From the start to the end, it was a head-scratching loss to for Auburn baseball to Alabama. With just one out in the first inning, the Tigers already had action up in the bullpen.

Brooks Fuller had walked two and hit another, on top of a single, and there was a run home. In the ninth, the same frustrating situation played itself out. Closer Cody Greenhill allowed two-straight two-out RBI singles to give Alabama a tie and then the lead.

We were fortunate to not get down early in the game any worse," head coach Butch Thompson said after the 7-6 Auburn loss. “We were fortunate to give up just one in the first and second innings.”

Fortunate wasn’t a way to describe the night as a whole, or the way Auburn baseball has looked in recent weeks. The team has won just eight of its last 24 games. It sits at 11-12 in the SEC standings, with the potential of missing the NCAA Tournament all together if there is a bad finish against Georgia and LSU — both ranked teams.

This was a win within Auburn’s grasp, and one they needed. It was one in which they had a great comeback, scoring four runs in the eighth inning to take the lead, only to see it dissipate moments later. Finally, preseason All-American Will Holland, who entered the game with a .201 batting average, had the night of his season, going 3-for-4.

It seemed like the game where Auburn would turn things around, only suffer devastation yet again.

“I just thought we were trying hard all night," Thompson said. "Battled all the way back. Kind of disappointed, of course, not to be able to finish it off in the ninth inning.”

This loss comes on the heels of a more more disappointing three-game series last weekend against No. 4 Vanderbilt. Yes, the Commodores are good, but they outscored AU, 26-13, in the three-game sweep. Auburn doesn’t look like the same team that started 4-0 in the SEC or had a 15-game winning streak his year.

One of the more notable reasons that the Tigers lost on Saturday is the drop in velocity for Greenhill, the closer. It’s been a consistent theme this season that he’s been lights out in his first appearance of the weekend, and then struggles in his second. He finished off AU’s Friday night win over UA with ease. Then he pitched to hard contact on Saturday night — and into Sunday morning.

Auburn athletics doesn’t bring players to media availabilities after losses, but Thompson was at a loss to explain the struggles of Greenhill.

“I think that’s pretty much been the entire season," Thompson said. "So, yeah, he put the bat on the ball, and he’s been hit more the second outings of a weekend, if he comes in and pitches the second time. I don’t know what the challenge is.”

It was Joe Breaux that singled up the middle to tie the game. There was a runner at second and two outs. Then after a Kolby Robinson walk, Tyler Ras singled to left field to make it 7-6, effectively ending a long night that turned into morning because of a 90-minute weather delay.

Alabama, for its part, improves to 6-17 in the SEC. Despite the struggles, it’s not insignificant, because it puts the Crimson Tide 0.5 games up on Kentucky and South Carolina, and only one of those three will make the SEC Tournament in Hoover later this month.

Alabama and Auburn will finish their series on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.