April 8, 2014
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By Phillip Marshall
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Stung by a lost weekend in Mississippi and looking to a crucial series at Alabama, Auburn's baseball team broke a four-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 6-0 victory over Troy at Plainsman Park.
Eight Auburn pitchers combined to shut out the Trojans on five hits. Starter Daniel Koger, who pitched two innings, got credit for the win. He was followed by Jacob Milliman, Justin Camp, Michael O'Neal, Robby Clements, Tre Wingenter, Trey Cochran-Gill and finally closer Terrance Dedrick.
Ryan Tella led the way plate, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI as the Tigers got to four Troy pitchers for 14 hits. Jordan Ebert, Daniel Robert and Anfernee Grier had two hits apiece.
Auburn played without senior second baseman Dan Glevenyak and senior third baseman Damek Tomscha, both team captains, for what head coach Sunny Golloway termed a "minor violation" of team rules. He said both will be back in the lineup at Alabama.
In their absence, Golloway started and all-freshman infield. Connor Short took over at third and Brett Binning at second, joining shortstop Damon Haecker and first baseman Keegan Thompson.
Auburn, swept at Ole Miss over the weekend, improved to 20-14 in Sunny Golloway's first season and will open a three-game series in Tuscaloosa on Friday night. Troy fell to 16-17.
First-year Auburn coach Sunny Golloway said it was a happy night after an unhappy weekend.
"I thought we really got after it and attacked the baseball well, and their arms are pretty good," Golloway said. "We've really worked hard since we got back from Ole Miss on our approach at the plate."
And Golloway's pitching plan worked to near perfection.
"When you run eight guys out there, there is a good chance somebody is not going to be on their game," Golloway said. "For all of them to throw the ball well is very surprising."
The Tigers wasted little time getting to Troy starter Chase Davidson, scoring two runs in the first on back-to-back doubles by Tella and Jordan Ebert and a run-scoring single by Daniel Robert. They got another run in the second Ebert's RBI single and another in the third on Anfernee Grier's RBI single.
Through three innings, the Tigers already had 11 hits but had not put the game away. In the sixth, Tella took care of that when he drove home two runs with his second double and fourth hit of the game.
"It was a good day for all our hitters. We were hunting the fastball, and I think we did a good job of that. Success brings fun, and we had fun tonight. We just have to bring that tomorrow and when we go to play Alabama over at their place.
"I think we finally decided to just let it come to us. We got in a couple of funks the past two weekends. It takes one night to spark something, one batter, one hit."
Phillip Marshall is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow Marshall on Twitter: