May 19, 2018
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Pitching against a few of his former teammates, Andrew Mitchell saved his best for last, striking out nine Saturday in Auburn's 14-5 win over LSU in the regular season finale.
"That's definitely the top moment for me," said Mitchell, who redshirted at LSU in 2014 before joining Auburn's program in 2016 after a season in junior college.
Auburn honored its eight seniors, including Mitchell, before Friday's game.
"I had a lot of my family here," he said. "It was definitely a special day for us."
Mitchell's stuff was never in question. His control was the issue he needed to resolve. A tip from student assistant coach Tyler Stovall, a former minor league pitcher, helped Mitchell master his command.
"Just keeping my glove side high and keeping it tucked," Mitchell said. "That singlehandedly has made the difference there."
Against LSU, Mitchell had zero walks in a career long seven innings. His 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio this season (46:15) is by far his career best.
Mitchell delayed an opportunity to play professional baseball last year, choosing to return to Auburn to play his senior season and complete his degree.
"Securing us a couple wins definitely makes it all worth it," he said. "Hopefully I can continue to do that in the postseason. You have your good starts, you have your bad starts, but it definitely gives me a ton of confidence moving forward. I'm ready to go."
'Pretty special' Luke Jarvis celebrates after hitting a tie-breaking home run Saturday vs. LSU. Photo: Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics" style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/m-basebl/auto_a_storywidenew/13316690.jpeg"> Luke Jarvis celebrates after hitting a tie-breaking home run Saturday vs. LSU. Photo: Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics
Mitchell benefitted from an Auburn offense that reached double digits for the eighth time this season in an SEC game.
Fellow senior Luke Jarvis broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run blast in the fourth inning.
"It's pretty special," Jarvis said of his third homer of the season. "My family got to see it. We got the series win, too, which was huge for us going into postseason play.
"I wasn't trying to do too much. It feels like that's always when it works out. He got ahead pretty quickly, got two strikes. See the ball and put it in play. Fouled off a couple pitches and fortunate to put a good swing on one and I got it."
Jarvis also dazzled defensively at second base during the series, making several highlight reel plays up the middle.
"I just try to have fun out there on defense," Jarvis said. "I felt like last year I would get a little bit stale, like stiff, and I've never really played well like that. This year, I've tried to be a little bit looser, more fluid. It's paid off to be able to do some things I can do in practice, but couldn't really bring to the game last year. It's just been a lot of fun."
'Throw the first punch'Will Holland hit two home runs Saturday vs. LSU, making him the fifth Tiger with 10 or more this season. Photo: Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics" style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/m-basebl/auto_a_storywidenew/13316714.jpeg"> Will Holland hit two home runs Saturday vs. LSU, making him the fifth Tiger with 10 or more this season. Photo: Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics
No one had more fun against LSU than shortstop Will Holland, who belted a pair of homers to give him 10 for the season, making him the fifth Tiger with double digit dingers. It's the first time since 2010 that five Tigers have hit 10 or more homers in a season.
"It's amazing," said Holland, Auburn's leadoff hitter with a team-leading .329 average. "It's a fun atmosphere to compete in."
For the series, Holland went 10-for-14 with six runs batted in and six runs scored.
"That's what I try to do is try to set the tone, give us some momentum, try to throw the first punch of the game."
1️⃣4️⃣: runs for @AuburnBaseball in 14-5 series clinching win vs. LSU.
AU finishes regular season with 37-19 record (15-15 in @SEC)
Tigers are 29-6 at Plainsman Park this season.
WP: @AMitchell_41 pic.twitter.com/3BmsXuHbnP- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) May 19, 2018
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer