The smack of a fastball against Joseph Sanders’ jaw silenced the 2,106 fans at Plainsman Park on Tuesday night and set an ominous tone for an ugly night of Auburn baseball.

Sanders took a 2-0 Kyle Putkonen fastball right under his left earflap in the first inning of the Tigers’ 8-2 loss to Samford. Instead of falling to the ground, Sanders immediately spun around and headed to the Auburn dugout and into the clubhouse.

The Tigers’ leading hitter knew instantly just how bad it was.

“There’s not much you can really say at that point,” coach John Pawlowski said. “I just felt awful for him.”

Sanders’ jaw cracked in at least one place and he could have surgery as early as Thursday, Pawlowski said. There was no immediate timetable on a potential return, but it’ll certainly be more a matter of weeks than days.

“He was having such a great year, and one pitch puts him in a tough spot,” Pawlowski said. “He’s going to have to battle
back from it. Just a very tough situation.”

Without Sanders, the Tigers are now in quite the tight spot heading into a pivotal three-game road series at No. 6 LSU.

Sanders leads the Tigers in hits (54), doubles (14), home runs (18), RBI (54) and batting average (.329).

He was also just one of three right-handed bats in the Tigers’ regular starting lineup, splitting between left-handers Trent Mummey and Ben Jones.

Pawlowski said freshmen Dan Gamache and Chezz McCann, along with sophomore Wes Gilmer, are all possibilities to fill in for Sanders at third base.

The trio has combined for 59 at-bats this season.

“Somebody else is going to have to step up,” Pawlowski said.

The immediate aftermath left Pawlowski as frustrated as he’s been all season.

Paul Burnside put the Tigers in a hole from the start with a three-run, three-hit first inning.

It’d be more than Auburn amassed in either category the entire night.

Casey McElroy and Hunter Morris each hit solo home runs to account for the Tigers’ lone hits and runs on the night against Putkonen, who came into Tuesday’s game with an 11.52 ERA and opponents hitting .397 against him.

Samford (15-26), meanwhile, rapped 16 hits off seven Auburn pitchers, which included Sean Ray, who hadn’t pitched since the first series of the season, and Kris West, a senior making his Auburn debut.

“The most non-competitive game we played all year,” Pawlowski said.

The bad night all around prompted Pawlowski to hold his postgame meeting with the players inside the clubhouse rather than their customary spot in left field.

“We didn’t do anything today that would give us a remote chance to win,” Pawlowski said. “We just weren’t competitive tonight and that falls squarely on everybody.”

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