March 2, 2016
Soph. Andrew Mitchell pitched six innings with eight strikeouts on Wednesday. (Auburn Photo)
AUBURN, Ala. - Andrew Mitchell pitched six innings of one-hit ball with eight strikeouts to help Auburn shutout Alabama A&M 5-0 on Wednesday at Plainsman Park.
"I thought the shining point-I'm such a pitching guy and I'm always talking about how we need more and more; I think Andrew Mitchell is incrementally growing, growing at a little bit of a rate," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "He gave us five shutout innings last week, gets through six innings today and really helps us. When you play the Tuesday-Wednesday and you're about to go on the road and play three opponents that are a combined 21-2, it really helped to get a good start today. He did that for us."
Mitchell improved to 2-0 on the year and allowed just four baserunners.
Auburn (6-3) took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a RBI single by Niko Buentello. The junior leads the Tigers with 20 RBI in nine games this season.
Auburn used a two-out rally in the fifth to tack on three more after Jonathan Foster was hit by a pitch and chased home on a RBI triple by Anfernee Grier. Joshua Palacios reached on an error allowing another run to come home before Jordan Ebert doubled to plate Palacios and a 4-0 lead.
Grier, who had two walks in addition to his triple and two RBI, was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning to bring home another run for the 5-0 advantage.
Auburn relievers Marc Frazier, Izaac Yarbrough and Gabe Klobosits combined to toss the final three innings with just one hit allowed.
Alabama A&M (2-8) starter Parker Hill took the loss to drop to 0-1 with four runs allowed in five innings.
Auburn tallied a season high six stolen bases to increase its SEC-best total to 27.
The Tigers return to action March 4-6 at the Cox Diamond Invitational at the Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, Fla. Auburn faces Troy on Friday at 6 pm CT.