Free passes doomed Auburn Saturday as the Tigers dropped their season finale 8-4 to Ole Miss at Plainsman Park.
Auburn pitchers issued five walks, and four came around to score for Ole Miss.
“We started the game with a reliever, basically, and everybody else was a reliever,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “That’s probably not good enough to win an SEC ballgame.”
Auburn got the scoring started in the first inning with a two-out RBI single by Conor Davis.
Ole Miss knotted things at one in the second inning with a RBI double by Ryan Olenek that scored Colby Bortles, who led off the inning with a walk.
The Rebels took a 3-1 lead in the third inning with RBI hits by Tate Blackman and Nick Fortes.
Auburn tied the game at three in the bottom half of the inning with a two-out, two-run double by Josh Anthony.
Ole Miss continued the scoring with three runs in the fourth inning that eventually put Auburn away. Cooper Johnson, Blackman and Fortes each had RBI hits in the inning.
Auburn starter Andrew Mitchell lasted just 2.1 innings allowing three runs on two hits. He walked two and did not strike out a batter.
Calvin Coker (3-2) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits in 1.2 innings out of the Auburn bullpen.
Auburn pitchers allowed 13 hits, walked five and hit a batter. Ryan Watson and Elliott Anderson each had scoreless outings out of the Auburn bullpen.
“Elliott Anderson threw pretty decent for us. I think he was the only reliever that got the first out he faced,” Thompson said.
Will Stokes (2-1) picked up the win for Ole Miss, pitching the final 4.1 innings out of the Rebels’ bullpen. He kept Auburn scoreless and allowed just one hit while striking out five.
Blackman finished the day 4-for-5 with three RBI. Fortes and Olenek each had three hits and two RBI for the Rebels.
Auburn finished the regular season 34-22 overall and 16-14 in the SEC. The Tigers finished with a winning record in the SEC for the first time since 2010 and just the second time since 2003. Ole Miss improved to 32-24 and 14-16.
With the loss, Auburn finished eighth in the SEC and will have a rematch with Ole Miss, who finished ninth, at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
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