Walk-off win creates 'a little bit of momentum' for No. 21 Auburn's road trip

Walk-off win creates 'a little bit of momentum' for No. 21 Auburn's road tripWalk-off win creates 'a little bit of momentum' for No. 21 Auburn's road trip
Meredith Kramer/Auburn Athletics

Assistant coach Karl Nonemaker congratulates Conor Davis after Saturday's 6-5 win.

AUBURN, Ala. – From the dugout, bullpen and bases, teammates sprinted toward Conor Davis, his right arm raised as he raced around first base after driving in the game-winning run Saturday in Auburn's 6-5 series-clinching win vs. Ole Miss.

"It's crazy, just seeing all the guys, the excitement on their faces," said Davis, whose bases-loaded single to left scored Will Holland with two outs. "I'm just glad I could be the one to do that, but I think any one of our nine hitters could have been in that situation and done the same thing.

"It's huge, especially getting a win at home in front of our fans. I think it does a lot for Auburn. We get that moral support back and creates a little bit of momentum going into next week being on the road."

Ryan Bliss bolted across the diamond to join the congregation after rounding third base. It was Bliss' bunt single minutes earlier that loaded the bases with no outs.

"This was exciting," Bliss said. "A new adventure for me. It was so much fun. Hopefully we'll have more. Hopefully we won't get in that situation again, actually, but if we do, hopefully we continue to do that, but it was a great experience and I loved every single moment of it."

In the freshman second baseman's previous at-bat, Bliss singled up the middle to give Auburn the lead in the bottom of the seventh before the Rebels rallied.

"Coach Gross said something to me one time: 'Don't let the game get too big than what it is. Do the little things, let the big things happen,' said Bliss of his penchant for coming through in clutch situations. "You train for these moments, you work every day in the cages and in BP so you can be comfortable enough to do those little things when you get in the game. You do those little things in the game and you have enough confidence that whatever you've been doing is going to get the job done. So I just go up there calm, not thinking too much, just trying to do what I've been doing the whole time."

Jack Owen's return Saturday after missing more than a month bolstered Auburn's pitching staff.

"Glad to be able to help my team again and win a ballgame," said Owen, who pitched 2.1 hitless innings, lowering his ERA to 0.29. "As much as it was fun to get back out there, it was fun to watch those guys fight for our team and battle as hard as they could.

"I don't think I had my best stuff necessarily, with command and using the fastball and changeup mix, but it's not always about having your best stuff. It's more about competing and just trying to give your team a chance to win."

After the series win, the No. 21 Tigers (26-14, 10-8) travel to No. 4 Vanderbilt this week, looking to carry over the momentum from Saturday's walk-off series win.

"I think I'm seeing a little bit of maturity with the guys," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "You can take a lot away from that. Us having half of our team being in their first year, you learn so much and you're going to be able to draw so much from it. That iron sharpens iron mentality."

With four SEC series remaining, the Tigers are two games out of first place in the West, a division in which six of the seven teams are ranked.

"If they'll keep competing like this and we can get a little bit better at the fastball on both sides," Thompson said. "Maybe we can hang in this race."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer