March 16, 2018
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AUBURN, Ala. -- Fresh off his no-hit performance from a week ago, right-hander Casey Mize recorded 13 strikeouts for the second straight start as No. 13 Auburn opened SEC play with a 4-1 win over No. 6 Texas A&M Friday night at Plainsman Park.
With the win, Auburn moves to 18-1 on the season and stays on pace with the 1997 team for the best 19-game start in program history. Texas A&M falls to 16-3 with the loss.
"It's a new challenge," Mize said. "Pitching in the Southeastern Conference is a pretty difficult task. You just have to take it to another level, but you still have to stay within yourself in the same way."
Mize (5-0, 1.93) tossed 7.1 innings and allowed one run on five hits with no walks and the aforementioned 13 strikeouts. Mize struck out the side in three innings and now has 51 strikeouts on the season compared to just three walks. Including his no-hitter last week, Mize has struck out 26 batters without issuing a walk in his last two outings.
"Casey Mize had a repeat performance from last week in my opinion," head coach Butch Thompson said. "He was on point. He was on his game."
Senior Calvin Coker entered the game in relief of Mize in the eighth inning and recorded the final five outs while allowing just one hit with one strikeout. He picked up his third save of the season, eclipsing his season total from a year ago.
Luke Jarvis got the Tigers offense going in the bottom of the first inning as he lifted a ball over the head of the right fielder for a leadoff triple. Steven Williams' groundout to short bought Jarvis home and gave Auburn the early lead.
Auburn continued to put runs on the scoreboard in the third and fourth innings thanks to Aggie miscues in the field. After a leadoff walk by Edouard Julien in the third, Jarvis laid a bunt down the third base line to put runners on the corners. Williams then earned his second RBI of the game and 23rd of the season on hard-hit grounder to third that resulted in an error.
Josh Anthony reached on a leadoff error in the sixth inning and later came in to score on a RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Will Holland.
Texas A&M got the run back in its next at-bat, but Mize and Coker combined to retire nine of the last 11 hitters to open conference play with a win.
For the Tigers, Jarvis collected his sixth multi-hit game of the season and Williams drove in a pair, marking his eighth game with two or more RBI. Conor Davis also extended his on-base streak to 18 games with a third-inning walk.
Game two of the three-game set at Plainsman Park is Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Auburn will put the ball in the hands of sophomore right-hander Davis Daniel (2-0, 2.56). The Aggies will counter with leftie John Doxakis (4-0, 0.81).