Game 2 of No. 23 Auburn’s series against No. 17 Ole Miss relied heavily on the long ball.
All three of the Tigers’ runs came via home runs, and two out of five Rebel runs were due to homers. In the end, Auburn (25-14, 9-8 SEC) lost 5-3 to even the series at 1-1.
Conor Davis hit two home runs on the night, his first career multi-home run game. It was the second time this year an Auburn player has hit multiple homers in one game.
Davis hit his first home run on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the second. The homer tied the game at 1-1 after Cole Zabowski hit a solo shot to get Ole Miss on the board in the top half of the second.
Ole Miss (27-13, 10-7 SEC) scored another two runs in the top of the third. Will Holland got the Tigers back within one run in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run. It was Holland’s third home run of the season.
The Rebels scored their fourth run of the game in the top of the sixth. Davis cut the lead down to 4-3 when he hit his second homer of the night in the bottom half of the inning. Ole Miss scored its fifth and final run in the top of the ninth on a solo home run from Tyler Keenan.
“Our effort was solid all night,” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “We're kind of just grinding gears and battling. We were competitive and hung in there and battled in the ballgame. We just couldn't catch them.”
On the pitching side of things, Tanner Burns earned his second loss, putting him at 4-2 on the season. He allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out seven in 5.0 innings pitched.
Doug Nikhazy got the win for Ole Miss. He threw five innings and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out four.
The series deciding game three is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. CST. Freshman pitcher Brooks Fuller (2-1, 2.31) will take the mound for the Tigers opposite fellow freshman Gunnar Hoglund (1-1, 4.60), who will get the start for Ole Miss.
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