AUBURN, Ala. – No. 20 Auburn baseball completed a midweek sweep of Alabama A&M with a 12-6 win Wednesday night at Plainsman Park.
Judd Ward led the offensive attack as he went 4-for-4 with two doubles, one home run and seven RBI. His three-run home run in the sixth inning gave the Tigers the lead for good.
"I got away from my approach earlier this week and Coach (Gabe) Gross had to lock me back in," Ward said. "Just staying away and reacting in and putting good swings on balls with runners on base to drive them in."
Ward's seven RBI in the contest were the most by an Auburn player since Steven Williams made his Auburn debut vs. Longwood on Feb. 17, 2018. The seven RBI were also tied for the most in the SEC this season.
Auburn's 12 runs marked the fifth game this season with 10 or more runs. The team also received at least on hit from 10 different players, including all nine starters.
"These two days, I thought the bats got a little bit better," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We did enough tonight, but there are still things we can continue to work on. We get to reset for a weekend here and try to have a good weekend against a good Wright State team."
Auburn (7-3) jumped out to a 4-0 lead through two innings. Williams drove in a run on a RBI groundout in the first, marking his third RBI since returning to the lineup in the fifth inning of last night's contest. Ward then started a three-run second inning with a two-RBI double to right-center, and Ryan Bliss followed with a sacrifice fly.
However, Alabama A&M (0-10) tied the game with four runs on two hits and an error in the fifth.
Auburn reclaimed the lead with four runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth. Ward put the Tigers back in front with the aforementioned three-run home run off the right field foul pole, and Conor Davis followed with a solo shot three batters later. It was Davis' second straight game with a home run.
The Bulldogs cut the lead back to two in the top of the seventh, but Auburn answered with four runs in the second straight frame. Ward came through with a two-RBI single in the inning while two more runs scored on wild pitches.
Freshman Hayden Mullins (1-0, 6.75) earned his first collegiate win. The southpaw pitched 1.1 scoreless innings and struck out a pair in relief of fellow freshman Trace Bright. Bright faced two batters over the minimum in his first four innings but ran into some trouble in the fifth.
Blake Burkhalter and Ryan Watson also turned in scoreless relief efforts to finish the game.
The Tigers host Wright State (2-5) for a three-game series starting Friday at 4 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.