April 4, 2009
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Auburn spotted Mississippi State a four-run lead in the first inning and never made a serious run after that, falling 8-3 in the second game of a Southeastern Conference series at Dudy Noble Field on Saturday afternoon. Russ Sneed finished the game a perfect 4-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored for Mississippi State to even the series at a game each heading into Sunday's series finale.
Mississippi State (16-14, 4-7 SEC) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first on four hits and two walks and never surrendered control from there, knocking Auburn starter Jon Luke Jacobs (3-1) out after five-plus innings to hand the redshirt freshman his first career loss.
"We got off to a rough start in the first inning," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "I think it really came down to the start that we had, we never got it going early. Offensively we didn't have a really good approach. (Nick Routt) threw the ball extremely well and we couldn't take advantage of a lot of things because we didn't have many opportunities."
Mississippi State's Nick Routt (4-1) threw his third consecutive complete game to earn the win, striking out a career- and MSU staff season-high 12 hitters, getting eight of Auburn's nine hitters at least once.
Grant Hogue led off the Mississippi State half of the first with a single, stole second and scored on Luke Adkins' RBI double to the wall in right-center. A Connor Powers home run over the 376 marking on the wall in left-center made it 3-0 before Jet Butler's sac fly scored Scott DeLoach to go up 4-0.
"Jon's fastball was running around on him and usually he has better command. He just didn't have it in the first inning," Pawlowski said. "I thought he came back and regrouped like he should. He did a good job and gave us some outs, which is what we needed; we just couldn't get anything going offensively."
Auburn finished the afternoon with just eight hits the day after pounding out a season-high 18 in Friday's 9-8 win.
Sneed's fourth home run of the year, a two-out solo shot to center in the bottom of the fifth, extended the Mississippi State lead to 5-0 off of Jacobs.
Auburn (19-10, 5-6 SEC) narrowed the gap to a two-run deficit in the top of the sixth at 5-3, scoring three runs on four hits, two of which were RBI doubles off of the bats of Hunter Morris and Ben Jones. Justin Hargett led off with a single and went to second on Joseph Sanders' one-out single to left. Morris' double off the glove of Sneed at third scored Hargett before Jones' brought home two with his eighth double of the year, extending his hitting streak to seven games.
Mississippi State got a run back in the top of the sixth as Ryan Collins led off with a single, knocking Jacobs out of the game after five-plus innings of eight hits and three walks against just one strikeout. Zach Blatt relieved him threw a wild pitch with his first offering that allowed Collins to go to second before Ryan Powers dropped down a sacrifice bunt to put a runner on third with one out. Hogue then singled him in to put Mississippi State up, 6-3. Tony Caldwell helped insure that it remained just a three-run game as he gunned down Hogue trying to steal second, the third MSU runner he caught stealing this weekend.
Mississippi State tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth as Sneed led off with a single and scored on Collins' RBI double. Ryan Powers finished off the scoring with a RBI single to left off of Blatt.
Blatt threw the final three innings for Auburn, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three.
Caldwell finished the day 0-for-4 at the plate, snapping his six-game hitting streak.
The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday. Auburn will send Jr. RHP Taylor Thompson (2-1, 7.98 ERA) to the mound while Mississippi State has not decided on a starter.
Mississippi State 8, Auburn 3 (Apr 04, 2009 at Starkville, MS)
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Auburn.............. 000 003 000 - 3 8 0 (19-10, 5-6 SEC)
Mississippi State... 400 011 020 - 8 12 0 (16-14, 4-7 SEC)
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Win-Nick Routt(4-1) Loss-Jon Luke Jacobs(3-1) T-2:12 A-6525
HR MSTATE - Connor Powers (7); Russ Sneed (4).
