March 13, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. -- All nine players in the starting lineup recorded a hit and reached base at least two times as Auburn defeated Georgia Tech, 12-7, at Plainsman Park Tuesday night. With the win, Auburn improves to 16-1 on the season while Georgia Tech falls to 9-7.
The Tigers came out swinging and scored in each of the first four innings to jump out to an early lead. After Georgia Tech plated five runs in the top of the fifth, Auburn matched the Yellow Jackets with five runs of its own in the home half of the sixth and secured the win behind 3.0 scoreless innings from left-handed reliever Jack Owen.
Sophomore southpaw Elliott Anderson (3-0, 4.50) earned the win after throwing a career-high 3.1 innings and striking out three. The save was the second of the season for Owen, who matched a season-high for Auburn relievers with five strikeouts.
"I loved the way we came out swinging the bats tonight and were able to score to start the game," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We just had trouble shoving the ball in the strike zone. We're winning and I'm thankful for that, but we need to continue to grow our ball club."
Josh Anthony got the Auburn offense going with a two-out, two-RBI double in the bottom of the first inning, and the Tigers never looked back. The two first-inning runs were the 25th and 26th of the season.
After Anderson entered the game and escaped a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the top of the second, the Tigers extended their lead in the next at-bat when Will Holland swung on the second pitch he saw and cleared the wall in left field. Later in the inning, Steven Williams reached on a fielder's choice and scored on a wild pitch to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.
Auburn continued to put runs on the scoreboard with a run in the third on a RBI from Holland and two more in the fourth on a bases-loaded single from Jay Estes and bases-loaded walk drawn by Edouard Julien to extend the lead to 7-0.
Georgia Tech made things interesting with the aforementioned five-run fifth, but left-hander Welby Malczewski, who entered the game with the tying run on base, induced an inning-ending double play to get out of the frame with the lead intact.
Auburn then broke the game open with five runs of their own in the sixth, marking the 17th time in as many games the Tigers have scored four runs or more in an inning this season. The big blow in the frame came on a two-RBI double from Williams, while Julien, Luke Jarvis and Conor Davis also turned in RBI in the frame.
Five Tigers including Jarvis, Brendan Venter, Anthony, Julien and Holland turned in two or more hits while a total of seven players reached base three or more times. For Venter, it was his 11th multi-hit game in the last 14 contests and 12th this season. Davis and Holland also extended their on-base streaks to 17 games.
Auburn has a quick turnaround before hosting Memphis (6-10) tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park. Right-hander Ryan Watson (0-0, 4.15) will make his second midweek start of the season for the Tigers.