Auburn Baseball: Tigers Remain Undefeated after Surviving First Road Contest
By Taylor Jones
Luke Jarvis’ three-run home run in the 8th inning moves #18 Auburn past #11 South Alabama on Tuesday, moving the Tigers to 9-0 on the season
Jarvis doubled his season RBI total after three Auburn 1-out singles. Jay Estes reached base, scoring one at-bat later thanks to a Brett Wright single. Will Holland joined pinch-runner Cade Evans on the basepaths after he recorded second hit of the night. Tied with South Alabama at 4, Jarvis needed to take advantage of the opportunity in order to move his team in front. The San Diego product nailed a long ball that sailed over the left field wall, moving Auburn ahead by three runs.
The Jaguars did not succumb to the crucial hit, as Hunter Stokes scored two on a double to left-center field. However, South Alabama could not muster any more runs off of Auburn’s Cody Greenhill, falling by one run.
Auburn opened the game by scoring three runs over the first four innings. Josh Anthony singled home Steven Williams in the 1st, Will Holland singled home Jay Estes in the 2nd, and Brendan Venter scored Luke Jarvis in the 4th. South Alabama’s big inning came in the 5th inning, scoring 4 runs on 4 hits off of two Auburn pitchers.
Mitchell excels in start, Jags attack Auburn bullpen
Redshirt senior Andrew Mitchell got his second mid-week nod of the season, striking out six over four complete innings. The Jaguars quickly pounced on the first Tiger pitcher to emerge from the bullpen, Welby Malczewski. Malczewski was tagged with all four of South Alabama’s runs in the fourth inning and was pulled after just recording two outs. Calvin Coker replaced Malczewski, striking out two and allowing a hit in 1.1 innings.
Elliot Anderson (2-0) earned the win for Auburn, pitching one complete inning. Although he was not on the mound when the Jaguars scored two runs in the 8th, he was responsible for the two runners who scored for getting on base. Cody Greenhill finished the game for Auburn, allowing two hits and earning the two-inning save, his first of the season.
Next Up for Auburn
Auburn welcomes BYU to the Plains for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday evening. The Cougars will enter the series at 5-3, with a series win over Cal State Northridge, and a series-split with Hawai’i. Bryan Hsu leads in average, batting .476 in five games. He is also joined by Brock Hale and Mitch McIntyre as team leaders in home runs with one. Kyle Dean leads with 6 RBI.
On the mound, Hayden Rogers enters with a 2-0 record, 3.65 ERA, and six strikeouts.
Interesting note: BYU’s associate head coach Trent Pratt is an Auburn alum. Pratt transferred to Auburn from Arizona State and played two seasons (2001-2002) under Coach Steve Renfroe, and was a teammate of Auburn assistant coach Gabe Gross for one season. In a post on BYUCougars.com, Pratt was quoted as saying, “The memories and friendships created there will last throughout my lifetime. I am forever grateful for the Auburn family and how they shaped me as a player and person.“
The series begins Friday, with a double-header featured on Saturday due to BYU’s policy which does not permit Cougar athletics to be played on Sundays.
Friday: 5 P.M./Saturday Game 1: 12 P.M./Saturday Game 2: TBA
Friday’s game will be broadcasted on SEC Network+