The Auburn Tigers beat Mississippi State in two of three weekend match-ups to pull within half a game of MSU and Louisiana State in the SEC West. The Tigers overcame a 5-1 deficit to take the first game 7-5 and end the Bulldogs’ perfect Friday night record in the process. The Auburn pitchers shut out the Bulldog batters in eight of the nine innings as the Tiger hitters put up six unanswered runs in their last four innings.
Auburn got to work early with a first-inning RBI single by first baseman Scott Schade. On the play, MSU first baseman Matthew Brinson gunned down another would-be scorer at home plate to end the inning.
After being held scoreless the first four innings by AU starting pitcher Eric Brandon, the Bulldogs put up five runs in the fifth. Designated hitter Jon Mungle singled to right field to open the inning, and left fielder Michael Brown hit a single two batters later. After a walk loaded the bases, second baseman Chad Henry drove in all three runners with a two-out double to left center. Brinson brought Henry and himself home when he cranked the ball over the 30-foot “Green Monster” that made up the leftfield wall to give State a four-run lead.
Auburn scored two in the bottom half of the fifth and one in the sixth to pull within one run. In the seventh, MSU put Jonathan Papelbon on the mound to protect the narrow lead, but the Tigers stayed on the offensive. Papelbon beamed his first opponent, center fielder Javon Moran, to start the inning. After Moran stole second and advanced to third on a fly out, catcher Trent Pratt singled him in and reached second on an error. A groundball got past Brinson for another MSU error, and Pratt scored to give Auburn a 6-5 lead.
The Tigers posted an insurance run in the eighth, and closer Steven Register retired every batter he faced in the final two innings to seal the deal for Auburn. MSU starting pitcher Tanner Brock held Auburn to a single run on six hits in eight innings of work Saturday as the Bulldogs cruised to a 12-1 victory. Chad Henry led the Bulldog offense going two for four with four RBI, three of which came from a second-inning homerun that cleared the “Green Monster.” Brinson chipped in with two solo homeruns, his second and third of the series. Brinson’s first homerun of the game came in the top of the first with two outs. Third baseman Brent Lewis followed with a double and scored on a single by right fielder Steve Gendron.
The Bulldogs did the most damage in the second inning, which consisted of a Matthew Maniscalco RBI single to right field followed by Henry’s homerun.
The Tigers began substituting pitchers when MSU started the third in the same manner as the first two innings, but the Bulldogs continued to score consistently to assure the easy win. Auburn scored 19 runs on a season-high 22 hits Sunday to take game three and clinch the series. MSU nearly emptied the bullpen in the loss using seven pitchers throughout the game. Bulldog starting pitcher Joey Collums threw for one inning in his shortest outing of the season.
The Tigers struck in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded, a deep sacrifice fly by designated hitter Bobby Huddleston advanced all three runners to score the first run of the game. Pratt followed with a single up the middle that scored two runs. Auburn loaded the bases again, but Collums forced a popup to get out of the inning. Jacob Blakeney took the hill to start the second, but the Tigers managed to get three runs off him as well.
Auburn put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fourth by scoring seven runs to make it a 13-0 ballgame. State scored seven inconsequential runs in the last three innings, three of which came from Brinson’s fourth homerun of the series and tenth of the year. The Tigers posted four runs in the seventh and two in the eighth on their way to a 19-7 victory.
MSU’s two defeats marked the second time this year the team lost an SEC series. The Bulldogs, now 9-8 in the SEC, are tied with LSU for third place in their division.
Mississippi State hosts UAB on Tuesday and West Alabama on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.