April 14, 2009
MOBILE, Ala. - Auburn had its 14-game non-conference winning streak snapped on Tuesday night at South Alabama, mustering just six hits in a 5-2 loss.
"We didn't compete. You don't have to have base hits, but fighting off pitches and giving us quality at bats and we just didn't have many of those today," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "We weren't able to build any innings, we weren't able to get leadoff guys on and we hit a lot of fly balls. The offense has to be creative and if we don't hit the home runs it makes it very difficult."
Chris LaGrow (1-0) earned the win for South Alabama, working into the fifth in a designated split start and allowing just two runs on four hits.
David Doss staked South Alabama (15-19) to a 1-0 lead in the first when he singled home Adam Heisler, who had hit a two-out double past a diving Hunter Morris and down the right field line.
Doss' two-out double to right-center made it a 2-0 South Alabama lead in the third, scoring Zach Grichor from first, who had singled to left with one out in the inning. Doss finished the night 2-for-4 with two RBI while Grichor was 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI.
South Alabama scored three more times in the fourth to knock Auburn starter Dexter Price out of the game after 3 2/3 innings. South Alabama used a Derek O'Reilly RBI single and a Clint Reynolds sac fly to center to chase Price, who left after allowing seven hits and two walks while only recording one strikeout, departing with a man on second. With Scott Shuman on the mound in relief of Price, Grichor greeted him with a single up the middle to score O'Reilly to make it 5-0 as Price was charged for five runs in his third-shortest outing of the season.
Auburn's only scoring inning came in the fifth as it knocked LaGrow from the mound after the junior lefty had allowed four hits and two walks while also recording just one strikeout. Though neither run scored while LaGrow was on the mound, reliever D.D. Hanks was unable to keep Auburn off the board, entering with the bases loaded and just one out. A Trent Mummey fielder's choice scored Casey McElroy from third for Auburn's first run before a Joseph Sanders RBI single plated Chezz McCann, who had walked earlier in the inning. The RBI was the 50th of the season for Sanders, who needs just two more to equal his team-leading total of 52 from 2008.
Lance Baxter worked the final 2 2/3 innings to earn his first save, surrendering a hit and two walks while striking out five.
Shuman threw the second-longest relief outing of his career, throwing four scoreless innings to keep Auburn within striking distance. In four innings, he allowed five base runners on four hits and a walk while striking out three, departing with runners on first and second and two down in the eighth in favor of Michael Hurst, who walked the first hitter he faced to load the bases before getting O'Reilly to pop up to end the inning.
"I thought Scott did a great job. He came in there and threw a lot of strikes and pitched with a passion." Pawlowski said. "His slider was really good and I was encouraged by that. His last three outings have been pretty impressive and we can continue to get that from him, it will be a big boost for the pitching staff."
Auburn fell to 23-13 on the year.
Justin Hargett's two-out single back up the middle with two down in the third extended his hitting streak to a personal-best 10 games, dating back to the Sunday contest against Vanderbilt on March 29.
The two teams will play the second half of the home-and-home Wednesday night at Plainsman Park in Auburn at 6pm. All tickets to the game are just two dollars and tickets purchased for the originally scheduled April 14 game between the two teams will be honored.
South Alabama 5, Auburn 2 (Apr 14, 2009 at Mobile, AL)
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Auburn.............. 000 020 000 - 2 6 0 (23-13)
South Alabama....... 101 300 00X - 5 11 0 (15-19)
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Win-LaGrow, Chris(1-0) Save-Baxter, Lance(1) Loss-Dexter Price(3-1) T-2:18 A-1843
Weather: 69 degrees; Sunny
