In game two of Auburn’s three-game series with the Presbyterian Blue Hose, the Tigers used a four-run eighth inning to claim the 7-5 victory on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
Auburn broke through in the eighth, after entering the stanza trailing 5-3. A Jonah Todd bunt loaded the bases with no outs for Josh Anthony, who worked the pitch count and walked, forcing home a run. The Tigers then claimed their second lead of the game off a Daniel Roberts double, which brought home a pair of runners from second and third base. A sacrifice-fly by Jay Estes with a man on third scored the seventh run for Auburn and the fourth of the inning.
“Our boys are just battling,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “We continue to try to figure things out and get a little better, so I’m thankful for the victory.”
The Tigers committed a season-high four errors on the day, with infielder Luke Jarvis committing three, all of which were of the catching variety. The Auburn pitching staff as a whole turned in an efficient outing, but were plagued by the mistakes made on the back-end. The Tigers were paced primarily by sophomore Casey Mize, who tossed ten strikeouts on the day for his second-career double digit performance in that department.
“I thought the pitchers pitched good, there wasn’t an earned run,” Thompson said. “I thought Casey Mize threw the ball well. Ryan Watson, I thought that was another great day for him to grow up. If our defense had been what we’ve seen, I’m not sure [Presbyterian] scores today. The pitching is what we have to solidify to get confidence.”
Mize pitched 6.2 innings and threw 105 pitches before being relieved by freshman Ryan Watson, who was credited with the victory, his first of the season. Watson proved most effective in the top of the seventh inning, when the Auburn native tossed a clutch strikeout with the bases loaded and the game tied at three.
A common theme which beset the Tigers for much of the day was offensive inconsistency with runners in scoring position. Auburn, which outhit the Blue Hose 14-8, consistently landed runners on second and third with singles and doubles, but choked at the plate in the following at-bats.
“I was a little frustrated, personally,” Auburn senior catcher Blake Logan said. “I ended two innings myself. You’ve got to stay within yourself and not try to do too much, because that’s when things start to slide. I thought we did a good job of bouncing back.”
Auburn junior infielder Josh Anthony laced a single in
the third inning, extending his hitting streak to nine games. Anthony finished
2 for 3 at the plate with a trio of RBI's. Auburn moves to 11-5 amid their
23-game home stand, while Presbyterian falls to 9-8. The rubber match of the
series will be played on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch time set for noon
CST at Plainsman Park.
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