Tag: Cooper McMurray

Offensive struggles plague Auburn in season-ending loss to Southern Miss

Auburn recorded nine hits and stranded 11, but only collected two runs in the season finale.

After recording the hottest second half in the SEC this season, the Auburn Tigers played their way into the NCAA Tournament as a regional host for the second-straight season.

Unfortunately, the Tigers’ splendid run came to a screeching halt on Saturday afternoon. Behind four home runs and a strong outing on the mound, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles defeated Auburn, 7-2, to eliminate the hosts from the Auburn Regional at Plainsman Park.

Both teams found themselves in the loser’s bracket after dropping their opening-round games on Friday. Auburn tallied just four hits in Friday’s loss to Penn and hoped to revive the bats in an effort to stay alive. However, it would be Southern Miss that grabbed momentum early and would ride it until the final out.

With two runners on, and one out, Southern Miss’ Christopher Sargent crushed a home run to right field to put the Golden Eagles up, 3-0 before Auburn could grab a bat.

Dustin Dickerson would be responsible for the Golden Eagles’ next two runs, as he would hit home runs in back-to-back at-bats in the 3rd and 5th innings to give Southern Miss a comfortable 5-0 advantage. Rodrigo Montenegro hit a sacrifice fly in the 6th inning to extend Southern Miss’ lead to 6-0 before Auburn would strike.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, two singles by [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] and [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] would bring life back to the Auburn lineup and cut Southern Miss’ lead to 6-2. The Tigers would leave six runners on base in the final three innings but failed to send another run across to score.

Southern Miss’ dagger came in the 8th inning on a solo home run by Danny Lynch to bring the lead to 7-2.

“The responsibility lies on me,” Auburn coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said following Saturday’s loss. “Our team made a good run. This group put us in position after a really tough start and stayed in the fight the entire season to get us to this point to host a regional. We didn’t link it up enough in these two days to have success against two really good opponents.”

Eight batters recorded hits for Auburn in the game, with [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] being the lone Tiger to pick up two hits. Auburn would also fail to record a multi-base hit in its second consecutive game.

“We pride ourselves on getting timely hits the past month or so,” senior [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] said. “The past few games, for whatever reason, it hasn’t been falling our way. Hats off to Southern Miss, they played a great game. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this team.”

[autotag]Tommy Vail[/autotag] took the loss for Auburn. After becoming the team’s ace on the backend of the schedule, Vail ran into a stretch of bad luck on Saturday by allowing four earned runs on four hits while recording four strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.

“He’s a fighter for us,” Thompson said of Vail. “We would not have been able to be here without Tommy Vail.”

In relief, [autotag]Konnor Copeland[/autotag] and [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag] worked 4.2 innings and allowed five hits and two runs. Isbell struck out four batters in his 3.2 innings of relief.

Auburn’s season ends with a 34-21-1 record. Southern Miss will face the loser of Penn/Samford on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT in another elimination game.

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Auburn baseball drops regional opener to Penn

The Quakers scored three runs in the 11th inning to stun the regional hosts on Friday night.

Samford opened the Auburn Regional on Friday afternoon by stunning Southern Miss, 4-2, to force the Golden Eagles into the losers bracket.

Turns out, that would not be the only upset that the walls of Plainsman Park would see on the day.

The No. 13 overall seed, Auburn, hosted the Ivy League Champion Penn Quakers in the No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchup in primetime on Friday evening only to leave in defeat as they fell to Penn, 6-3 in 11 innings.

After tying the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the 8th inning to ultimately set up extra baseball, the Quakers pieced together three runs in the top of the 11th inning thanks to a pair of fielder’s choices and an RBI double by Ryan Taylor. Penn’s Carson Ozmer faced the minimum in the bottom half of the inning to nail down the win for his team.

“I give all the credit in the world to Penn,” Auburn coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said following the game. “We knew they had a high-level pitching staff. We just didn’t get enough hits. We couldn’t link up enough offensively to keep pace.”

Ozmer got the win for the Quakers by tossing 3.2 innings of relief where he allowed one hit and struck out three batters. His relief outing complimented Ryan Dromboski’s start which lasted 5.1 innings. While on the mound, Dromboski allowed three hits, two earned runs, and four walks while striking out eight batters. Penn pitchers combined to strike out 14 Auburn batters in the game while only allowing four hits.

After three innings of scoreless effort from both squads, Penn grabbed an early lead in the top of the 4th on a double by Wyatt Henseler to give his team the early 1-0 lead. The Tigers responded in the 6th inning by stealing the lead away on a bases-loaded walk to [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] and a groundout by [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] that scored [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] from third base to put Auburn ahead, 2-1.

Penn regained the advantage in the top of the 8th inning on a two-run blast by Jackson Appel to move them ahead, 3-2. The lead was shortlived as [autotag]Brody Moss[/autotag] was walked with the bases loaded to score [autotag]Josh Hall[/autotag] to ultimately send the game to extra innings.

Auburn will look to rebound on Saturday afternoon as the Tigers will face Southern Miss in an elimination game at Plainsman Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN+.

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Auburn completes sweep of Missouri, ends regular season on 8-game winning streak

The Tigers are playing their best baseball right at the start of postseason play.

The Auburn Tigers are officially red-hot. 

After taking both games in Friday’s doubleheader over Missouri, they had a chance to sweep their second straight SEC series. It wasn’t looking good as they entered the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 7-4 in Plainsman Park Saturday.

As it has all season Auburn’s offense came alive when they needed it most, exploding for five runs to take a commanding 9-7 lead and win the game. Auburn secured its fifth straight SEC series win and ended the season on an eight-game winning streak with the comeback. They are now 33-19-1 overall and 17-13 in league play.

“We absolutely played hard and kept going,” Auburn coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “When it opened up and we got an opportunity, we made the most of it.”

[autotag]Brody Wortham[/autotag] started the eighth inning off with a single and came around to score on a [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] double to get the scoring started. [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] then singled Stanfield home to pull Auburn within one. 

[autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] followed up a [autotag]Bobby Pierce[/autotag] strikeout with a double to put the go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs for [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag]. Missouri decided to intentionally walk him to load the bases for freshmen [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag]. 

Before he could do anything the Missouri pitcher threw a wild pitch that allowed Foster to score and make it a 7-7 game. 

Irish then put Auburn ahead with a two-RBI single to make it a 9-7 game.

“We battled and we fought, we figured some stuff out and it’s all come together here lately,” Irish said. “I was not trying to do too much, stay with my approach and put the ball in play, especially with two strikes. They shifted on me and I hit it where they weren’t, and we got one to sneak through.”

He finished the game with a pair of doubles and two RBI.

Auburn was playing catchup the whole game after Missouri scored three runs in the first inning. They got two of the runs back in the second inning after [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] and Stanfield hit sacrifice flies to score Irish and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag], respectively.

Missouri added a run in the top of the third but Pierce responded with a double and scored on a Ware single to make it 4-3 in the bottom of the inning.

Missouri then played small ball in the fourth to get their fifth run of the game. They led the inning off with a bunt single, advanced on a ground out and scored on a two-out double.

The home Tigers quickly responded when [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] led the home half of the inning off with a solo home run to make it 5-4. Both pitching staffs settled in after that, Auburn reliever [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] retired the next 10 batters he saw before allowing a single and then a home run in the eighth.

The lefty allowed two runs in 3.2 innings of work and struck out three and gave his offense a chance to get back in the game.

“I just wanted to go out there and fill up the zone and give my offense a chance to get back in this game, which obviously they did,” Bauman said. “Coming back on a short day’s rest, I wanted to keep it easy, let my defense work, which is what I try to do, and it ended up working out pretty well.”

[autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] entered in the eighth and the only runner he allowed was one he hit. He struck out one batter as he earned the win.

Auburn has not lost an SEC game since May 5 and is set to open its SEC Tournament run on Tuesday against Missouri.

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Auburn baseball earns 30th win with drubbing of Ole Miss

Auburn’s offensive dominance continued Saturday as the Tigers complete the sweep in Oxford.

After outscoring Ole Miss, 24-6 in Friday’s doubleheader sweep, Auburn continued its offensive dominance on Saturday en route to another impressive win.

The Tigers used a 20-hit effort at the plate and a solid defensive day to defeat Ole Miss, 13-5 on Saturday to complete the three-game sweep at Swayze Field in Oxford.

Auburn (30-19-1, 14-13 SEC) set the tone early by jumping out to a 12-run cushion before the Rebels (25-26, 6-21 SEC) had a chance to answer. [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] each plated runs on RBI singles in the top of the 2nd, and [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] smashed a solo home run in the 3rd inning to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.

Auburn would go on to do their most damage in the 5th and 7th innings. The Tigers scored six runs in the 5th to go ahead, 9-0, with a [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] grand slam being the biggest blow of the inning.

Auburn added three more runs in the 7th inning to push their lead to 12-0. Irish got the inning with a solo blast, with [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] adding runs with two-out singles.

The Rebels finally cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the 7th by scratching four runs across. Bo Gatlin put Ole Miss on the board with a two-run double, and later scored on a two-run home run by John Kramer to cut the Tigers lead to 12-4.

Each team traded runs in the 9th inning to cap scoring. McMurray again would extend the Tigers’ lead with a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag], and Ole Miss answered with a single by T.J. McCants to score Garrett Wood.

Every player in the Auburn lineup recorded a hit in the game, with five players recording three hits. McMurray led the team in RBI with five, while Foster and Irish each picked up two.

Starting pitcher [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag] allowed just one hit in 2.0 innings. [autotag]Drew Nelson[/autotag] earned the win for the Tigers by relieving Herberholz for 2.0 innings, where he allowed two hits and struck out one batter. [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag] led the pitching staff in strikeouts with two.

Auburn returns to Plainsman Park to play one more game at home this season on Tuesday. The Tigers and Jax State will do battle on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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Auburn run-rules No. 1 LSU to win series

Auburn handed No. 1 LSU its first SEC series loss of the season.

The Auburn Tigers took control early against top-ranked LSU with a six-run first inning as they run-ruled the visiting Tigers 12-2 to pick up the series win Sunday at Plainsman Park.

It is Auburn’s third straight SEC series win and they are now 27-19-1 overall and 11-13 in conference play.

“I thought all three games, even our loss, our processes were good,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “We absolutely showed up in a big way today.”

After getting six runs of support in the first inning, Auburn starter [autotag]Christian Herberholtz[/autotag] shut down the vaunted LSU offense, allowing just two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four batters in his first win of the season.

“I felt great,” Herberholz said of his outing. “Strike one is huge. I think if you get strike one you can do just about anything. Strike one is the biggest strike for sure.”

“Just trust your stuff and let your defense work behind you,” Herberholz added. “It was a good feeling, being able to trust every pitch you have and trust your defense behind you. I just try to give it my all and give our team the best chance to win.”

The two runs are the fewest LSU has scored in a game this season and their 11 total in the series is also their lowest output.

After LSU led the game off with a home run Auburn was immediately threatening thanks to three-straight walks in the bottom of the first. [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] singled to tie the game up before consecutive walks of [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag], [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag], and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] put Auburn ahead. [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] then singled home two more to give Auburn a commanding 6-1 lead.

Howell padded Auburn’s lead with a two-RBI triple in the fourth and then did the same in the sixth to make it an 11-1 game. He finished the game with five RBI and two triples.

“Yeah, it was an unbelievable weekend,” Howell said. “Our fans were unbelievable, me and my close friend graduating, it’s been a great weekend.

“This team has always fought,” Howell added. “That’s been a staple of our program ever since Coach Thompson took over. We’re fighters. Now we’re just doing it with a little bit of precision and skill that we’ve acquired. We’re just continuing to fight and give everything we have.”

[autotag]Drew Nelson[/autotag] relieved Herberholz in the sixth and was nearly perfect. He allowed just one hit in three innings of work up pick up the save and give Auburn the opportunity to run-rule the No. 1 team in the country.

They did just that in the eighth when [autotag]Bobby Pierce[/autotag] was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Pierce advanced to second on a groundout by Irish before LSU intentionally walked Ware.

McMurray made them pay with a hard grounder off the first base bag that got away from the fielder and drove in Pierce to end the game.

“I’m standing right there with them so I know when they’re connected, and it’s nice that we hooked it up,” Thompson added. “We’ve done an amazing job at figuring out who we are, getting marginally better in a couple spots and staying together. That’s what we have to do moving forward.”

Auburn will return to action Tuesday when they faceoff with Samford at the Hoover Met. The game is set to start at 6 p.m. CT.

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Auburn unable to complete sweep against South Carolina

The Tigers were unable to hold onto an early lead.

Auburn was nearly able to complete the sweep against South Carolina but came up just short as the Tigers lost 8-7 to the Gamecocks in Columbia.

The Tigers entered the ninth inning trailing 8-6 but [autotag]Bobby Pierce[/autotag] led the inning off with a home run to make it a one-run game. [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] walked to put the tieing run on but pinch-runner Josh Hall was picked off. [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] singled to keep the threat going but the next two batters were retired to end the game.

“I just thought the effort was tremendous,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “Bobby there in the ninth just kept us engaged and Ware gets a hit. It just felt like we kind of ran out of outs today instead of losing the ballgame because the competitive spirit was so good.”

The Tigers once again took an early lead, putting up four runs in the first inning. Chris Stanfield walked and scored on a fielder’s choice, [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] hit a solo shot.

The Gamecocks quickly responded, scoring two runs of their own in the first inning. [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] gave Auburn a 5-2 lead with a solo home run of his own in the second inning.

South Carolina answered with two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to tie it at 5-5 before Ware led the sixth inning off with his second homer to retake the lead. It was his 18th of the season.

The Tigers were unable to hold onto their lead as Tanner Bauman surrendered a three-run homer in the seventh inning.

Auburn’s eight pitchers combined to walk eight batters and allow 11 hits. True freshmen Cam Keshock and Ryan Olson were the only Auburn pitchers to not allow a run. They combined to pitch 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and striking out one batter.

“Great battle, all three games,” Thompson added. “If we’ll battle that way, like we did last week, if we battle like that, we’ll take whatever happens results wise. If we can keep the process and energy that will equal our true results.”

The Tigers will return to action Friday when they host No. 1 LSU for a three-game series.

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Auburn baseball clinches series at South Carolina with huge Saturday win

For the second straight game, Auburn used a big, early lead to cruise to victory.

Auburn baseball found themselves on the outside looking in of D1Baseball’s Field of 64 projections this week and continued to fall in the RPI ahead of a challenging series against the RPI’s top team in South Carolina.

The Tigers apparently used that as motivation, as they followed up Friday’s performance by scoring nine more runs on Saturday to take down South Carolina, 9-5, to clinch the series at Founders Park in Columbia.

For the second game in a row, Auburn jumped out to a comfortable lead in the first inning, which ended up paying off in the late innings. [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] each scored two runs with singles in the first inning to put Auburn ahead, 4-0, before the Gamecocks stepped to the plate.

“Two days in a row we scored in the first inning and really set a tone,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “It got us into the ballgame, and we did even more today in the first. You knew they’d make a rally, so we had to keep playing.”

Auburn tacked on two more runs in the 2nd inning on solo home runs by [autotag]Nate Larue[/autotag] and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] to extend the Tigers’ lead to 6-0. South Carolina got on the board in the bottom half of the inning on a single by Jonathan French.

Auburn’s hottest hitter, [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag], continued his stroke of luck by smacking two more home runs in the game. His first home run of the game was a two-run shot to center field and bumped Auburn’s lead to 8-1. He would score Auburn’s final run of the game in the top of the 9th inning with a solo home run.

McMurray has now hit seven home runs in seven straight games, and has now recorded three multi-home run games of the season.

“To open the day with a four-spot in the first is always big,” McMurray said Saturday. “Our pitching staff has come out and been really good for us and making it easy on the offense. On that side of the ball, we think we can score however many runs at any given time. It’s just about playing a full game of clean baseball.”

The Gamecocks began a rally in the middle innings, led by Cole Messina. Messina picked up four RBI on a 5th inning double and a two-run home run home run in the 7th inning. The rally would not be enough for South Carolina to earn the comeback, as they would fall to Auburn for the second straight game.

Auburn’s series win over South Carolina is the first time that the Gamecocks have dropped a series at home. Heading into the series, South Carolina had a 24-1 record at home, and have since dropped two straight.

“Players are allowed to get better, and this is a good step forward for us this weekend, but we have to keep playing,” Thompson said.

Pitching was also valuable in Saturday’s win. [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag], [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag], and [autotag]Konnor Copeland[/autotag] combined to strike out 11 batters and allowing just six hits.

Game three of the series between Auburn and South Carolina is set for 2 p.m. CT on Sunday. The game will be broadcasted on SEC Network+ as well as the Auburn Sports Network.

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Cooper McMurray named SEC Player of the Week

McMurray smashed five home runs in four games for Auburn last week, earning him the top weekly honor.

After a monster week at the plate, one of Auburn’s top sluggers is being recognized by the SEC.

Auburn first baseman [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] was honored by the Southeastern Conference on Monday by being named the stand-alone baseball player of the week for his contribution to Auburn’s successful week. McMurray led the SEC in several categories last week.

Auburn’s Cooper McMurray led the SEC in home runs (5) and total bases (20) last week while tying for the league lead in runs (7) and RBI (9) to help lead his team to three wins, including a series victory against Mississippi State. McMurray hit four home runs over the weekend, including a three-run homer and a two-run shot on Sunday. He also hit a solo home run in Auburn’s one-run victory on Friday. He is the first Auburn player to homer in three straight SEC games since 2010.

McMurray homered in all three of Auburn’s weekend games with Mississippi State last weekend and homered twice in Sunday’s finale. McMurray was credited with Auburn’s first runs in all three games of the weekend series with the Bulldogs.

McMurray and the Tigers will be back in action this week starting Tuesday when they host Troy at 6 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.

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Auburn storms back to defeat Mississippi State in wild series finale

Auburn and Mississippi State provided offensive fireworks for the second game in a row on Sunday.

If you enjoy offensive-heavy baseball, then the series between Auburn and Mississippi State was perfect for you.

After a low-scoring affair on Friday, Auburn and Mississippi State combined to score 44 runs over the final two games. In Sunday’s finale, the Tigers claimed the series with a 12-11 win over Mississippi State.

In a similar fashion to Saturday’s 11-10 win for Mississippi State, Auburn trailed the Bulldogs by a heavy margin in Sunday’s game before flipping the switch and starting a comeback.

The Tigers trailed Mississippi State, 7-0, through the first three innings of the game before hanging a three spot in the bottom of the 4th inning. For the third-straight game, [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] put Auburn on the board with a home run. His three-run blast trimmed the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-3. 

“I knew he had a good slider so I was just trying to stay on it,” McMurray said of Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijintje. “Fortunately he gave me one over the plate with two strikes and I was able to pull it down the line. Thank God it stayed fair. Doing whatever we can to help the team win. I’m blessed to be in that situation.”

The momentum would shift back to the Bulldogs in the top of the 5th inning, as two passed balls from Auburn’s [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] sent home two Mississippi State base runners to extend their lead to 9-3.

McMurray made his presence felt again in the bottom of the 6th inning as he crushed his second home run of the game off of the left field foul pole to cut Mississippi State’s lead to four. [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] joined the party as well by hitting a two-run blast of his own two at-bats later to cut the Bulldog advantage to 9-7.

A sacrifice fly by [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] in the 7th inning would get Auburn to within one, 9-8. Mississippi State would add another run in the 8th on a single by Kellum Clark to bring the Bulldogs’ advantage to 10-8.

With one out in the 8th inning, and two runners on, [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] smacked a three-run shot on the first pitch of the at-bat to left field to put Auburn ahead, 12-11. Mississippi State scored an unearned run in the top of the 9th to tie the game, but [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] would deliver the dagger in the bottom of the inning. His double to center field was deep enough to score [autotag]Josh Hall[/autotag], thus giving Auburn the series win.

“I’m just proud of them to keep fighting through everything that happens,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said Sunday. “If this is the new way this game is played, I’m the one who has to adjust more. They just need to keep fighting and find their opportunities when they can have success.”

Auburn has another challenging weekend ahead of them, as they travel to No. 6 South Carolina for another important SEC series starting Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Founders Park in Columbia. Before the road trip, the Tigers will host in-state foe Troy for a midweek clash on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.

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Auburn’s late rally falls short in game two loss to Mississippi State

The Tigers scored seven runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, but it wasn’t enough to earn the win.

Saturday’s middle game of Auburn’s series with Mississippi State got off to a quiet start, and it seemed as if the Tigers would remain in control for the remainder of the contest.

But a series of wild events would turn a casual Saturday into an offensive clinic that ended with Mississippi State rising victorious, 11-10 to even the series.

The Tigers held a 2-0 advantage through the first five innings of the game, but Mississippi State would blow the game open by scoring six runs in the 6th inning. They would also score three runs in the 8th, and two more in the 9th to take an 11-3 lead over Auburn as the Tigers headed into its’ final frame.

Despite digging itself into a deep hole, Auburn almost worked its’ way out of it.

Auburn would score seven runs on seven hits in the bottom of the 9th inning to cut the Bulldog advantage to one run, but a late strikeout would leave the tying run on 3rd base, ending Auburn’s threat.

“The will is good. It’s the execution, kind of the same thing from the pitching side,” head coach Butch Thompson said following Saturday’s game. “Still, we got within striking distance, still fighting, and there’s still an opportunity to win a series tomorrow, which is very important for us.”

It was business as usual for [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag], as he put Auburn on the board by hitting a home run for the second straight game. His two-run blast in the 2nd inning would give Auburn a 2-0 advantage, which is one that they would hang on to for three innings.

As the game turned to the 6th inning, Christian Herberholz would turn things over to [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] after shutting out the Bulldogs over five innings, allowing just three hits and walking one batter while striking out four. Bauman walked two of the first three batters that he would face, which caused Thompson to call on [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] to get Auburn out of the jam.

That, however, would not work, as the Bulldogs would score four runs on his watch. The big blow would be a three-run home run by Slate Alford, which would be the final batter that Armstrong would face. [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag] would end the inning, but he would see a blemish as well by giving up a two-run home run to Amani Larry to extend Mississippi State’s lead to 6-2.

Auburn would get a run back in the 7th inning on a [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] single that scored [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag], but the Bulldogs would catch wind again in the 8th and 9th inning to climb to an 11-3 lead. Kellum Clark and Luke Hancock each hit home runs over the final two innings, with Ross Highfill adding two runs in the 8th inning on a two-RBI double.

Auburn’s furious 9th-inning rally began with a leadoff home run by Howell and would grow after Tiger batters hit in five-straight at-bats with one out in the inning. Foster, [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag], and [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] would score runs in the sequence to trim Auburn’s lead to 11-7.

Howell would contribute to the comeback once more with two outs in the inning, as his two-out triple would score three runs and clear the bases to bring the Bulldog lead to 11-10. In the next at-bat, [autotag]Ryan Dyal[/autotag] would strike out, which ended the effort.

Eight batters recorded a hit in the game for Auburn, with three batters recording two-or-more hits. Howell had the most success at the plate for Auburn, as he went 3-for-5 with four RBI.

Following Herberholz’s 5.0 outing, [autotag]Drew Nelson[/autotag] and [autotag]Chase Alsup[/autotag] would be the only relievers to pitch at least one full inning. Nelson and Isbell combined to allow five earned runs, four hits, and four walks while striking out five batters in the final two innings.

Game three between Auburn and Mississippi State is set for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch on Sunday at Plainsman Park. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

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