May 16, 2008
AUBURN, Ala. -
Freshman outfielder Brian Fletcher hit a pair of home runs that drove in five runs but No. 16 LSU's offense was relentless for the second straight game as Auburn fell, 15-6, on Friday night at Plainsman Park.
Fletcher collected his sixth and seventh home runs in his last 15 games in the first two innings, hitting a two-run jack over the 385 sign in left-center in the first and a three-run job to the right of the batter's eye in center in the second as Auburn built a 5-2 lead after two.
With Auburn (28-27, 11-18 SEC) collecting five runs on four hits and three walks off of LSU (38-16-1, 17-11-1 SEC) starter Blake Martin over the first two innings, LSU brought in Ryan Byrd (2-1) to start the third and the lefty shutdown Auburn from there, allowing just four base runners over six innings to pick up the win in relief.
Auburn's pitching staff was not as fortunate as starter Taylor Thompson (3-6) was tagged for six runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings to take the loss before turning the ball over to Evan Crawford, who surrendered five runs (three earned) on six hits and four walks in 3.2 innings. LSU collected just six extra-base hits on the night but tallied 18 hits overall.
Auburn's defense did not do its pitching staff any favors, committing a season-high five errors as LSU scored six unearned runs on the night.
"It was not a very good effort," Auburn Head Coach Tom Slater said. "We jumped out to a 5-2 lead but we did not pitch well at all and obviously we had some very uncharacteristic defense for us tonight. We made five errors which were routine plays. It was a poor night for us across the board."
Blake Dean (2-for-5, BB, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Matt Clark (3-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 R) and Leon Landry (3-for-5, 2 R) all hit home runs for LSU.
LSU scored its final four runs (all unearned) off of Sean Ray, who struckout a career-high five in 2.0 innings.
Joseph Sanders' sixth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a six-inning single.
The two teams will close out the series on Saturday afternoon at 2pm CT. Auburn will honor its' 1978 SEC Championship team during the contest and will also make a presentation to the American Cancer Society in pre-game festivities.
Auburn will send Jr. RHP Luke Greinke (4-4, 4.47) to the hill in the season finale while LSU has yet to decide on its starter.