After getting the 2008 season off to a roaring start in its opening series, the Auburn baseball team came back down to earth last weekend against ACC-powerhouse Florida State.
The No. 11 Seminoles beat Auburn four straight times, twice at home and twice on the road. Florida State kept its unbeaten record in tact at 7-0, while the Tigers fell to 4-4
Homerun Tigers: Infielder Matt Hall, No. 5, and infielder Joseph Sanders, No. 18, celebrate with a high five after Sanders scored for the Tigers during a game against Florida State. Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR
The series began on a cold Thursday night in Plainsman Park. The Noles handed Auburn its first loss of the season, defeating the home squad 7-5.
Up 1-0 after two innings, FSU used four singles and a sac fly to plate three runs in the top of the third off of Auburn starter Luke Greinke.
Auburn struck back in the bottom of the fourth. After FSU starting pitcher Elih Villanueva hit Brian Fletcher and walked Hunter Morris, third baseman Joseph Sanders drove both runners in with a double to slice the lead in half.
Florida State added a run in the fifth, and the Tigers responded with one in the sixth to make the score 5-4. After a scoreless seventh, FSU’s Dennis Guinn blasted a 2-run homer over the left wall just inside the foul pole to give his team all the insurance it would need. Guinn was 3-for-4 with three RBI’s for the night.
Greinke, who pitched six innings and gave up four earned runs, took the loss for Auburn, while Villanueva earned his second win of the season for the Noles. Posey also came in and got his first save of the year for FSU by retiring the Tigers in the ninth.
“It’s frustrating to lose,” said Sanders, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI’s. “But, we kept trying and kept battling and that’s all we can do.”
Auburn head coach Tom Slater stayed positive after the loss.
“It’s early in the season. We left some guys on base and made a couple of mistakes, but we competed hard and gave ourselves an opportunity to win.”
In the second game in Auburn, FSU had to withstand a ninth-inning rally, but again got the better of the Tigers, winning a 6-5 contest Friday.
An RBI groundout by Morris put the Tigers on the board in the first, but FSU starting pitcher Matt Fairel shut down Auburn’s bats for the rest of his time.
The left-hander allowed only one earned run and three hits over a career-high seven innings to pick up his second win of the season.
Auburn’s starter, Cory Luckie, was not so successful. In the second inning, after a single and an Auburn error put two men on, Jack Posey doubled off the left field wall, and Tyler Holt singled to put FSU in front 2-1.
Following the fourth, Shuman slammed the door on FSU’s high-powered hitting attack. He gave up just three hits in his six innings of work. His coach praised his work performance.
“Scott Shuman was the story today,” Slater said. “His fastball was sinking well, and he didn’t give up many hard-hit balls. He kept us in the game.”
Auburn scored a two-out run in the bottom of the fourth after back-to-back doubles from Sanders and Patterson, but still trailed 6-2.
A Tony Caldwell sacrifice fly cut the deficit to two, then Justin Hargett laced a single into right field to make the score 6-5. However, FSU reliever Jimmy Marshall, who came in to start the ninth, struck out the next two batters to end the game.
Slater was not as upbeat after his team’s second straight loss.
“Offensively, we were not good today,” Slater said. “We did get the winning run to the plate in the ninth, but we have to be better than that to win.”
Though the series changed venues on Saturday, unfortunately for Auburn, the results remained the same.
FSU again jumped out to an early lead, used a strong starting pitching performance and hung on in the end to top the Tigers 4-3 at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.
Jason Stidham, the Noles’ second batter of the game, homered to put Auburn in the hole early. FSU’s Guinn kept up his hot hitting with a solo shot in the second inning, and, after another Guinn RBI in the third, Buster Posey drilled a pitch over the left center wall in the fourth to put FSU up 4-0.
All four runs were scored off of Auburn starter Taylor Thompson. He lasted four innings, giving up seven hits and walking three in his first loss of the season.
FSU starter Ryan Strauss cruised through the first seven innings, shutting out Auburn on five hits. But, when the Noles went to their bullpen in the eighth, the Tigers mounted a charge.
Following two quick outs, AU’s Greinke doubled down the line, and Mike Bianucci walked to set the stage for Morris. The left-handed swinging slugger, who was the 84th overall pick in last year’s MLB draft, smacked a 3-run home run to make it 4-3.
The series finale came Sunday afternoon and wasn’t close from the start. The home-standing Seminoles got to AU starter Austin Hubbard three times in the first inning and never looked back en route to a 10-1 blowout win over Auburn.
Auburn’s four pitchers combined to walk 10 batters in the game. The Tigers didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning off FSU starter Mike McGee.
Auburn plays at home tonight at 6 p.m. against VMI.
