On Friday, the Tigers were able to knock off the No. 1 ranked Ole Miss Rebels by a score of 19-5. Game two was very different from the Rebels’ 13-6 victory on Thursday evening.
The Rebels struck first in the top of the third inning when Justin Bench hit a double to left field that scored one run. It didn’t take long for the Tigers to strike back. Sonny DiChiara got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly that plated the Tigers’ first run of the game. The Tigers grabbed three more runs in the bottom of the third inning to make it a 4-1 score heading into the fourth inning.
The fourth inning was very similar in Auburn’s successful approaches at the plate. Mike Bello and Blake Rambusch would hit back-to-back doubles to give Auburn yet another run. Two batters later, DiChiara delivered yet again with a two-run homer for the Tigers. The scoring never went away for the heavy-hitting Tigers on Friday evening.
TO THE MOON!! 🌙@SonnyDichiara clears the scoreboard!! pic.twitter.com/snwd6OUBMu
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) March 19, 2022
Rambusch hit yet another double in the bottom of the sixth to score Bello again. In the top of the seventh, the Rebels were able to push across two more runs making it 9-3. Yet again in the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers’ bats were put on display. Bello and Rambusch both had RBIs and Kason Howell delivered a three-run bomb.
Have a night, @BelloMikey! 👊
He's 2-for-2 with three runs. pic.twitter.com/l4xdRlwFpG
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) March 19, 2022
Watch it fly! 💣
You hang it, @kasonhowell55 bangs it! pic.twitter.com/Xq6fi7W3jK
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) March 19, 2022
The top of the eighth brought two more runs for the Hotty Toddy, but it wasn’t enough. In the bottom of the eighth, Butch Thompson’s squad added four more.
The Tigers’ scoring efforts were led by Rambusch and DiChiara each with four RBIs. Howell added another three RBIs. An interesting fact is those three batters were one, two, and three in the lineup for the Tigers in game two. Starting pitcher Hayden Mullins (2-1) picked up the win. He pitched five innings allowing just two hits on one run. On the other side, Ole Miss’s starting pitcher Derek Diamond(3-1) took the loss on the night. He pitched 3.1 innings while giving up four walks and five runs. It was a fun night of baseball, to say the least at Plainsman Park.
The Tigers improve to 14-5 on the year while the Rebels will fall to 14-4. Game three is the final game of the series between the two. With the series being split, Auburn will look to take the series against the nation’s No. 1 team on Saturday in the rubber match.
The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.