March 28, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - Jon Luke Jacobs allowed just three runs on eight hits while throwing into the seventh inning and earned the win thanks to two-run home runs off of the bats of Brian Fletcher and Ben Jones as Auburn evened its Southeastern Conference series at a game apiece with a 5-3 win on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park. Both teams go into Sunday's rubber game with identical 17-9, 3-5 SEC records.
"It all started with Jon Luke Jacobs. He went out there and established the zone early in the game and I thought that was the difference today," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "Jon Luke got us into the seventh inning and then Bradley (Hendrix) did a great job before (Austin) Hubbard came in got a strikeout in a big situation."
Jacobs (3-0) was good from the get-go despite allowing single runs in both the second and third innings, never allowing more than two hits in an inning while also putting down the side in order twice. By the time he left in the seventh, he had scattered three runs on eight hits and two walks, matching his strikeout total of six, which he has done three other times.
"I was able to locate my fastball and get my curveball going and just fill up the zone," Jacobs said. "Vanderbilt is a great-hitting ballclub, as we saw last night, but if you go in there and fill up the zone, you have a chance to win. I was not trying to be too fine but rather throw a lot a strikes and let the guys behind me make plays, which they did."
Fletcher's seventh home run of the season turned a one-run second-inning deficit into a 2-1 Auburn lead. Jones drew a one-out walk before Fletcher lined a shot over the K Corner in right.
Vanderbilt tied it at 2-2 in the top of the third on a Curt Casali sacrifice fly only to have Auburn manufacture a run in the bottom half of the inning to take a lead it would not relinquish. Trent Mummey was hit by a pitch by Vanderbilt starter Caleb Cotham with one out and then stole second to move into scoring position. A Hunter Morris two-out single through the left side with an exaggerated shift on for the powerful left handed hitter allowed Mummey to score easily with the go-ahead run.
Jones extended the lead to three-runs with his sixth-inning home run into the bullpen in right, making it 5-2 Auburn. Tony Caldwell had hit a two-out double past a diving Vanderbilt first baseman Casali to bring Jones to the plate. The senior then whacked a 1-0 change-up out of the park for his fifth home run of the season.
"I was looking fastball and he threw me a change-up and I just happened to run into it," Jones said of the home run. "Tony did a great job of getting into scoring position with two outs."
Jacobs and the bullpen did the rest from there as Bradley Hendrix and Austin Hubbard closed out the game with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, striking out a combined four.
Hendrix entered with a man on second and two down in the seventh and allowed a run-scoring single to Steven Liddle but Caldwell was able to throw out Liddle trying to steal second to end the inning, the 12th man Caldwell has gunned down this season.
Hendrix worked into the ninth and put two runners on when he allowed a one-out single to Brian Harris and a two-out walk to Liddle before Hubbard closed out the game with a four-pitch strike out of Casali to end the game. The save was the fourth of the season for Hubbard, tying him for third in the SEC.
Cotham allowed all five Auburn runs in 5 2/3 innings to fall to 3-3 on the year. The sophomore surrendered six hits and two walks and struck out seven.
The two home runs hit by Auburn upped the season total to 53 on the year, which is 11th all-time in school history.
The middle three in the Auburn batting order (Caldwell, Jones and Fletcher) finished the day a combined 4-for-10 with a double, two home runs, two walks, four runs and four RBI as Auburn snapped a five-game SEC-only losing streak that dated back to the Sunday loss at Tennessee in the second game of a doubleheader.
The rubber game of the series will be played at 1pm CT on Sunday. Auburn will throw Jr. RHP Taylor Thompson (1-1, 8.38 ERA) while Vanderbilt will throw Sr. RHP Nick Christiani (3-0, 4.78 ERA).
Auburn 5, Vanderbilt 3 (Mar 28, 2009 at Auburn, Ala.)
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Vanderbilt.......... 011 000 100 - 3 12 0 (17-9, 3-5 SEC)
Auburn.............. 021 002 00X - 5 7 0 (17-9, 3-5 SEC)
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Win-Jon Luke Jacobs(3-0) Save-Austin Hubbard(4) Loss-Caleb Cotham(3-3) T-2:46 A-2372
HR AU - Ben Jones (5); Brian Fletcher (7).
Weather: 68 degrees; Cloudy
