JACKSONVILLE, Ala. \u2013\u00a0No. 4 Auburn fell behind in the first inning and failed to make a comeback in a 4-1 loss at No. 24 Jacksonville State Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just didn\u2019t do enough. I thought we were pretty lethargic offensively, but give those guys credit. They keep winning games and have done a good job all season,\u201d head coach Butch Thompson<\/a> said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t bring your A game in one of the categories you could absolutely lose to the teams that we\u2019re playing down the stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n The game wrapped up an eight-game road trip during which the Tigers went 5-3 with a pair of top-10 series wins. Twelve of the Tiger\u2019s last 15 games have been played on the road with the team going 8-4 during the stretch.<\/p>\n Marcel Kulik<\/a> turned in a season-high 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to give the Tigers a chance at a comeback. However, trailing by three, the Tigers left two runners on base with nobody out in the seventh and grounded into an inning-ending double play with a runner on third in the eighth.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel good. My stuff has been pretty good, and I\u2019m really happy to have such a good defense behind me whenever I\u2019m on the mound,\u201d Kulik said. \u201cIt\u2019s good. I can trust them to throw my stuff and let the people put it in play and they\u2019ll make plays.\u201d<\/p>\n One of seven programs in the country with 40 or more wins, Jacksonville State (41-11) wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard with a walk and two hits, including a two-out RBI single, in the first inning.<\/p>\n Auburn (35-16) threatened to answer with a pair of baserunners in scoring position in the second, but a called third strike ended the inning without damage.<\/p>\n Griffin Graves<\/a> (2-1) retired the next seven batters he faced after allowing the run on a two-out single in the first, but Jacksonville State extended its lead to 4-0 on two walks, two hit batters, a hit, a sacrifice fly and a safety squeeze in the fourth. Three of Jacksonville State\u2019s first four runs reached on free passes.<\/p>\n Gamecocks\u2019 starter Ryan Geraghty held Auburn scoreless and to just two hits, both from Chris Rembert<\/a>, in his first five innings of work. He retired the first two batters faced in the sixth before Bub Terrell<\/a>\u2019s two-out single ended Geraghty\u2019s career-long outing.<\/p>\n