April 2, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬- Auburn coach Butch Thompson called it a role reversal, that doubleheader split with No. 14 LSU on Saturday that saw the home team hold on in the first game, and the visitors do the same in the nightcap.
Blake Logan drove in four runs to lead Auburn to an 8-5 victory in Game 1. Auburn's four-run rally in the ninth in the second game wasn't enough to overtake LSU, the 8-6 winner. Logan drove in five in the doubleheader. Cody Nulph drove in three in the second game.
"We finished strong," Thompson said.
The final game of the weekend series is 1 p.m. Sunday in Plainsman Park, and Thompson pointed to a Kyler Deese 16-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning of the second game to show Auburn's will.
"It forced their closer to get into the ballgame. I hope that gives us a chance to win the series," Thompson said.
Auburn left the day with a 13-14 overall record and a 2-6 Southeastern Conference mark. LSU is 17-9 overall and 3-5 in the league.
Auburn kept up the fight after the first game. With two outs and nobody on in the ninth of the nightcap, the Tigers scored four times, ending the game with potential winning run on base.
"I think we really did well in that last inning. It's something we can build off of," Logan said.
The first game was better for Auburn, especially when Logan drove in three with a double.
"Winning the first game was big," Logan said.
Auburn scored four times in the third of the first game, thanks primarily to Logan's bases-clearing double. Joshua Palacios hit a homer and drove in two and Anfernee Grier drove in another. Logan drove in his fourth run with a double in the seventh. Justin Camp was the winner, allowing two runs in five innings to improve to 2-1. Alex Lange fell to 2-2.
Izaac Yarbrough got his first save of the season.
The Tigers tried to come all the way back in the ninth of the second game on RBIs by Niko Buentello, Blake Logan and Nulph. Jared Poche' was the winner, improved to 3-3. Cole Lipscomb fell to 1-3.
"All in all," Thompson said, "we want more."
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine