in the second inning to take a commanding lead in the first game.
The UW-Milwaukee baseball team’s Cinderella hopes are still alive in the NCAA Tournament.
But the Panthers now face probably the most pressure-packed game in program history.
UWM had to wait extra long for its regional final against Auburn and then never offered much resistance in an 8-1 loss in a game that started on May 31 and ended in the early hours of June 1 at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Alabama.
With the double-elimination format, the fourth-seeded Panthers and the top-seeded Tigers will meet later in the day on June 1 in a winner-take-all “Game 7.” The winner will advance to the super regional, a stage of the NCAAs that UWM has never reached.
That game will be at 5 p.m. and televised on ESPNU.
Auburn is packing a lot of action into a short amount of time. The Tigers’ elimination game against Central Florida was beset by weather delays. It started three hours late and then endured two lengthy stoppages.
UWM could only wait around until Auburn dispatched UCF, 9-3, and then got ready for a first pitch in the regional final at just after 10 p.m. CT.
The Panthers had won nine straight games, and were the tournament darlings after winning the Horizon League title in walk-off fashion and then shocking Auburn and UCF by racking up early leads of 10-0 and 9-0, respectively.
In the rematch with Auburn, the Tigers flipped the script by putting UWM in its first hole of the regional. Panthers starter Camden Kuhnke, a Hortonville native who is normally the team’s closer, struggled with his control. The Tigers pounced for five runs in the top of the second inning, with the biggest blow a towering three-run home run by Chase Fralick.
UWM right-hander Sotaro Ishida came on in relief and pitched three-plus scoreless innings. But he ran out of gas in the sixth inning, walking one batter before hitting three others. That allowed Auburn to plate three runs to take an 8-1 lead and extinguish any hope for the Panthers.
UWM’s offense managed only four hits while Auburn pitchers racked up 14 strikeouts.
