April 24, 2018
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AUBURN, Ala. -- Jack Owen and Elliott Anderson went the distance on the mound while Steven Williams went 4-for-4 from the plate as Auburn defeated Samford, 7-2, Tuesday night at Plainsman Park.
The win was Auburn's (30-12, 9-9 SEC) sixth straight, and the Tigers have outscored their opponents 70-19 during the win streak. The team also improved its record in non-conference play to 21-3, including a perfect 6-0 mark at Plainsman Park in the midweek.
"Steven was the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week and he picked up where he left off," head coach Butch Thompson said. "I thought every bat was professional, solid and he's just locked in right now. I'm really excited about where we're playing in this little stretch in all three phases of the game."
After suffering the loss to the same Bulldogs in Birmingham two weeks ago, Owen (2-2, 7.54) responded nicely and picked up the win after throwing a career-high 5.1 innings and matching a career-high with five strikeouts.
After entering in relief of Owen with two on and one out in the top of the sixth, Anderson allowed both inherited runners to score on a RBI single and sacrifice fly but settled down nicely as he held the Bulldogs scoreless and allowed only two hits in the final 3.0 innings.
"That's two weeks in a row that Elliott has done really good work," Thompson said." Jack had the start at Samford and didn't get off to the same start he did tonight. But it's really nice to throw two guys in a midweek, especially when you have a Thursday, Friday, Saturday conference series starring you in the face. Those two guys did a great job on the mound."
Behind the impressive performance on the mound, the Tigers wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard as Will Holland drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on one of Williams' four hits of the night and scored on a sacrifice fly from Brett Wright three batters into the game. It was the 13th time the team has scored in the first inning this season, all of which have resulted in wins.
Auburn blew the game open with a five-run fourth inning. After a Samford fielding miscue extended the inning and allowed two unearned runs to score, Williams capped of the frame with a two-run home run to right-center field, his eighth of the season. In his last four games, Williams is 10-for-14 with eight runs, one double, two home runs and 10 RBI.
The Tigers added a run on an infield single from Josh Anthony in its next at-bat to extend the lead to 7-0 before the Bulldogs finally got to Owen in the aforementioned sixth.
Anderson picked up the save in relief and has now gone 12.0 innings of relief without allowing an eraned run dating back to March 27. After pitching a career-high 4.0 innings and earning the win against UAB last Tuesday, he was an out shy of matching his longest outing.
Offensively, Williams matched his career-high turned in during his Auburn debut with four hits in the game. Conor Davis added a pair of hits and is 8-for-11 in his last three starts.
Auburn continues conference play with a three-game series at No. 1 Florida (34-9, 14-4 SEC) this weekend. First pitch will be on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. CT at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Casey Mize (8-1, 2.25 ERA) will take the mound for Auburn as Brady Singer (8-1, 2.77 ERA) will throw the first pitch for the Gators. Live coverage will be shown on ESPNU.