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Auburn pitcher/infielder Keegan Thompson (7) walks off after pitching out of a jam with a 2-1 lead in the eighth during Alabama's NCAA baseball game with Auburn, Friday, April 11, 2014, at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Keegan Thompson's first career relief appearance went just as well as the games he's started throughout his dazzling freshman season.

Ultimately, the Auburn freshman's surprise showing out of the bullpen made the difference Friday, as he helped the Tigers escape a jam in the eighth en route to a 2-1 victory over Alabama before a crowd of 6,069 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

"Drastic times, drastic measures. It's time right now to decide we've got to win each game. I'm taking it one game at a time.

I'll treat it like it's the last game of the College World Series. We're going to play each game to win it."

Thompson, who entered at 5-1 with a 1.71 earned run average, struck out

Mikey White

, induced a

Ben Moore

groundout and struck out

Kyle Overstreet

to end the threat in the eighth.

In the ninth,

he struck out

Wade Wass

and

Austen Smith

before he stumbled into some unique drama.

He struck out

Chance Vincent

, too, but the ball skipped past catcher

Blake Austin

to extend the game. After a single by pinch-hitter

Casey Hughston

, Thompson induced Hunter Webb into a game-ending flyout.

"It's something I hadn't done before," said Thompson, who was originally slated to start Saturday's game. "Coach told me earlier in the week, 'We've got to do what we've got to do to win.' If I have to go to the bullpen and throw a couple of innings on Friday and not start on Saturday and might come in and start Sunday, it's what I'm going to have to do."

Golloway said he hadn't decided who would start Saturday or how he'd use Thompson, who threw 41 pitches, the rest of the weekend.

"It will be somebody on our pitching staff," Golloway said. "We won't go to position players yet."

It marked the sixth time this season Alabama (22-11, 8-5 SEC) has lost 2-1. The Crimson Tide entered atop the SEC West but has scored just twice in its past two games.

Alabama has yet to win when it hasn't scored three runs.

"Our team has to improve on is giving more competitive at bats," Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said. "We've got to score more runs and if we do that we could be a hell of a team."

Senior

Dillon Ortman

was the beneficiary of Thompson's appearance. He collected his sixth win of the season after he allowed five hits and struck out two in seven innings.

He received all of his run support in the second when Auburn (21-14, 6-7) went to work on Alabama starter

Spencer Turnbull.

Austin drew a one-out walk and

Daniel Robert

singled him over to third.

Connor Short's

sacrifice fly plated Austin, but the Tigers weren't done, as

Jordan Ebert's

infield single with the bases loaded extended the lead, 2-0.

Alabama made it 2-1 in the fourth in an inning that could have been much worse for Ortman.

The Crimson Tide loaded the bases with one out after singles from Overstreet and Wass and a Smith hit-by-pitch. Vincent singled to drive home Overstreet but the threat promptly ended when Will Haynie, back from a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks, grounded into a double play.

"I think that's where we've got to correct some things," Gaspard said. "We really have to have that emphasis and urgency early in the game when you get in those opportunities to score. College baseball now, we all see it, it's tough to score runs. So when you have those one, two, three opportunities that's when you've got to deliver that big hit, be it a sac fly, whatever it may be."

Turnbull battled through control issues to log seven innings. He had as many hit batsmen (four) as hits surrendered while striking out six and walking two.

"I'm not worried about the (offense)," Turnbull said. "I think I shouldn't have let them score any so that bothers me. I think one run should have won this game for us. I'm not frustrated with them at all, I'm frustrated with myself."

Freshman Nick Eicholtz threw the final two innings for Alabama, which will look to rebound Saturday at 6:05 p.m.

"It's extremely frustrating when your offense isn't really clicking," Moore said. "I don't know what it is about 2-1 losses ... we've just got to be better. The pitchers gave us a chance to win this game, but overall, offensively, we've just got to be a lot better."