Feb. 24, 2007
MOBILE, Ala. -
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Josh Donaldson went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBIs as Auburn's offense exploded for 11 runs on 11 hits in an 11-6 victory over Michigan State at the Coca-Cola Classic at Stanky Field on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Paul Burnside earned the victory for the Tigers, who moved to 9-1 on the year.
No. 29 Auburn jumped on top of the Spartans early and never let up, scoring runs in each of the first five innings. Donaldson's fourth home run of the season opened the scoring in the first and the Tigers continued to pour it on from there, collecting five hits and drawing four walks while getting some help from the MSU defense, which committed six errors in the first five innings, as Auburn took a 6-3 lead after five.
"We hit a lot of line drives and hard balls tonight. That is a good Michigan State team. They are going to win some games, but our kids played hard and got after it, putting a lot of pressure on them with our approach," AU Head Coach Tom Slater said.
Burnside (3-0) was strong for the third straight outing, striking out a career-high eight Michigan State hitters without issuing a walk in 5.2 innings.
"Michigan State wasn't afraid to turn on my fastball today, so I had to adjust to them later in the ball game just to slow their bats down," Burnside said. "The defense worked behind me today and the offense put up 11 runs, which makes it fun to pitch."
As a whole, the Auburn pitchers were again sharp, fanning a season-high 14 while issuing just one walk. Junior Brett Butts contributed four strikeouts to the total while sophomore Luke Greinke fanned two.
Auburn's seventh inning put the finishing touches on Auburn's sixth straight win as Donaldson roped a two-out, two-RBI double down the line in left and came around to score when sophomore Mike Bianucci doubled down the right field line to make it 10-3.
Michigan State hung three on the board in the top of the eighth on four hits and a walk but Greinke struckout Eli Boike with two on to end the inning before sending the Spartans down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
Freshman Ross Smith finished the game 3-for-5 for the Tigers, driving in a run.
Michigan State fell to 0-2 on the year as starter Jon Kibler (0-1) allowed six runs on six hits and four walks in 3.2 innings in the start.
Auburn will play its final game of the round-robin tournament at 2:30 pm CT Sunday when it takes on host South Alabama.
GAME NOTES
Fr. IF Joseph Sanders made his first start of the year, starting at first ... Sr. IF/OF Ryan Stanley also made his first start of the season and the ninth of his career ... Fr. IF Robert Brooks hit in the two-hole for the first time all season ... Jr. C/IF Josh Donaldson's first-inning home run was the 21st of his career ... So. RHP Paul Burnside's eight strikeouts were the most by an Auburn starter this season ... So. OF Mike Bianucci's fourth-inning single extended his team-best hitting streak to six ... Sr. OF Bruce Edwards had his string of 22 consecutive stolen bases snapped when he was caught stealing second in the fourth.