Sports

Auburn baseball drops series finale to Mississippi State, 3-1

By Sam Butler | Sports Writer | March 29

After posting back-to-back shutouts, the Auburn Tigers weren’t able to muster enough offense to overcome a shaky sixth inning and fell 3-1 to Mississippi State in the series finale. Auburn (17-11, 3-6) fell behind early, but tied the game on Keegan Thompson’s solo home run in the third inning, which was only the fifth plate appearance for the sophomore this season and the first home run of his career.

Softball drops first SEC game

By David McKinney | Assistant Sports Editor | March 28

For the first time this season, Auburn softball left an SEC game without a victory. In a game that stretched into eight innings, Auburn found itself on the wrong end of a walk-off homer that gave Missouri a 5-4 win.

No. 6 Auburn Upsets No.1 USC to finish third at the SEC Championship

By CJ Holmes | Sports Writer | March 28

The No. 6 Auburn equestrian team upset No. 1 South Carolina 13-6 on Friday, March 28, en route to a third place finish at the SEC Championships. Auburn was impressive in College Station, winning all four events against the Gamecocks with four Tigers taking home MOP honors. Sophomore Ashley Foster beat Samantha Kraus, 168-136, and senior Demi Stiegler defeated Amber Henter, 165-157 giving Auburn an early 3-2 lead after Equitation over Fences. After earning her 36th win in Fences, junior Elizabeth Benson became Auburn’s all-time win leader in the event, which was formerly held by Jennifer Waxman, after knocking off Sydney Smith 169-158. Auburn led 6-4 at halftime and didn’t miss a beat after the intermission. After winning Reining and Horsemanship, sophomore Tory Hoft sealed the Tiger’s win by defeating Katherine Schmidt, 160-157, in Equitation of the Flat.

No. 6 Auburn equestrian loses to No. 2 Georgia at SEC Championships

By Andrew Monson | Sports Writer | March 28

The sixth-ranked Auburn equestrian team lost to No. 2 Georgia 13-6 in the semifinals of the SEC Equestrian Championships at the Hildebrand Equine Complex in College Station, Texas. Senior Demi Stiegler defeated Kylee Arbuckle in Equitation of the Flat, 144-141, and sophomore Tory Hoft defeated Leylan Gleeson, 157-145 for her seventh victory of the year. In Horsemanship, junior Allie Dusha won her fourth-consecutive match with a 145-143 victory over Kyndall Harper, earning MOP honors. Freshman Alexa Rivard, senior Katsy Leeman and junior Hailey Munger also earned victories for the Tigers in Horsemanship. Auburn will meet South Carolina in the consolation match on Saturday, March 28, at 9 a.m.

Tigers pick up second-straight shutout over Bulldogs

By Derek Thompson | Sports Reporter | March 28

Sophomore Keegan Thompson picked up his fifth win of the season as Auburn defeated Mississippi State 4-0 for its second-straight shutout Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi. Thompson allowed zero runs, one walk and four hits.

Softball Mercy Rules No. 20 Missouri

By David McKinney | Assistant Sports Editor | March 27

Another SEC series started off on a high note for No.8 Auburn softball Friday night. The Tigers (34-3) picked up the 14-6 win in five innings behind a powerful offensive performance and a solid outing from winning pitcher Lexi Davis.

Auburn shuts out Mississippi State for first SEC road win

By Sam Butler | Sports Writer | March 27

Behind seven strong innings from starter Cole Lipscomb and timely run production from the offense, the Auburn Tigers shut out the host Mississippi State Bulldogs, 5-0, to claim their first road SEC win in the weekend opener. The shutout was Auburn’s first of a conference opponent on the road since 2007, and the first road shutout of Mississippi State since 1976. Lipscomb (4-0) allowed only four hits on the day while striking out seven on 117 pitches, a career-high for the sophomore. The Tigers (16-10, 2-5) got on the board in the second inning when Cody Nulph drove in Blake Logan on a two-out single to left field. The next inning, Auburn broke the game open by scoring four, which ended up being four more than the Tigers would need to win. Daniel Robert doubled to left, bringing two runs in, and Logan’s subsequent grounder went through the legs of the Bulldogs’ third baseman, scoring Robert.

Auburn gymnastics’ Atkinson and Walker selected as All-Americans

By Andrew Monson | Sports Writer | March 27

Auburn junior Caitlin Atkinson was selected as a first-team All-American on all-around, and senior Megan Walker was selected as a second-team All-American on beam by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches and Women. Atkinson, from Houston, Texas, ranked seventh nationally in all-around this season with a 39.535 average.

Tigers finish eighth after day one of finals

By Derek Thompson | Sports Reporter | March 27

Auburn finished eighth after the first day of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Iowa City, Iowa, Thursday, March 26. The Tigers finished the first day of finals with 67 points after scoring performances in two relays and a big finish from Kyle Darmody in the 50 freestyle. Arthur Mendes, Jacob Molacek, Michael Duderstadt and Darmody clocked in at 1:16.04 to take third overall in the 200 freestyle relay, and Auburn picked up a fifth-place finish in the 400 medley relay as Joe Patching, Duderstadt, Hugo Morris and Darmody touched in at 3:05.38. Darmody placed 10th overall in the 50 freestyle race.

Coach Jeff Graba has infused the Tigers' roster with young talent, taking national powerhouses Georgia and Alabama to the limit this season. (FILE PHOTO)

Auburn gymnastics coach Jeff Graba named SEC Coach of the Year

By Andrew Monson | Sports Writer | March 26

Auburn gymnastics coach Jeff Graba was voted SEC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and the third time in four years. Graba led the Tigers to a historic season that included several broken program records, including highest NCAA Regional seed, highest overall score and first sellout crowd of 7,424 in Auburn Arena. Graba also led Auburn to a win over Georgia, only the fourth in 80 meetings. The eighth-ranked Tigers finished fourth at the SEC Championship for the first time in the program’s history, and its RQS of 197.045 is a program record. Auburn scored a 197 or higher five times this season.

Softball takes loss and victory at FSU

March 26

After claiming the eighth spot in the NFCA top ten, Auburn snapped its eight-game winning streak in the first match against FSU on Wednesday night, March 25 in Tallahassee, losing 10-7. The double-header then turned around with a win for the Tigers in the second match, 10-4; the first time Auburn has defeated FSU since 2011. For only the third time in the 2015 season, the Auburn offense did not hit a single home run, but did manage to score 10 runs off of nine hits, including four RBI from Branndi Melero and two RBI from Haley Fagan. On defense, Rachel Waters toughed out a full seven innings of game play, only giving up three runs from the Seminoles at bat. As far as game one goes, the Tigers were able to bring in three runs early on, but couldn’t respond to the seven FSU rounded by the bottom of the second inning. Jade Rhodes gave hope to the team in the third hitting her 15th, nation-leading homerun that brought in three more, but the Seminoles answered with an additional three to end the game, 10-7. The Tigers now stand at 33-3 and will take on Missouri in a weekend series starting Friday, March 27 at 6:30 pm.

Tigers drop road game at Georgia Tech

By Derek Thompson | Sports Reporter | March 24

Auburn baseball was defeated 4-1 by Georgia Tech Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Report: Atewe informs coaches he plans to transfer

By Eric Wallace | Sports Writer | March 24

Atewe missed last season after re-injuring his left leg in an exhibition, which underwent surgery during the offseason.

Softball rises to No. 8 in NFCA rankings

March 24

Auburn currently also claims the No. 4 spot in the NCAA Women’s Softball RPI with a spotless record in SEC play, 6-0.

Auburn gymnastics finishes regular season No. 8

By Andrew Monson | Sports Writer | March 24

Auburn gymnastics held its No. 8 ranking as the regular season comes to a close, its highest final regular season ranking in program history. The Tigers also managed to raise its Regional Qualifying Score to 197.045, another program record. Auburn ranks eighth nationally on vault (49.345), 12th on bars (49.265), eighth on beam (49.315) and 10th on floor (49.315). Individual rankings of note include Caitlin Atkinson at seventh nationally in all-around and Megan Walker at 11th on beam. Up next for the Tigers is the NCAA Regional on April 4 at 6 p.m.

No. 8 Auburn gymnastics earn No. 2 seed in NCAA Regional

March 23

No. 8 Auburn gymnastics was selected as the No. 2 seed for the NCAA Regional in Auburn Arena on April 4.

No. 4 Auburn men’s golf wins third consecutive tournament

By Andrew Monson | Sports Writer | March 22

The No. 4 Auburn men’s golf team won the Schenkel Invitational over second place No. 6 Vanderbilt by one stroke at the Forest Heights Country Club on Saturday, March 21. The Tigers’ 41-under 823 total score is the second-lowest 54-hole score in program history, and its 269 second round total tied the program record for a single round. Senior Dan Stringfellow also earned his first collegiate victory, shooting a 12-under 204, which is the third-lowest 54-hole individual score in program history. Freshman Ben Schlottman and sophomore Will Long tied for second, each shooting 11-under 205. All-SEC sophomore Matt Gilchrest shot a 5-under 211 to tie for 17th, freshman Matthew Perrine shot a 3-under 213 for 31st and junior Michael Johnson shot a 1-under 215 for 37th. Auburn’s next event is March 29-30 at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate at the Bulls Bay Gold Course in Awendaw, South Carolina.