Bats were hot on St. Patrick’s Day at Plainsman Park in Auburn's 13-6 loss to No. 1 Ole Miss in the opening game of a three-game series.
It didn't take long to get the opening run across, as Ole Miss leadoff man Jacob Gonzalez hit a solo home run to deep right center.
Auburn answered quickly with a Sonny DiChiara two-run home run in the bottom of the first, his sixth of the year. The blast gave the Tigers their only lead of the night.
The Rebels flexed their muscles in this ballgame by scoring in four straight innings to start the night. Auburn’s attempt to keep up with top ranked Ole Miss fell short as the Tigers scored four runs through two innings but could not keep up with the high-powered offense of the Rebels later in the contest.
Starting on the mound for Auburn was Mason Barnett, who threw three innings, giving up five runs on six hits and totaling six strikeouts in the outing.
On the other hand, John Gaddis started the game for Ole Miss. He went 3.2 innings while giving up four runs on seven hits and six Ks as well.
The downfall of Auburn’s outing on Thursday was defense, specifically in the sixth inning. Entering the sixth, Auburn had stayed in the ballgame, as it was 7-4.
At that point, Auburn became sloppy with routine ground balls and overall game management which allowed five unearned runs. In the sixth inning alone, Auburn committed four errors in a six-run frame for the Rebels that put the visitors up 13-4.
“We have had six errors in 17 games, and we were charged with five tonight," said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. "You aren't going to do that against any team in our league, much less the number one team in our league.”
Despite Auburn’s errors, there were some positive takeaways from the conference opener.
DiChiara continued his offensive tear with three RBIs on the day. Ryan Dyal also went 2-for-5 with his fourth deep shot of the season. Blake Rambusch did his job in the leadoff spot by batting 2-for-3 with a single and a double.
In a rough sixth inning for Auburn, there was light in the darkness, and that light was Carson Swilling.
Swilling came into the game with two out in the sixth frame when it seemed that all hope was lost and closed the door on a six-run Ole Miss inning. He was able to get the game under control defensively by allowing no earned runs through 3.1 innings to calm the storm and end the game.
Thompson praised Swilling for his his ability to inherit a messy situation and "give [the team] some tempo."
Expect pitcher Hayden Mullins to start tomorrow as Auburn hopes to redeem themselves for game two of the three game series against Ole Miss. The game starts at 6 p.m. CST on SEC Network-plus.
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