April 8, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. -
Game 1 Box Score in PDF Format
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Game 2 Box Score in PDF Format
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After losing the opener, the Auburn baseball team responded with a win in the second game, earning a split of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader with Ole Miss at Swayze Field. Ole Miss defeated the Tigers, 14-2, in the opener while AU bounced back to win the nightcap, 6-2.
"All the credit goes to our kids. What a great job after a rough first game and it started on the mound. Evan Crawford was really good and he did an outstanding job of getting us seven innings," AU Head Coach Tom Slater said. "Justin Bristow and Jonathan Rasberry then provided big, clutch hits for us late."
It was back-to-back one-out RBI doubles by Bristow and Rasberry in the seventh that broke open a 1-1 tie as the Tigers earned their first win away from Plainsman Park on the season.
The bottom third of the order provided most of the offensive punch for the Tigers in the nightcap as Jeff Boutwell went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, Bristow went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI and Rasberry was 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.
The Tigers' rode the arm of freshman Evan Crawford (4-4) to the win in the nightcap as he surrendered just one run on five hits in seven complete. It was the fifth consecutive outing that he surrendered three or less runs while pitching at least five full innings.
"Evan is the complete package. He has good stuff and he has a lot of mental toughness. He is going to be a very special guy for us over the next couple of years," Slater said. "He has turned himself from a guy that came in and had a really good arm and he has started to become a pitcher."
Tyler Johnstone was 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs in the second game of the day.
The Rebels' Brett Bukvich (3-3) took the loss in game two as he allowed three runs on five hits in 6.1 innings.
The first game saw the Tigers jump out to a 2-0 lead after the top of the first only to see the Rebels answer with three runs in the bottom of the second before pouring it on over their last three innings, collecting 11 runs on 12 hits off of the Auburn bullpen.
Mike Bianucci finished the first game 4-for-4 with four hard-hit singles.
Ole Miss starter Craig Rodriguez (1-0) went the distance in the first game, surrendering just the two runs on seven hits while striking out six to get his first win of the season.
AU's Brett Butts took the loss to fall to 2-5 on the year.
Auburn (15-19, 4-7 SEC) will go after its second consecutive series win on Sunday as the Tigers send Chris Dennis to the mound while Ole Miss (18-13, 5-6 SEC) counters with Lance Lynn. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. CT.