Freshmen Tanner Burns and Cody Greenhill controlled the Tide from the mound and the Tiger bats totaled 44 runs over the weekend as Auburn baseball completed a doubleheader series sweep Saturday, winning two games 5-0 and 20-5, taking the series in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2004 and sweeping Alabama on the road for the first time since 1976.
After failing to pick up offensive steam in recent SEC play, Auburn held a 19-hit clinic in Game 3, scoring the most points on the Crimson Tide in the history of the series and the most in a series in program history.
The Tigers arrived in Tuscaloosa batting .199 in conference play, and will leave it at .236.
“All three games, that was about as complete as we’ve been and as business-like as I’ve seen our guys on the road,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “We made a big deal about being 1-5 on the road. Pitching wise, our at-bats, even as things were getting out of hand, we stayed locked in. It was a very complete weekend for us. Hopefully we can keep competing hard and stay focused.”
In Game 2 (the first game of the doubleheader), Burns (3-4) struck out seven, allowing just four hits. His reliever, Greenhill, struck out four in only two innings of Auburn's first shutout of the Tide since 1990 and the first in Tuscaloosa since 1980.
Steven Williams and Brett Wright provided just enough offense for the Tigers, turning in two hits and two RBI each. Wright's forced walk pushed Luke Jarvis across for the game's first run in the third inning after Jarvis singled for the game's first hit.
Auburn fought off a two-out jam two innings later, starting with Will Holland's single and wild-pitch move to second. Williams then knocked in an RBI single to score the leadoff batter.
An error by Alabama's Joe Breaux pushed the lead to 3-0, as the centerfielder slipped trying to haul in a pop-fly from Wright, scoring Williams all the way from first. A forced walk from freshman Eduoard Julien in the seventh and an insurance single from Williams in the ninth topped off the scoreboard at 5-0.
Thompson said earlier in the week that he was planning on pulling sophomore Davis Daniel from the Sunday starting role on the mound, but neglected to name a replacement.
Senior lefty Andrew Mitchell apparently fit the bill, as the New Orleans product started Game 3 against the Tide, pitching 4.1 innings with two hits, two runs four walks and six strikeouts before being relieved by Calvin Coker.
Coker was quickly yanked in favor of Daniel after allowing a trio of quick hits from the Tide, who cut Auburn's deficit to 8-4 in the fifth. Daniel (3-3) closed out the series with two hits, one run and three Ks.
“Man, that was good,” Thompson said of his closer. “He was just trying to get better this weekend, and I thought he did.”
In the third inning, Auburn opened up Game 3 scoring with a Josh Anthony two-RBI double, followed a sacrifice fly from Williams. Anthony homered, Jarvis doubled and Williams singled in the next inning to widen the lead to 8-0.
Here's how you score 20 runs on the road against your rival. Full batting stats for the Tigers pic.twitter.com/iBiWl6uWq1
— Nathan King (@nathankingdra) April 22, 2018
Auburn went for the jugular in an 11-run, statement eighth inning. Julien led off with an RBI single, followed by a two-RBI single from Conor Davis. Three straight forced walks from Jarvis, Holland and Williams set the table for Wright, who brought in two more runs with a single to right center.
Julien came back to garnish the bloodbath with a three-run homer, his ninth of 2018. His hit notched 44 runs in the series for Auburn, four more than Alabama has tallied at home in SEC play all season.
Auburn’s 15-run win broke the record for largest margin of victory in the series’ history, which was tied in Game 1 with the team’s 14-run gap.
Auburn racks up 19 runs in rout of AlabamaThe Tigers will hop out of the conference for a Tuesday showdown with Samford before heading to Gainesville, Florida for a three-game series with the No. 1 Gators. UF ace Brady Singer and top MLB prospect Casey Mize are set to duel in Game 1 at 6 p.m. CT Thursday.
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