Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn baseball takes down South Carolina in rubber game

<p>Will Holland (17) prepares to swing at the ball during Auburn Baseball vs. Cincinnati on Saturday, March. 2, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Will Holland (17) prepares to swing at the ball during Auburn Baseball vs. Cincinnati on Saturday, March. 2, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.

In the first two games of Auburn’s series against South Carolina, the Gamecocks were the ones hitting it out of the park. On Sunday, Auburn used the long ball to get the 7-5 win and the series win.

South Carolina (22-6, 6-3 SEC) had a 1-0 lead going into the second, but the Tigers responded with a six-run top of the second. Will Holland hit a two-run homer and Edouard Julien tacked on another three runs with a three-run homer of his own. 

The home run for Holland is his first of the season. Julien's hit is his sixth homer of the year. Kason Howell also hit a RBI single up the middle in the inning. Howell had two hits for the night, his third straight multi-hit game.

"All of the work and preparation we do in practice is starting to pay off," Howell said. "It really is just sticking to your approach and not trying to do too much or too little. Good things happen when you keep it simple up there at the plate.”

South Carolina answered with back-to-back doubles that chased Carson Skipper off the mound. Richard Fitts came in to pitch for Auburn (22-6, 6-3 SEC), throwing 5.0 scoreless innings of relief. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out two. He earned his first SEC career win. Fitts has not allowed a run in his last 9.0 innings of work.

"I was just trying to get some outs early in the count and not get behind," Fitts said. "I just wanted to get some 1-2-3 outs and get our hitters back in the dugout ready to hit.”

Bailey Horn came in to pitch in the seventh and he worked a perfect frame. In the eighth though, South Carolina tried to get a rally going and hit two solo homers. It cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-5.

Cody Greenhill got the call to mound, recording the #FinalFour outs of the game to earn his sixth save of the year and his second save in the series. 

"(South Carolina) is a team that was in a super regional last year and is a perennial, tradition power," said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. "For us to play in the venues we've played in the last two weeks and to go 3-3 has been a grind. I thought our guys really had some grit today. It's just huge for us to get a win on the road.”

Auburn returns home to Plainsman Park for four games. The Tigers will face off against Georgia Tech (18-9, 6-5 ACC) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CST before taking on Arkansas in three game series slated for a Thursday start at 6:30 p.m. CST.


Share and discuss “Auburn baseball takes down South Carolina in rubber game ” on social media.