Don’t look now, but the Auburn Tigers are on a roll.
After falling behind in the conference standings, the Tigers have now picked up consecutive SEC series wins against Ole Miss, and now rival Georgia.
Auburn’s (28-16, 9-11) latest, a series-clinching 5-1 win on Friday night, April 24, was keyed by a strong pitching performance by Rocky McCord and a timely bases-clearing triple from Sam Gillikin.
With the bases loaded and the score knotted at one in the fourth inning, Gillikin launched a rocket into the right field wall, and as he strolled into third, the crowd of 3,609 at Plainsman Park erupted.
“That was a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Gillikin said. “Going back to the Vanderbilt series, two outs, bases loaded and I didn’t get it done then. I didn’t get much sleep that week. That was something I didn’t want to happen again, and I just wasn’t going to get out then.”
After Keegan Thompson, Saturday’s scheduled starter, was scratched—Golloway insisted it was minor, and Thompson could’ve thrown if they needed him to—McCord needed a strong night, and his performance was anything but “rocky”. After walking the first batter, McCord retired 11 straight Georgia batters before his no-hitter was broken up in the fourth inning. He ended his day with six innings pitched, one run allowed, and eight strikeouts—the most he’s ever fanned in an SEC game—before being lifted for Justin Camp in the seventh.
“I’m really pleased with the way our guys pitched,” said coach Sunny Golloway. “Our guys haven’t been that pumped up in a long time. Rocky had me fired up; I couldn’t stay in the dugout, I had to meet him at the foul line because I was so fired up for the big guy.”
For the second game in a row, Auburn struck first. Daniel Robert got the Tigers on the board in the first inning with a screaming double to left center field, scoring Melvin Gray, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games two batters earlier. Georgia evened the score at one in the top of the fourth, but Gillikin delivered in the bottom of the inning.
Cody Nulph added an insurance run in the eighth, giving Camp ample cushion to record his seventh save of the season.
Auburn hit a few milestones with the victory. The Tigers’ 28th victory of the season matched the entire total from 2014, but with still three conference series to go. They also picked up their fourth straight win, never having trailed in any of those four at any point, and by clinching the series against Georgia, Auburn has now taken four of the last five series against their cross-state rival.
With the end of the season rapidly approaching and Auburn fighting for their tournament lives in every series, McCord revealed that the Tigers are right where they need to be.
“A few weeks ago, after the Vanderbilt series, we got together and mapped out a plan for success for the end of the year,” McCord said. “We’re following that plan well. If we win tomorrow, we’ll be right on track to where we want to be.”
The potential sweep-clinching game Saturday, April 25, was pushed back to 5 p.m.—due to a forecast of heavy rain—from the original start time of 12 p.m. Dalton Rentz is scheduled to toe the rubber for Auburn.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
