Feb. 26, 2017
Related Links
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Jay Estes had three hits with two RBI and Will Holland hit his first career home run as Auburn baseball completed the sweep of Holy Cross with a 13-4 win Sunday at Plainsman Park.
"Again, we had a little bit of a slow start. We had a much better start yesterday, but our guys hung in there," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "After the three frames, we stayed pretty consistent. We scored four innings in a row after that, along with the big eight-run inning. That started with Sam Gillikin putting the bunt down the third base line. After the hit and run, it seemed like every ball found a hole. The hard contact came later on with Will's (Holland) big shot. That inning started very unselfishly with Sam Gillikin laying down a bunt."
The win improved Auburn to 7-1 for the first time since 2007 and gave the Tigers their first three-game weekend sweep since 2015.
Auburn exploded for eight runs in the fifth on six hits including a 2-run homer by Holland. Blake Logan had sac fly and Estes had two hits in the inning, including a 2-run double. Jonah Todd and Daniel Robert both had RBI singles in the frame as the Tigers opened up a 9-2 lead.
Estes finished 3-for-6 with two RBI.
Trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning, Josh Anthony got Auburn on the board when he came around to score following an error in the outfield. Anthony scored three runs, singled and walked twice in the game.
The Tigers plated two more in both the sixth and the seventh. Auburn got two on a bases-loaded walk and hit by pitch, then Robert drove in another on a single and Holland picked up his third RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly as Auburn recorded a season-high 13 runs.
Robert finished with two hits and two RBI. He has reached base in all eighth games this season and in 23 straight dating back to 2016. Gillikin scored twice and drove in a pair. Mike Rojas came off the bench and had two singles.
Andrew Mitchell got the win in relief to improve to 2-0 on the season. He got two outs including a strikeout as he pitched Auburn out of a fifth-inning jam. Seven pitchers saw the mound total for Auburn including freshman starter Davis Daniel (4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, career-high 6 K).
Daniel allowed a third-inning run that ended Auburn's streak of 23.2 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to Tuesday's win over Florida A&M.
Alex Volpi was 2-for-3 with a homer for the Crusaders. Justin Finan (0-1) took the loss with eight runs allowed in 4.2 innings pitched.
Auburn is in action next on Tuesday when it hosts Samford at 3 pm.