May 15, 2008
AUBURN, Ala. -
Auburn ace Grant Dayton allowed six runs (five earned) for just the fourth time this season and Auburn's offense was not able to keep pace with No. 16 LSU as Auburn fell, 6-4, on Thursday night in the opening game of the final Southeastern Conference series of the year for both team.
Joseph Sanders (3-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) homered for the fourth straight game and ran his team-best hitting streak to 18 games, driving in three runs to up his RBI total to 25 during the streak and a team-best 52 on the year.
Auburn's five doubles in the game gave it 134 on the year, the seventh-highest single-season total while Sanders' homer was the 54th for Auburn this year, tying for ninth-best all-time. With Trent Mummey's third-inning triple, Auburn had seven extra-base hits on the night to give it 202 on the year, also seventh-best in school history.
Auburn took a 1-0 lead on Sanders' second-inning double to score Mike Bianucci (1-for-4, 2B, R), who had doubled to lead off the inning.
LSU (37-16-1, 16-11-1 SEC) answered two innings later with a pair of doubles, a single and two Auburn errors to stake itself to a 2-1 lead.
LSU added two more in the top of the sixth to go up 4-1 as DJ LeMahieu (3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI) doubled in Blake Dean (2-for-4, 2B, R) and then scored on Matt Clark's (2-for-4, 2 RBI) RBI single up the middle.
Auburn got a pair of runs back in the sixth to draw within a run at 4-3, but it was a play at the plate that changed the inning for Auburn. Sanders led off the inning with his sixth homer of the year, a blast to the scoreboard in left-center. Two batters later Kevin Patterson (1-for-5, 2B, R), making his first career start at first base, roped a two-out double down the line in left and scored as Ryan Jenkins (1-for-3, 2B, RBI) followed with his own double to left. It looked like it was going to continue to be a big inning for Auburn as Trent Mummey (3-for-5, 3B) followed with a single up the middle but Jenkins, who was hustling from the crack of the bat, was called out at the plate on LSU center fielder Jared Mitchell's throw to catcher Micah Gibbs.
LSU added a run in the seventh on Derek Helenihi's (2-for-5) RBI single only to have Auburn get it back in the bottom half of the inning on Sanders' RBI single that scored Brian Fletcher (2-for-3, BB, R).
LSU added an insurance run in the eighth on Clark's RBI single.
Dayton (7-2) was tagged for just his second loss of the season, allowing all six LSU runs on 13 hits, striking out seven. The loss snapped a personal six-game winning streak for the left-hander.
LSU starter Ryan Verdugo (8-2) earned the win, tossing 5.2 innings and allowing three runs on six hits and two walk.
Jared Bradford earned his fourth save, allowing a run in 3.0 innings.
The loss dropped Auburn's record to 28-26 on the year, 11-17 SEC and eliminated Auburn from SEC Tournament contention.
"We had a goal at the beginning of the year to make it to the postseason and now we officially will not make it to Birmingham (site of the SEC Tournament), and that's tough. These kids have put in a lot of work since August. There is always a lot of disappointment when you put in as much work as these young men have," Auburn Head Coach Tom Slater said.
The two teams will play the second game of the three-game series at 6pm CT on Friday at Plainsman Park. Auburn will start So. RHP Taylor Thompson (3-5, 5.71) on the mound while LSU will send Jr. LHP Blake Martin (4-3, 4.80) to the hill.