April 8, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - Joseph Sanders and Hunter Morris each hit home runs and Scott Shuman picked up his first win in over a year as Auburn ran its non-conference winning streak to 14 with a 6-3 win over Bethune-Cookman at Plainsman Park on Wednesday night. Auburn improved to 22-10 with the win while Bethune-Cookman dropped to 15-17.
"I thought we pitched very well yesterday and today. Scott Shuman threw the ball well again after throwing it well at Mississippi State (last weekend)," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "Our goals this week with two midweek games was to play solid baseball and find a way to win a couple of games, and we did that. Now we have to get ready for Florida."
Morris finished the night 2-for-3 to run his hitting streak to seven games and pick up his eighth multi-hit game of the season while Sanders' two RBI gives him nine multi-RBI games tonight and ups his season total to 44. The pair also upped the season home-run total to 69.
Scott Shuman (1-0) earned his first win since March 9, 2008, entering in the fifth with Auburn up 3-1 and runners on first and second and two out. He induced a groundball out of Chris Brown to end the inning and then retired six of the next nine hitters he faced before running into trouble in the eighth., allowing a leadoff walk, a two-run home run and another walk before being taken out of the game with one on and one out in the inning. He finished the night allowing two runs on three hits and three walks, striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.
Ryan Durrence drove in all three of Bethune-Cookman's runs, hitting a one-out solo home run in the second off of Auburn starter Paul Burnside and then a one-out, two-run shot off of Shuman in the eighth.
Bethune-Cookman starter Joseph Munoz (2-4) took the loss, surrendering four runs on six hits and three walks in four-plus innings, leaving after Morris' fifth-inning home run.
Austin Hubbard picked up his second save in as many nights, entering with two on and two out in the eighth and walking the first hitter he faced before fanning Drew Clark with the bases loaded to end the eighth. He then pitched around a leadoff triple in the ninth, striking out the heart of the Bethune-Cookman order, to earn his seventh save of the season and up his season strikeout tally to 39 in just 23 1/3 innings.
Sanders' 14th home run of the season erased a one-run deficit in the third and turned it into a 2-1 Auburn lead as he sent a 2-1 pitch out to left-center with Trent Mummey on first after being hit by a pitch.
Mummey's two-out single to right in the fourth scored Casey McElroy, who had walked to start the inning, to put Auburn up 3-1 before Morris delivered his eighth home run of the season in the fifth for a 4-1 lead with none out in the inning.
Following the Morris blast, Tony Caldwell continued his hot streak at the plate, tripling off of Bethune-Cookman reliever Edgar Serra and scoring on a wild pitch to make it 5-1 Auburn.
Auburn tacked on a final run in the bottom of the eighth as McElroy singled, went to second on an errant pickoff throw to first, moved up to third on a wild pitch and scored on Justin Hargett's single.
Making his first start since March 22, Burnside pitched into the fifth inning, allowing a run on three hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings, striking out three.
Auburn finished the game with a season-high five stolen bases, with Hargett stealing two and McElroy, Morris and Mummey each grabbing one.
Auburn returns to Southeastern Conference action this weekend when it plays host to No. 22 Florida for three games, beginning Friday at 6pm CT. The series continues on Saturday at 3pm and concludes on Sunday at 1pm.
Auburn 6, Bethune-Cookman 3 (Apr 08, 2009 at Auburn, AL)
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Bethune-Cookman..... 010 000 020 - 3 8 1 (15-17)
Auburn.............. 002 120 01X - 6 11 0 (22-10)
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Win-Scott Shuman(1-0) Save-Austin Hubbard(7) Loss-MUNOZ, Joseph(2-4) T-3:20 A-1710
HR BCU - DURRENCE, Ryan 2 (5).
HR AU - Joseph Sanders (14); Hunter Morris (8).
Weather: 63; Sunny; Wind from WSW 16MPH
