March 10, 2018
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AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn finished off its final non-conference series by splitting a doubleheader with Northeastern at Plainsman Park Saturday afternoon. The Tigers used a six-home-run performance to take game one, 14-8, before falling, 2-1, in game two.
With the doubleheader split, Auburn moves to 15-1 on the season. The Tigers entered game two as one of two undefeated teams in the country, and the team's 15 consecutive wins to start the season was the third longest winning streak in program history.
"Our guys were up there swinging," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We had a great approach in game one, and we even worked hard in the second game. That was just a quality pitcher, and it was going to take an arm like [Sean Mellen] to slow us down. He was ready for the challenge."
GAME ONE
For the second straight game, Brendan Venter got the offense started as he hit the first pitch he saw over the wall in left field to give the Tigers the early lead. Brett Wright followed suit three batters later as he also cleared to wall in left to make it 4-0.
Steven Williams kept the Auburn offense going with a two-run home run that nearly cleared the visiting bullpen in right field and extended the Tigers' lead to 6-0 through two innings.
The baseball continued to fly as Josh Anthony and Wright started off the bottom of the sixth inning with back-to-back home runs, becoming the first duo to go back-to-back since 2015. Wright also became the first Auburn player with two home runs in one game since Anfernee Grier did so in 2016. One batter later, Edouard Julien homered to straight-away center field to give Auburn its sixth home run of the day. It was the first time Auburn hit six home runs in a game since the team hit seven at Mississippi State in 2010. The four-run frame also marked the 16th time Auburn has scored four or more runs in an inning this season.
Auburn added three more runs in the eighth inning on a single up the middle from Williams, an error by the Northeastern third baseman on a hard-hit ball by Venter and a single through the right side from Dylan Ingram.
All nine members of Auburn's starting lineup finished game one with 10 or more RBI this season, and Venter turned in his 10th multi-hit games in the last 12 by going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. Williams added three hits and drove in three.
Auburn starter, Davis Daniel allowed one run in 3.1 innings and struck out four. Calvin Coker (3-0, 1.37) came on for Daniel and threw 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, the most by an Auburn reliever this season, en route to earning the win.
For Northeastern, starter Tyler Brown (1-1, 6.98) threw 5.0 innings and allowed seven runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts while suffering the loss.
GAME TWO
The Huskies jumped out to a 1-0 lead on an RBI double from Jake Farrell in the top of the first inning and added another in the top of the fifth with an RBI single from Cam Walsh.
Freshman Cody Greenhill came in and shut the Huskies down over the final 4.2 innings, matching Coker for longest relief appearance for an Auburn pitcher this season. Greenhill retired 13 of the last 14 Northeastern hitters he faced and allowed just one hit with one walk and four strikeouts.
Tanner Burns (2-1, 1.69) made his fourth start in an Auburn uniform and went 4.1 innings for the Tigers. He allowed two runs on five hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
Northeastern starter Sean Mellen (4-0, 1.33) earned the win while throwing 8.0 innings and allowed one run on two hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Auburn cut Northeastern's lead in half in the bottom of the eighth inning when Julien dropped an RBI double down the left-field line to score Wright from second. Will Holland then hit a single that appeared would make its way through the left side, but his counterpart, Maxx Burt, made a diving stop in the hole, got to his feet and cut down Julien, who represented the tying run, at the plate.
Southpaw Andrew Misiaszek relieved Mellen in the ninth to earn the save for the Huskies. Williams battled with two strikes and hit a one-out single through the right side to put the tying run aboard. However, a pair of groundouts ended the game.
Conor Davis and Holland each reached base in both games of Saturday's doubleheader and extended their streak to 16 games this season. Wright has also reached base in all 12 games he has appeared in this season.
Auburn returns home on Tuesday with a midweek matchup against Georgia Tech on Tuesday followed by Memphis on Wednesday. First pitch for both games is set for 6 p.m. CT.