Two home runs from Auburn first baseman Garrett Cooper led the Tigers to a 3-1 series opening victory over Missouri Friday, April 26. Auburn is now 25-16 on the season and 7-12 in the SEC.
Leading off in the fourth, Cooper hit his fifth homerun of the season deep over the left field wall to give the Tigers the 1-0 lead. Missouri pitcher Rob Zastryzny gave up another Cooper homerun in the sixth and finished the game having pitched eight innings with eight hits, three runs and a season-high 11 strikeouts.
"The fastball was up and I put a good swing on it," Cooper said of his fourth-inning shot. "(In the sixth) He left the 0-2 curveball in the middle of the plate and I kind of got fooled but I kept my hands back and luckily got barrel on it."
Auburn starter Conner Kendrick earned the win after pitching a career-long 8.1 innings and earned a career-high eight strikeouts.
"When I was down on some pitches I could pick myself back up with a little off-speed and that kept the hitters off balance a little bit," Kendrick said. "I threw some good curveballs tonight but my go-to pitch was my change-up."
Kendrick allowed seven hits, one run and three walks before being relieved by Terrance Dedrick who earned his fifth save.
"Conner did an outstanding job," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "He has a way to maneuver out of some trouble. He put himself into some trouble situations but he made some really big pitches. When he needs to make a really big pitch he has three weapons to use. He has a fastball, a breaking ball and a change-up and I thought he did an outstanding job with some help by our defense."
Auburn's game scheduled for Saturday, April 27 was cancelled because of rain in Columbia. Sunday will feature a double header with each game going seven innings starting at 12 p.m.
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