Auburn collapsed in heartbreaking fashion to Mississippi State Sunday night in the College World Series.

The Tigers led 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth and gave up four runs to lose. During that painful collapse, third baseman Edouard Julien made a costly error that allowed another run to score. Had Julien made the play, it would have ended the game. Instead, MSU walked it off with a single up the middle after a deflection off the pitcher’s glove to win 5-4.

Obviously, everyone is going to point to Julien’s costly error. As an infielder, Julien got out of his rhythm of fielding and throwing. That was aided in part by the runner going from second to third base. Still, Julien should have kept to his normal routine of fielding and throwing. Sure, Julien’s error was a massive part of the game, but he was also a big reason why Auburn had a lead in the ninth — and has had the season it has had.

After the game, Auburn head coach Butch Thompson was asked about the loss.

“I just went to find them and spend some time with them,” Thompson said about Julien. … “That’s a play we make and have the expectation to make it. But we might not even be in that situation to have a lead late if he hadn’t have knocked in those three runs for us in the ball game.”

D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers also shared Thompson’s first priority after the game — to make sure Julien was okay.

No doubt Julien’s confidence on defense is shaken. However, knowing your coach has your back certainly helps.