Feb. 29, 2012
AUBURN, Ala. - Creede Simpson was 3-for-4 with a pair of walks and a career-high five RBIs as Auburn completed its two-game sweep of Alabama State with a 12-4 win on Wednesday night at Plainsman Park. The win upped Auburn's record to 6-4 while Alabama State fell to 1-9.
"We had a purpose in mind, a goal in mind this week to take care of business in the midweek," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "It was not the prettiest baseball game but we did what we needed to do and we found a way to win today. We had plenty of opportunities and we have to seize those moments."
Auburn found itself in a 3-0 hole as Alabama State tagged Auburn starter Rocky McCord for four hits and three runs in the first inning. It didn't take long for Auburn to respond, however, as Jay Gonzalez tripled and scored in the bottom of the first. Auburn then took advantage of four second-inning walks to take a 4-3 lead off of Alabama State starter Luke Melymick (0-1). The walks were just the start of what would be a plethora of free base runners as Auburn worked 15 walks, had two hit batters and had two runners reach on an error to go along with its 12 hits.
Caleb Bowen, the eight-hole hitter, drew four of the walks and scored a team-high four runs, walking and scoring in the second, third, fifth and eighth innings to go along with a sixth-inning single.
Gonzalez finished the night 1-for-3 with two walks, three runs, three RBIs and two steals to up his stolen base total to a SEC-best 12 in just 10 games.
Trey Cochran-Gill (1-0) got the win out of the Auburn bullpen, working three innings and allowing a run on four hits. As a staff the Auburn bullpen threw six innings with Cory Luckie (two innings) and Dillon Ortman (one inning) each facing the minimum number of batters.
"I was really encouraged by Trey. He pitched through a little tough luck but I thought he threw the ball well," Pawlowski said.
Cullen Wacker was 0-for-4 to have his eight-game hitting streak snapped while Simpson has now reached base safely in 14 games going back to last season.
The start of the game was delayed 25 minutes due to rain and then lasted 3 hours, 32 minutes.
Auburn returns to the diamond this weekend when it plays host to a four-team tournament. Auburn will face Purdue at 6pm on Friday and Charleston Southern and Southern Miss will play at 2pm. The tournament continues on Saturday with games at noon and 4pm and concludes on Sunday with games at 11am and 3pm. Auburn will play in the final game each day.
Auburn 12, Alabama State 4 (Feb 29, 2012 at Auburn, AL)
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Alabama State....... 300 010 000 - 4 9 2 (1-9)
Auburn.............. 132 020 13X - 12 12 2 (6-4)
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Win-Trey Cochran-Gill(1-0) Loss-MELYMICK,Luke(0-1) T-3:32 A-2049
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