May 2, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - Casey McElroy went 3-for-3 with a double and a RBI but Auburn could not generate enough offense to tackle an Ole Miss ball club that has won 18 of its last 23 games, falling 8-2 to the No. 7 team in the country on Saturday night at Plainsman Park.
Auburn tallied 13 hits on the night but could only push two runs across, leaving 11 men on base, with both runs coming in the first two innings as Auburn led 2-1 before Ole Miss scored seven unanswered runs. A McElroy bases-loaded, two-out walk in the first pushed Auburn's first run across and then a Dan Gamache sacrifice fly in the second scored Kevin Patterson before Ole Miss broke through with a four-run third.
"You look at when their hits came, with guys in scoring position, and then you look at when we had crucial strike outs," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "I think the tone was set in the first inning. We had bases loaded with none out and we were only able to manufacture one run out of it. We picked a bad time to strike out three times."
Nathan Baker (4-1) pitched 4 2/3 innings out of the pen for Ole Miss (35-13, 15-8 SEC), not allowing a run on six hits while striking out five to pick up the win.
"To their credit, Ole Miss pitched well again," Pawlowski said. "Their second (Baker) and third (David Goforth) guys both were 90, 91 with good fastballs and they pitched very well."
Grant Dayton (2-5) took the loss for Auburn (27-21, 8-15 SEC), allowing six runs on eight hits in his shortest start of the season (3 1/3 innings).
Matt Smith was 2-for-4 on the night for Ole Miss with three RBI, hitting a two-run home run in the four-run third and a run-scoring double in the fourth.
Tim Ferguson was 3-for-3 with three RBI for Ole Miss, pushing a pair of runs across the plate in the third with a triple and then singling home Ole Miss' seventh run on the night in the fifth.
Trent Mummey was 2-for-5 with a run for Auburn, singling and scoring in the first while Patterson was 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Justin Hargett finished with three hits.
During the fifth inning of the game, the crowd rose to its feet to honor Mary-Louise Pawlowski, daughter of the Auburn head coach, who was attending her first game at Auburn after battling a lengthy illness. She was made an honorary member of the Auburn Diamond Dolls during a brief presentation on the field.
"There is no way that I can reach out and thank everybody. I hope people know how much we appreciate what they have done for her. It means the world to us," Pawlowski said.
Auburn will try to salvage the final game of the series on Sunday when it sends Fr. RHP Dexter Price (3-1, 5.40 ERA) to the mound against Ole Miss Sr. RHP Scott Bittle (5-2, 2.17).
First pitch is set for 1pm CT and the game will air live on CSS.
Ole Miss 8, Auburn 2 (May 02, 2009 at Auburn, AL)
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Ole Miss............ 014 110 001 - 8 14 0 (35-13, 15-8 SEC)
Auburn.............. 110 000 000 - 2 13 1 (27-21, 8-15 SEC)
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Win-Nathan Baker(4-1) Loss-Grant Dayton(2-5) T-3:06 A-2672
HR OM - Matt Smith (5); Matt Snyder (7).
