March 12, 2016
Freshman Casey Mize got the first victory of his collegiate career. (Auburn Photo)
AUBURN, Ala. - Freshman Casey Mize allowed just one run in seven innings and the Tigers erupted for 10 runs as Auburn baseball defeated Oral Roberts 10-1 on Saturday at Plainsman Park.
"The guys came out in the first inning and threw the first punch," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "Casey (Mize) really settled in a battled against a good team that is hard to strike out. They had good at-bats, but Casey was pretty good and gave us a good start. (Jordan) Ebert had a quality RBI in the sixth inning after falling behind in the count and that's the kind of at-bats we have to have. I just thought we moved it down the line more today and had more team at-bats today. The guys really passed information well and got in a good rhythm. Tomorrow is a big day and our growth is huge for us right now."
Mize struck out four as he completed seven innings for the second time in two career starts including last week's effort against Michigan State. He earned his first victory of his career and improved to 1-1 on the season.
Auburn (7-8) jumped on top 2-0 in the first on a double by Blake Logan that brought Joshua Palacios and Jordan Ebert in to score.
Palacios was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI to extend his reached base streak to 15 games.
In the third inning, Anfernee Grier homered, his third of the season, to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. The home run extended his hitting streak to 16 games dating back to the final game of 2015.
The Tigers scored two more in the fourth on RBI by Ebert and Palacios.
ORU (7-6) got its lone run in the fifth. Auburn answered with four runs in the sixth including Niko Buentello's SEC-leading 26th RBI of the season. Ebert, Palacios and Cody Nulph (ninth double) also had an RBI in the inning.
The Tigers tacked on another run on a RBI single from Ebert in the eighth to make it 10-1.
Ebert had three hits and three RBI. Logan drove in two.
Gordon Cardenas pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game for Auburn.
Logan Michaels (0-2) took the loss with five earned in four innings.
Auburn and Oral Roberts conclude the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.