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(04/23/14 2:11am)
Although their offense started off slow, Auburn went on to get 11 hits, including three consecutive two-out RBI doubles in the bottom of the fifth in a 6-1 win over South Alabama on Tuesday night.
"The three doubles in a row were really big," said head coach Sunny Golloway. "We haven't strung extra base hits together like that all year, so that was big for us."
South Alabama's Davis Knapp hit a leadoff double off of Daniel Koger to start the game. A groundout followed by a wild pitch scored Knapp to make it 1-0, but Koger got out of the first inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
Auburn's first hit came with a leadoff single by Blake Austin in the bottom of the fourth. Keegan Thompson followed with a single and Jordan Ebert hit a one-out single to load the bases. Brett Binning then popped up to second base and Anfernee Grier grounded out to third to end the fourth inning scoreless while leaving the bases loaded.
After Koger allowed a one-out double, Trey Wingenter took over on the mound in the top of the fifth. Wingenter walked the only batter he faced before Jay Wade came out of the bullpen to replace him. Wade forced a fly ball out and then Damek Tomscha made a diving catch in foul territory to escape the inning.
Auburn went through their entire lineup and took the lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Damon Haecker led off with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Austin delivered with a two-out RBI double to tie it. Thompson followed Austin's lead by hitting a two-out RBI double to score Austin and take the 2-1 lead.
Pinch hitter Blake Logan kept it going with another RBI double to make it 3-1. Ebert and Jackson Burgreen walked to load the bases but Grier popped it up to leave the bases loaded again.
Wade pitched 1-2-3 sixth and seventh innings and retired every batter he faced to earn his fourth win on the mound for Auburn this season.
Auburn added two insurance runs in the sixth when Tomscha hit an RBI single to score Ryan Tella. Later in the inning, Logan hit a two-out RBI to bring Tomscha home.
Auburn's sixth run came in the bottom of the seventh when Ebert scored from third after a wild pitch.
Trey Cochran-Gill pitched a four-pitch eighth inning and Terrance Dedrick pitched the ninth inning to clinch Auburn's victory.
"Winning is always fun," Austin said. "We feel like we've been playing some good baseball, we just haven't been able to finish games. There's no panic over here."
This weekend the Tigers will play at No. 24 Arkansas looking to win its first SEC series in four weekends.
(04/20/14 10:00pm)
Auburn baseball lost another close SEC game Sunday, losing 4-3 to No. 11 South Carolina to drop their fourth straight SEC series and move to 7-11 on the season.
"They fought back and I thought they really played well today," said head coach Sunny Golloway. "I thought we played well this weekend."
Trey Wingenter's first SEC start was short-lived after allowing a ground rule RBI double and an RBI single in the top of the first. Michael O'Neal replaced Wingenter with one out and USC runners on the corners and O'Neal managed to get the next two outs to keep the damage at two runs.
After two straight one-out walks, Blake Austin hit an RBI single to score Ryan Tella for Auburn's first run. After a passed ball advanced Auburn's runners to second and third, USC managed to get the next two outs to end the first inning.
USC increased their lead in the top of the third with a two-out RBI double to make it 3-1.
Auburn responded in the bottom of the third with a two out rally consisting of three consecutive singles, the third being an RBI single from Damon Haecker.
After a successful hit-and-run by USC put runners on the corners, O'Neal got the next out to escape the top of the fourth.
Austin led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and Haecker advanced him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Later in the inning, Keegan Thompson delivered with a two-out RBI single to tie it at 3-3 before going to the seventh.
Trey Cochran-Gill replaced O'Neal in the top of the seventh and USC's leadoff hitter reached first base on Auburn's first error of the weekend. Cochran-Gill then struck out the next batter and forced a double play to end the inning.
USC hit back-to-back singles to start off the eighth to force Auburn to go to the bullpen again with Terrance Dedrick replacing Cochran-Gill. USC then put down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third before Dedrick loaded up the bases with an intentional walk. A sacrifice fly RBI gave the Gamecocks the 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.
Daniel Robert and Thompson hit a pair of one-out singles then both advanced to second and third following a wild pitch. But Auburn's next two batters struck out to end the eighth.
"Both games that we lose we had the tying or go-ahead run on," Golloway said. "But you've got to tip your cap, they shut us down."
Seddon followed by retiring the top of Auburn's order to clinch the win and series win.
Auburn will be back at home this Tuesday at 6 p.m. against South Alabama.
(04/20/14 12:52am)
Coming off of their third straight SEC series loss and a midweek loss to Samford, Auburn baseball bounced back Saturday by winning game one over No. 11 South Carolina 4-2, but they lost their lead in the top of the ninth in their game two 3-2 loss.
"We played great for 17 innings today," head coach Sunny Golloway said. "Until the bottom of the eighth [of game two] we played really good today."
(04/19/14 12:28am)
Auburn running back Tre Mason made it to New York City as a Heisman finalist in 2013.
Now, in 2014, Nick Marshall could be the next Auburn star to vie for the famous stiff-arm trophy.
Marshall exploded onto the SEC scene last season and has looked much more comfortable as the first returning starting quarterback in Malzahn's hurry-up, no huddle offense.
"It's just the way he's carrying himself," Malzahn said. "You can just tell he's getting more comfortable. The game is a lot slower for him, I'd say."
Marshall has used his first spring at Auburn to his advantage in order to perfect the Tigers' fast-paced offense.
"Coming into the spring coming off last season, the expectation this year is high," Marshall said. "I know everything about the offense now. I'm just playing ball right now and executing the plays well."
Auburn led the country in rushing yards last season, but next season, the offense is expected to throw the ball more.
Marshall is confident in his passing abilities and is looking forward to throwing more next season.
"I'm excited about that because I like throwing the ball," Marshall said. "But when it comes down to it, we still are going to run the football. We've got more receivers coming in, so that gives us more weapons on offense."
The coaches want Marshall to have at least a 65 percent completion percentage next season, which only four starting quarterbacks have done in Auburn history.
"It shouldn't be a goal, because like I said the expectations for us are higher this year," Marshall said. "I'm just trying to do what the coaches tell me and then just complete the passes like they want me to."
Marshall's knowledge and confidence in the offense gives the rest of the team confidence by having a leader they know they can rely on.
"He knows what Coach Malzahn or Coach Lashlee is going to call in certain situations and kind of understands what play works," tight end C.J. Uzomah said. "Having that and having that confidence in himself brings out everything in us."
(04/19/14 12:15am)
Special teams is one of the only position units where multiple new faces are fighting for starting spots since kicker Cody Parkey, punter Steven Clark and kick returner Iron Bowl hero Chris Davis all graduated.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Carlson is expected to be the starting kicker next season for the Tigers.
Both Scout and Rivals.com ranked Carlson No. 4 in the nation among kickers in his graduating class coming out of high school.
Redshirt freshman Jimmy Hutchinson will be the starting punter next year after traveling last season as a backup behind Clark.
Hutchinson was ranked the No. 1 punter in the country by Kohl's Kicking Academy after averaging 39.2 yards per punt his senior season at Harrison High School in Marietta, Ga.
Throughout these spring practices, head coach Gus Malzahn and special teams coach Scott Fountain have focused on giving Carlson and Hutchinson practice by kicking in game situation scenarios to the potential returners.
"We put the kickers in some situations as game-like as possible with the pressure on," Malzahn said. "I think they've responded fairly well with that. We also tried to do that with our punter and our deep snapper."
According to Malzahn, Fountain has had about eight to 10 players rotating getting a chance to receive punts and kicks this spring.
"Rotating guys, it's hard to single one out right now," Malzahn said after the first week of spring practices. "We'll get a chance to see some guys return some in a live setting."
That list of potential punt returners looking to replace Davis for next season includes Quan Bray, Marcus Davis, Ricardo Louis and D'haqulle Williams.
"We have a lot of positions up for grabs and punt returner is one of them," Malzahn said. "We've got a pretty big list of guys that want to have the opportunity to do that and so this spring will be good to see who comes out in that area."
Out of that list Bray has the most experience at punt returner as he led the team his freshman year in 2011 average punt return yardage and also received numerous punts in 2012 and last season.
The kick returner spots are also open since Davis graduated and Tre Mason entered the NFL Draft.
Auburn's fastest running back Corey Grant is confident though that he will be the No. 1 kick returner for the Tigers next season.
That means the No. 2 kick returner spot next to Grant is also up for grabs.
The kick returner list consists of returning players like Cameron Artis-Payne, Louis and Therezie, who have all gotten opportunities to showcase their return abilities in a live setting this spring.
Grant is also confident one of his teammates will be able to hold the responsibility beside him.
"Just whoever is going to block," Grant said to the Montgomery Advertiser. "All of them are great guys, so it doesn't really matter, just whoever is going to get the job done."
(04/18/14 11:18pm)
After dropping their third consecutive SEC series at No. 8 Alabama last weekend, Auburn baseball has another tough test waiting for them with a home series this weekend against No. 11 South Carolina.
Just like the previous road series in Oxford at Ole Miss, Auburn lost a couple of games in Tuscaloosa in close, heartbreaking fashion.
In the game three rubber match, Alabama won the series with a two-out walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth to take the 4-3 lead.
"Tough, emotional loss, no doubt about it," said head coach Sunny Golloway. "But our guys played really hard. The series could have gone either way with a base hit here or there, we all saw that."
After Alabama's game two 4-1 wins to tie up the series, Golloway shook up the lineup by starting seven freshmen in the field and giving closer Terrance Dedrick his first career start on the mound.
The freshmen-heavy lineup performed well, as they combined for 10 of Auburn's 12 total hits.
Brett Binning made his second career start at second base and went 3-for-4 on the day. Both Anfernee Grier and Connor Short had a pair of hits.
From the sound of his postseason interview, Golloway will continue to focus on developing the talented freshmen class after they performed in a hostile environment at a top-10 program.
"We started seven freshmen today, and our freshmen played really well and swung the bat really well," Golloway said. "(Alabama) has a veteran club, we have a young club, and we're going to continue to develop our freshmen and build our club."
Auburn won the opening game of the Alabama series in a close 2-1 pitcher's duel, and Golloway was satisfied with his two pitchers, Dillon Ortman and Keegan Thompson.
"(Ortman) was terrific," Golloway said. "As far as consistency, we might have the best Friday night guy in the league. He doesn't try to do too much.
"He pounds the zone. He pitches with courage."
Thompson was expected to be the usual Saturday starter, but he stepped up when the team needed him to while coming out of the bullpen for the first time of his college career and throwing two shutdown innings with five strikeouts to earn the save.
"My adrenaline was pumping coming in," Thompson said. "I just wanted to go out there and get it done for Dillon. He pitched his ass off."
Despite the close road win over their rival, Golloway was not pleased with the team's overall level of play, as Auburn also left the bases loaded three times throughout the game.
"We're just a much better team than what we played tonight," Golloway said. "I know it's a tough environment and everything. But we defended very well and we pitched it really well."
Although Auburn has fallen out of the top 25 rankings and lost their last three SEC series, they will look to bounce back and upset the No. 11 Gamecocks in front of a large home Plainsman Park crowd this A-Day weekend.
(04/17/14 2:45am)
No. 23 Auburn softball snapped their seven-game SEC losing streak Wednesday night in Montgomery's Lagoon Park with a 6-2 win over No. 6 Alabama.
Kasey Cooper gave Auburn the quick lead with a two-run homer in the first inning.
The score remained 2-0 until Morgan Estell hit a three-run home run to make it 5-0.
In the following inning Jenna Abbott hit another Auburn homer but the umpires later ruled it was a double. But Abbott then scored later in the fourth to make the game 6-1.
Auburn loaded up the bases in the fifth but could not score another run.
Alabama responded in the bottom of the fifth with their second run, but the score stayed 6-2 for Auburn to clinch the victory.
The Tigers now improve to 32-12-1 on the season before this weekend's series at Athens against Georgia.
(04/16/14 2:43am)
For the second time this season, Auburn baseball lost to the smaller, in-state Samford Bulldogs.
This time it was on the road in Birmingham on their field in another close 7-6 loss in which the Tigers left 13 total runners on base.
Auburn fell behind 6-0 early before making their late comeback.
The Tigers allowed four unearned runs in the bottom of the third after Samford's Caleb Bryson hit a three-run homer capitalizing off of Auburn's error in the field.
Their comeback fell just short after they scored four runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and their final run in the top of the eighth.
The Tigers now fall to 21-17 overall before they play at Plainsman Park for a weekend series against SEC baseball powerhouse South Carolina.
Auburn will look to snap their three consecutive conference series losing streak against the No. 11 Gamecocks.
(04/13/14 9:31pm)
In another close game in Tuscaloosa, Auburn fell to No. 9 Alabama 4-3 on a two-out walk-off RBI single from the Tide.
The Tigers now fall to 6-9 in the SEC and 21-16 overall after this weekend.
Alabama took the early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first due to an RBI groundout and a throwing error by Auburn.
In the top of the second Auburn hit back-to-back two-out singles and then both runners moved into scoring position after a wild pitch, but both were left stranded to end the inning.
Alabama scored their third run in the bottom of the second with an RBI single.
Auburn's three runs came in the third inning, but two runners were also thrown out at home.
J.J. Shaffer and Damon Haecker led off the top of the third with consecutive singles. Damek Tomscha then hit a single up the middle but Shaffer was thrown out of at home trying to score.
Daniel Robert walked to load the bases and Blake Logan was next walked to bring in Auburn's first run. Connor Short also hit a single up the middle to bring in Tomscha followed by an RBI single by Brett Binning to score Robert but Logan was thrown out at home as well.
Terrance Dedrick got the start on the mound for Auburn but was relieved by Trey Wingenter in the bottom of the third when starting the inning with a walk. With Alabama runners on second and third, Wingenter managed to escape the inning scoreless.
The score remained 3-3 until the bottom of the ninth when Alabama's Casey Hughston hit a two-out walk-off hit to end the game.
Keegan Thompson allowed the game-winning run and picked up the loss on the mound for Auburn.
Auburn will continue on the road when playing at Samford this Tuesday before their home series next weekend against South Carolina.
(04/12/14 2:40am)
Despite leaving the bases loaded three times throughout the game, Auburn baseball held on to a 2-1 victory over No. 10 Alabama behind the stellar pitching performances by Dillon Ortman and Keegan Thompson.
Ortman earned the win with seven innings pitched, five hits allowed and one earned run. Thompson came out of the bullpen for the first time this season and kept Auburn's tight lead for the save by throwing two innings with five strikeouts and only allowing one hit.
Blake Austin led off the top of the second with a walk and advanced to third thanks to a Daniel Robert hit-and-run. Connor Short then brought Austin home for Auburn's first run with a sacrifice fly RBI to center field. Later in the same inning, Jordan Ebert hit a two-out RBI single with the bases loaded to make it 2-0 after Robert scored.
Those two were the only runs Auburn would get for the night.
Two walks and a single loaded up the bases for Auburn with one out in the top of the fourth, but Auburn left all three runners on.
Alabama responded in the bottom of the fourth by loading up the bases as well, but they got a run across with an RBI single to make it 2-1. Ortman forced a double play to get out of the bases loaded jam.
Ortman retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.
But, in the bottom of the eighth, Alabama hit a leadoff double and that was it for Ortman's night as Thompson came out of the bullpen to replace him.
Thompson finished the eighth inning off with two consecutive strikeouts.
After Short reached on an error and Damon Haecker walked, Dan Glevenyak then was hit by a pitch for the fourth time of the night, which is an Auburn record and only the 21st time that has happened in Division I NCAA history.
But after a groundout and fly out, Alabama managed to get out of yet another bases loaded jam going into the bottom of the ninth.
Thompson started the ninth off with two straight strikeouts and continued with a third strikeout but the tying runner advanced after the ball went past Austin. Alabama then got their first hit off of Thompson to put two runners on put Thompson closed it out by getting the next batter out to clinch Auburn's 2-1 win.
Game two of the series at Tuscaloosa is tomorrow at 6 p.m.
(04/09/14 2:30am)
Auburn baseball had 14 hits and used eight pitchers in a 6-0 victory over Troy on Tuesday night.
"When you run eight guys out there, there's a chance somebody is not going to be on their game," said head coach Sunny Golloway. "For all eight of them to throw the ball well was very surprising. We told them all, 'Hey don't worry about the score, go out there and record three outs.'"
Daniel Koger got his first start on the mound this season and started off the game strong with a 1-2-3 first inning.
In the bottom of the first, Ryan Tella hit an RBI double to score Jordan Ebert, who also reached on base with a one-out double. Two batters later, Daniel Robert hit a two-out RBI single to score Tella and make it 2-0.
Koger kept it going with an eight-pitch 1-2-3 second inning, which earned him his first win of the season.
Auburn's offense also kept it going in the bottom of the second with back-to-back one-out base hits by Brett Binning and Damon Haecker, which caused the first Troy pitching change. With runners on the corners Ebert hit an RBI single to score Binning. Tella then put down a perfect bunt for a hit to load the bases for Blake Austin. But Austin grounded out into a double play to end the inning.
Jacob Milliman came on to pitch the third replacing Koger. Milliman went on to pitch one scoreless inning with one strikeout and one hit given up.
Robert led off the bottom of the third with a double and Keegan Thompson advanced him to third with a sacrifice bunt. After Connor Short's infield single, Anfernee Grier hit an RBI single to bring home Robert. Troy got the next two batters out to escape the third inning with only one run allowed.
Auburn kept giving their bullpen work as Justin Camp pitched a 1-2-3 fourth inning.
Tella hit another double in the bottom of the fourth but was left stranded on base.
Michael O'Neal came on to pitch the fifth and allowed a one-out double and single but got out of the inning scoreless.
Robby Clements then came on in the sixth and kept it scoreless while only allowing one hit.
Tella continued his 4-for-5 night with a two-RBI single scoring Binning and Haecker to make it 6-0 going into the seventh inning.
Trey Wingenter pitched the seventh inning and kept the shutout alive, despite throwing Auburn's first walk of the game.
Trey Cochran-Gill threw a walk and gave up a single to start off the eighth inning. He then was able to force a groundout and double play to continue to keep Troy off the scoreboard.
Terrance Dedrick clinched the 6-0 shutout win with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Auburn will play in Tuscaloosa this weekend in a three game series against Alabama. "Success brings fun and we had fun tonight," Tella said. "We've just got to bring that tomorrow and then we go over to play Alabama at their place. It was a good feeling tonight for all of us."
(04/06/14 3:01am)
After an extra innings walk-off home run Friday night, Ole Miss kept it going Saturday with two more wins against Auburn baseball.
The Rebels kept it out of reach for the Tigers as Ole Miss won 6-0 easily in game two of the series, which was game one of Saturday's doubleheader in Oxford.
In game three, both teams kept it scoreless after five innings, but Auburn was kept off the board after seven innings.
Ole Miss loaded up the bases in the sixth inning and scored on back-to-back walks. The Rebels then hit another single to make it 4-0.
After Michael O'Neal left the mound, Trey Cochran-Gill took over, but he let up another RBI single to make it 5-0.
Jordan Ebert worked an RBI single in the following inning but that's all Auburn would get to make it 5-1.
Cochran-Gill responded with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
Auburn loaded up the bases again in the eighth but Ole Miss responded with three consecutive strikeouts
But Auburn could not keep up in the ninth as the Rebels held on to a 5-2 victory.
This sweep is crucial for Auburn as they now move down to 5-7 in the SEC.
(04/05/14 4:03am)
Despite having the lead twice in the game, Auburn lost at Ole Miss in the 13th inning following a three-run walkoff home run.
Ole Miss was down by two runs in the top of the fifth but scored their first two runs in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of sixth Auburn regained their lead in the top of the sixth to make it 5-2 but the Rebels tied it up two innings later going into the ninth.
Auburn got on the scoreboard first in the top of the first when Jordan Ebert scored following a double earlier in the inning.
Dillon Ortman started off the game strong on the mound with a six-pitch first inning.
Damon Haecker reached third base after Ole Miss' third error of the game but was thrown out at home when the Rebels pitched out on a squeeze bunt attempt.
Ortman kept it going in the bottom of the fourth with a 1-2-3 inning to hold Auburn's 1-0 lead.
Auburn got the bases loaded to start off the fifth and Blake Austin brought in Auburn's second run with a sacrifice fly. But that was all Auburn would get as they left two runners stranded.
In the bottom of the fifth Ole Miss tied it up with two consecutive RBI singles.
Austin kept his bat going in the top of the sixth with a two-RBI double to score Ryan Tella and Damek Tomscha. Keegan Thompson then brought Austin home with an RBI single to make it 5-2.
That score remained the same until the bottom of the eighth when Ole Miss hit an RBI double and an RBI single to come within one run of Auburn. The Rebels then tied up the game once again when they hit a sacrifice fly.
The Tigers went down 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth.
Jay Wade ended the ninth with two straight strikeouts to send the game into extras.
Haecker hit a one-out double in the top of the 13th but Auburn could not manage to score him.
Wade remained on the mound in the bottom of the 13th when Ole Miss got runners on second and third with no outs. Ole Miss' Austin Anderson then hit a three-run walkoff home run to end the game.
With this loss the Tigers fall to 5-5 in the SEC and will look to win both games in the doubleheader tomorrow in Oxford.
(04/04/14 8:30pm)
This week's happenings in Auburn sports.
(04/02/14 3:38am)
Four errors, four earned runs out of the bullpen, eight runners left on base and a lack of hits cost Auburn as Samford outplayed the Tigers, winning the Tuesday night game 8-1.
"I don't know where we are still as a program," said Auburn head coach Sunny Golloway. "The roller coaster ride of just being up and down has been really tough on our kids. What we've got to learn how to do is not create that ourselves. We want to be a program that can come from behind and win."
Auburn started the game against the in-state Bulldogs on the front foot.
In the bottom of the first, Auburn scored with a one-out RBI single by Blake Austin to score Ryan Tella, who reached on a single.
But in the top of the third, Samford started off with two straight singles, then scored its first run with a passed ball. Trey Wingenter threw his fourth strikeout, but Damek Tomscha committed two consecutive throwing errors at third base, which brought in two more runs for Samford to make it 3-1.
Another error at third base, a double and a walk loaded the bases for Samford to start off the top of the fourth. With no outs, Wingenter rallied by throwing two more strikeouts and forcing a groundout to leave the inning scoreless.
But Auburn continued to struggle at the plate in the bottom of the fifth with a bunt out, strikeout and groundout.
After allowing a leadoff double in the sixth, Justin Camp came on the mound to replace Wingenter, who threw a career-high seven strikeouts with no earned runs in five innings.
Camp was able to get out of the sixth inning by throwing a strikeout and forcing a double play.
Auburn's offense went down in order in the bottom of the sixth and seventh.
Cochran-Gill then walked a batter, struck another out and allowed a two-RBI base hit to make it 5-1 before Reid Carter came on in relief. Carter threw a wild pitch to bring in Samford's sixth run.
"We've got to find somebody out of that bullpen other than Jay Wade and Terrance Dedrick, we've got to find somebody," Golloway said. "Our bullpen will get better, it has to get better for us to do what we want to do. Thank goodness this is not an SEC game."
In the top of the eighth, Samford's Caleb Bryson hit a two-run homer to give the Bulldogs their final runs of the night.
Auburn only put together two singles and two walks combined in the last two innings to clinch Samford's 8-1 victory.
Auburn will travel to Oxford this weekend for a series against Ole Miss.
"We'll go in there and put our foot on the gas right away and try to push the envelope," Golloway said. "I think you've got two teams who are scuffled a little bit. It's apparent that are league is going to be really tough and every [SEC] game is going to mean the world to us."
(03/29/14 8:52pm)
Auburn avoided the Missouri sweep Saturday with a 16-hit performance from the offense on its way to a 7-3 win.
"What a difference a day makes," head coach Sunny Golloway said. "I thought our approach was really good."
Michael O'Neal picked up his second win today improving to 2-2 on the season.
"Michael stayed tough when they took the lead on us, and he battled," Golloway said.
O'Neal gave up a single and double to start off the game but was able to escape the inning scoreless.
Jordan Ebert and Damek Tomscha kept their hot hitting streaks alive in the bottom of the first when Tomscha hit an RBI single to score Ebert, who led off with a single.
Missouri took the 2-1 lead in the top of the third with two base hit RBIs, one being earned on O'Neal, but the other was not earned because of an error by second baseman Ebert. Auburn was able to keep it at only two runs because of an inning-ending double play.
Blake Austin led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and Daniel Robert advanced Austin to third with a single to the centerfield gap. With no outs, Keegan Thompson delivered with a base hit RBI to score Austin and tie it up. Sam Gillikin advanced the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Then Auburn regained the lead with an RBI single by J.J. Shaffer. Damon Haecker kept it going with another base hit RBI to make it 4-2.
Missouri led off the sixth with two hard-hit singles, which caused Jay Wade to come in from the bullpen to replace O'Neal.
With two runners on and no outs, Wade finished off the sixth with two strikeouts and a pop fly out.
Shaffer led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple down the right field line and Ebert brought him home with an RBI single. With two outs and Ebert on second, Graves was taken out for Andrew Schwaab. Tomscha hit another single to advance Ebert to third and Austin brought both of them home with a two-RBI single to make it 7-2.
In the ninth, Missouri then got their third run across because of an error by Haecker, but Wade got the last out of the game to earn his first save of the year.
"A sweep is as disheartening as it gets," Wade said. "It's great to get a win. We would have liked to win the series, but [Missouri is] a heck of a ball club."
After this weekend's series Auburn goes to 19-10 overall and 5-4 in the SEC. Auburn's next game is this Tuesday, April 1 at home at 6 p.m. against Samford.
"It's almost like a death sentence to get swept in this league that's so tough," Golloway said. "We learned a lot about our club this weekend."
(03/28/14 3:24am)
Despite holding the lead for the majority of the game, errors and base running mistakes cost Auburn baseball the win as they fell short to Missouri losing 4-3 in front of a capacity crowd of more than 4,000 fans at Plainsman Park.
Dillon Ortman picked up the loss going to 5-2 on the season.
"I thought he pitched pretty well because we could be talking about a 3-1 win right now if we just field the ball and don't walk their nine hole," said head coach Sunny Golloway.
"I think the whole key with this club is can we learn from our mistakes. That's going to be key for our success down the road."
After Ortman shut down Missouri's top of the order with a nine-pitch 1-2-3 first inning, Damek Tomscha hit an RBI single to bring home Jordan Ebert to take the 1-0 lead after one inning.
With one out in the top of the second, Missouri hit two consecutive singles. Dylan Kelly followed with an RBI single to tie it up. Ortman forced a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Ortman got into another jam in the top of the third with one out and runners on the corners but he threw a strikeout and forced a groundout to keep the score tied.
Missouri's pitcher Eric Anderson hit Damon Haecker then let up another single to Tomscha to open up the bottom of the third. But Auburn left those two runners stranded as Anderson finished the inning off with two consecutive strikeouts.
After Ortman pitched a quick fourth inning, Auburn's offense began with a walk but then recorded three straight outs to keep it at 1-1 going to the fifth.
Ortman carried his momentum into the top of the fifth with another 1-2-3 inning featuring two strikeouts.
In the bottom half of the inning, Auburn showed sparks of offense starting with Ebert's third single of the night. Haecker then put down a successful bunt for a hit, which also advanced Ebert to third. But Haecker was caught stealing second, Tomscha struck out and Ryan Tella popped it up to end the inning scoreless.
Despite allowing a single, Ortman kept it going in the sixth with another quick scoreless inning.
Blake Austin led off the bottom of the sixth with a stand-up double and Dan Glevenyak worked a one-out walk to force a pitching change. Missouri's new pitcher Breckin Williams then gave up an RBI single to Keegan Thompson.
Auburn gave Ortman some more run support with an RBI single by Sam Gillikin to make it 3-1 before Ebert grounded into a double play to end the sixth inning.
Missouri tied the score in the seventh when Logan Pearson hit a two-out two-RBI double.
After two singles and two outs, Auburn tried to pull off a double steal but Tella was called out at third on a close call to end the seventh inning.
On his first pitch of the eighth inning, Ortman gave up a double off the left field fence, and that was it for him as Jay Wade came on the mound to replace him. Wade walked the next batter and Mizzou pulled off a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third base.
Terrance Dedrick then took over, replacing Wade with one out. Missouri's Dylan Kelly popped it up far enough for their runner at third to tag up and score the go-ahead run before Dedrick escaped the eighth.
Auburn went down in order in the last two innings to end the game.
"I'm not sure what it was but it was a different team from what I've seen. Whether it was being on television on ESPN or just trying to do too much, we just didn't look like ourselves," Golloway said.
With the loss Auburn goes to 4-3 in the SEC and will look to rebound in the last two games to try to win the series.
"It's going to be a great learning opportunity for us because we haven't lost on a Friday yet so we get to see how we bounce back from a Friday [SEC] loss," Golloway said.
(03/27/14 1:29am)
With Wednesday's blowout 16-1 mercy-rule win over Georgia State in five innings, Auburn softball has now won 15 games in six innings or fewer this season.
Auburn pitcher Marcy Harper pitched the first three innings and only allowed one run for another win going to a 14-0 record this season on the mound.
Auburn's bats came to play right from the top of the first inning when Kasey Cooper hit a two-run homer, which was her 10th home run of the year.
After loading the bases in the top of the third, Jade Rhodes brought all three runners home with a grand slam to make it 6-0.
Georgia State's lone run came in the bottom of the third on a solo home run by Taylor Anderson. Harper settled down after that and escaped the inning with no more runs allowed.
In the top of the fourth Cooper followed her earlier at-bat with another home run to make it 9-1 Auburn.
The Tigers put the game completely out of reach in the top of the fifth with seven more runs to make it 16-1. After a couple of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly RBI, Anna Gibbs continued the home run trend with a two-run shot for Auburn's last run of the game.
Hilary Mavromat took over for Harper in the fourth and fifth innings and kept Georgia State off the board to clinch Auburn's 16-1 victory.
The Tigers improve to 29-5-1 on the season after tonight's win and will play at Kentucky for a road series in Lexington this weekend.
(03/27/14 2:30pm)
From his performance on the mound so far, it's hard to tell that Keegan Thompson is a freshman.
But Thompson has always had success when competing with players who are older than him.
"Since I've been young, I've been playing against or practicing with people who are always four years older than me," Thompson said. "I've always had a lot of help growing up."
According to his Cullman High School head coach Brent Patterson, Thompson would come take baseball lessons since he was eight or nine years old.
"It was pretty obvious even then that he wasn't the average kid," Patterson said. "He always handled himself a little differently around baseball than most other kids."
From that young age, Patterson knew Thompson would be a successful baseball player once he got to the high school level.
Thompson committed to Auburn University the summer before his sophomore year and he honored that commitment even when multiple MLB scouts attended his games.
"During his senior year, when the scouts were calling every day and turning up the heat, he and his family had made a plan and they never wavered," Patterson said.
Thompson said he always wanted to go to college where he would get the chance to play in the SEC, which is the competition needed to make it in the next level.
"In high school you don't have to work as hard because you're already at the top of the level," Thompson said. "Coming into an SEC school, you just have to work your tail off every day to stay at the top of the competition."
So far Thompson has stayed at the top of the SEC, leading the conference with 46.1 innings pitched, two complete games and tied for first with five wins.
"Keegan isn't the type who is good one day and off the next," Patterson said. "He has such a great presence on the mound and has been in so many big games in his life, he isn't going to get overwhelmed by any environment."
Auburn head coach Sunny Golloway has raved about Thompson throughout this season.
"Keegan is a special young man, I think that's pretty apparent," Golloway said after Thompson's one-hitter against Presbyterian on March 1.
Golloway said he is looking forward to having Thompson on his team at multiple positions until the end of his junior year.
Patterson and the rest of his hometown are also looking forward to how Thompson's career at Auburn plays out.
"After pitching in the best conference in college baseball for three years, everyone will know exactly where he stands and how he compares against the best of the best," Patterson said.
(03/26/14 2:51am)
Before a crucial home series against Missouri this weekend, Auburn baseball beat Kennesaw State 10-5 on Tuesday night.
Auburn opened a 6-0 lead early with some solid hitting, but wild pitching and rough defense put the Owls back in the game following a long sixth inning.
The Tigers locked down Kennesaw State in the final three innings, though, to set up another non-conference win.
"It is hard to win that game because that game right there is a grind. I'm not going to sit here and say we're not kind of looking ahead," said Auburn head coach Sunny Golloway. "Thursday is [big] for our program. We're going to be on national television. We're looking forward to competing against Missouri and it's kind of a set up for us so we had to grind this one out."
In the first two innings, Auburn's starting pitcher Trey Wingenter allowed two runners to get on base each inning but was able to escape each inning without any runs.
Auburn's bats responded in the bottom of the second when Daniel Robert hit an RBI single to score Ryan Tella, who reached on a single and stole second base. Then Sam Gillikin hit a two-RBI double to score both Robert and Dan Glevenyak. Jordan Ebert followed with another RBI single to make it 4-0 after two innings.
Tella led off the bottom of the third with a homer clearing the right field fence, which was his second consecutive game with a home run and third of the season. Later in the inning Keegan Thompson hit an RBI single to bring Glevenyak home for Auburn's sixth run.
Wingenter let up a single and double in the fourth inning but was able to keep Kennesaw State scoreless once again.
In the fifth Wingenter kept his shutout going and threw his fifth strikeout of the game, which is his career-high. Wingenter also earned his first win of the season.
Kennesaw State's Alex Liquori led off the top of the sixth with a double and then a wild pitch advanced him to third. Brennan Morgan hit an RBI single to make it 6-1. That was it for Wingenter as Jacob Milliman replaced him with runners on first and second base and no outs.
After a wild pitch advanced their runners to second and third, Milliman threw two strikeouts but then threw his second wild pitch to bring in Kennesaw State's second run.
With two outs and runners on the corners Daniel Koger took over for Milliman. Kennesaw State's Jacob Bruce then hit a two-RBI double to cut Auburn's lead to 6-4. A single followed by an error then made it 6-5.
But in the bottom of the sixth, Auburn was able to score two more runs to increase their lead to 8-5. Damon Haecker hit an RBI single and then Connor Short put down a suicide squeeze RBI bunt to score Ebert.
Jay Wade then took over Auburn's pitching duties and threw a 1-2-3 seven-pitch seventh inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Auburn added another two-run inning. Thompson and Gillikin started it off with singles and then Haecker hit a two-RBI single to bring in both runners.
"Tonight was a great win for the guys. We fought hard," Gillikin said. "It got a little close there at one point but we really put our foot down."
Wade pitched two innings and allowed one hit on zero runs before Reid Carter replaced him in the ninth forcing a pop fly and two strikeouts to seal Auburn's 10-5 win.
Auburn opens up their series against Missouri this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Plainsman Park and will also be televised on ESPNU.