Baseball drops 2 versus USC

Auburn ended a three-game Southeastern

Conference series at South Carolina

with one win and two more losses

under its belt last weekend.

Auburn hadn't taken a win from South

Carolina since 1997 until this past Saturday

with a 6-4 victory over the Gamecocks.

"The team responded after a tough

loss last night and, on a personal note,

my daughter (Mary-Louise) was here

today," said head coach John Pawlowski.

"It was her first game of the year, which

was a special game for her and it's just

really exciting, It's never easy, home or

on the road in the SEC. Jon Luke Jacobs

pitched out of some trouble, Bradley

Hendrix pitched in and out of some

trouble and then Austin Hubbard, when

the chips were down, he made pitches in

a big spot."

Jacobs, starting the team strong with

four strike outs and allowing only two

runs, was relieved by Hendrix in the fifth

inning with two outs and two players on.

He finished the inning with the first

player up with an easy pop up.

"I just wanted to keep the momentum

in our dugout and keep their hitters off

balance," Hendrix said. "Coach stresses

that we make big pitches in big situations

and I just focused and it worked

out for me."

Hubbard stepped in after three innings

and two more runs. He finished up

the game for the Tigers after a struggle

with a walk for the first batter.

"I had to battle tonight," Hubbard said.

"I didn't have much control over my

slider, but I tried

to put the fastball

in play, and I got a

couple of ground

balls and that really

helped out a

lot."

S h o r t s t o p

Casey McElroy

hit Auburn's 81st

home run for the

season in the third

inning, knocking

in three players.

This was his

fifth homer for the

season.

"What a big at bat by Casey, a twostrike

home run," Pawlowski said. "We

knew it was never going to be easy, but

I am excited for these guys and now we

have a chance, going into Sunday with

the series on the line."

First baseman Hunter Morris also

contributed a home run in the top of the

5th to right field moving the score to 6-0.

South Carolina answered back with

scores in the 5th and 8th inning, with

RBIs by outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr. and

Whit Merrifield.

Friday, Auburn lost the series opener

to South Carolina.

Pitcher Sam Dyson only gave away six

hits to the Tigers. The 8-3 win was Dyson's

first complete game of his career.

" ( D y s o n )

ov e rma t che d

us," Pawlowski

said. "We didn't

have many opp

o r t u n i t i e s

with only eight

base runners all

night long."

Kevin Patterson

hit his sixth

season home

run, putting Auburn

in the SEC

lead for home

runs. The 1997

and 1998 teams

are the only other ones to have more

than 80 homers in a season.

The Tigers ended the weekend with a

10-4 loss.

Joseph Sanders and Ben Jones each

had home runs, giving Auburn three

runs for the game.

Auburn ended the weekend 24-14,

8-10 SEC, and the Tigers will head to Baton

Rouge, La., for a three-game series

against No. 1 LSU Friday, April 24.

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