Auburn walked out of Plainsman Park with a 18-6 win over the Southern University Jaguars on Friday. The Jaguars came into the game 0-4 on the season hopeful for a first win.
In what was a sloppy game for both teams, Auburn was able to show some promise and get its second win in a row. The scoring kicked off in the bottom of the second inning when Auburn scored 7 runs, all of them unearned.
Southern showed some fight early as the Jaguars immediately responded with a 3-run home run in the top of the third. It was all Auburn from then on as the Tigers scored 2 in the third, 1 in the fifth, 4 in the sixth, 2 in the seventh, and another 2 in the ninth.
Offensively, Auburn was clicking as senior Jordan Ebert went 5 for 6 with 3 RBIs and Anfernee Grier recorded his third 3-hit game including a 3-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. With his five hits, Ebert became the first Auburn baseball player to do so since 2012. The spike in Ebert’s play came at a good time for the Tigers, as Niko Buentello went hitless for the first time this season.
“You don’t come to the park expecting to have five hits ever," Ebert said. "I think that is probably a career high for me, and three doubles, the way I play the game I try to find holes all over the place and I don't go out there and try to overswing and hit a lot of doubles, but running into a couple felt pretty good tonight.”
Defensively, Auburn’s pitching continued to be an issue. The Tigers rolled out six pitchers, none of whom were able to put the game away down the stretch.
“It was a challenging three hours and 45 minutes, of course they were out on the field a lot but we were to.” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson. “I thought that was the worst day for our ball club moving forward. I thought four or five guys on the mound didn't get better today. So that is a huge concern and we have alluded to it. I won’t get caught up in looking at the scoreboard and seeing a big victory.”
The Tigers continue the weekend series against Southern on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Plainsman Park.
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