AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn turned in a season high in runs and produced its second-highest hit total of the season as the Tigers defeated Alabama, 17-7, in the decisive series finale Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
Starting with Brody Moore's go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning, Auburn scored 14 runs on 14 hits in its final three at-bats to cruise to the series-clinching win.
The series win was Auburn's (29-18, 12-12 SEC) second straight against Alabama (27-21, 6-18 SEC) and its 15th home series win in the last 17 weekends at Plainsman Park dating back to the regular season finale in 2017.
"We're just continuing to see the character and the resilience of our guys," head coach Butch Thompson said on the Auburn Sports Network. "I can see it because I'm standing right next to them. I'll continue to embrace and appreciate that effort, and we'll need it down the stretch."
The Tigers totaled 19 hits in the contest, including three apiece from Conor Davis, Will Holland and Moore. A quartet of other Tigers turned in multi-hit efforts in Ryan Bliss, Edouard Julien, Steven Williams and Kason Howell as all nine members of the starting lineup recorded a hit and scored a run.
Bailey Horn (2-0, 8.22) earned the win after turning in 1.1 scoreless innings in relief, while Brock Guffey suffered his first loss of the season.
"We needed the win for our record, but also for our fans here to show them that we've got fight in us," Davis said. "Coach talked before the game about showing who we are and building not only individual character, but showing team character. I think that bouncing back after last night shows that we have a lot of fight. We're a gritty team."
After Moore gave Auburn the lead with one of his season-high three hits in the sixth inning, the Tigers extended the advantage to 8-3 behind a RBI single from Davis, squeeze bunt from Matt Scheffler and two-RBI double from Howell in the seventh. Scheffler extended his SEC hitting streak to 14 games on the squeeze bunt that turned into a base hit.
The Crimson Tide cut the lead back to two with a three-run eighth, but Auburn answered with its biggest run of the season, scoring nine runs on eight hits in the bottom of the frame. The first five batters of the inning reached base with the two big blows coming on a two-RBI single from Bliss and two-RBI double from Julien to make it a 12-6 ballgame. Williams blew the game wide open with a three-run home run before Holland capped off the scoring in the inning on a two-run shot of his own later in the frame. The home runs were the fifth of the season for both Williams and Holland, who went a combined 5-for-8 with five runs and five RBI in the finale.
"It was just coming to the field with the same mindset, same positive attitude every day," Holland said. "It's just playing with passion, playing your heart out and just letting the chips fall where they may. If we just keep doing what we're doing and playing as a team, good things are ahead of us."
Holland went 6-for-8 with a double and home run to go along with five runs and five RBI in the final two games of the series.
Bliss drove in a career-high four runs in the contest, while Davis' previously mentioned three hits matched a career best. Holland's three RBI in the finale also marked a season high, and Williams matched a season best with three RBI of his own.
As a team, Auburn struck out just one time in the contest, marking the fewest strikeouts in a game since doing it twice in the season-opening series against George Washington in 2017.
The Tigers play four games at Plainsman Park next week, starting with a midweek contest against UAB (22-26, 8-16 C-USA) Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.