STARKVILLE, Miss. – With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Bryson Ware threw out the potential tying run at the plate and No. 17 Auburn won the series finale at Mississippi State, 3-2, Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.
"We needed one," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We tried to tell our guys that the man or woman that never quits is hard to beat. We hung in there."
The win marked Auburn's 13th come-from-behind win this season.
"I was really interested in this game three with Joseph going, and we overcame a lot," Thompson added. "Salvage is not a word I want to hear. We fought and clawed to get one. Three of the last four weeks we have been on the road in the SEC and this tough team stays above .500 in this tough, tough league at the halfway point."
Reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week Joseph Gonzalez (5-0, 2.01) turned in another gem, earning the win while holding Mississippi State to two runs on seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts in 8.0 innings.
"It was pretty much the same plan as last week which was throwing down in the zone and trusting my stuff," Gonzalez said.
Trailing 2-0 through six innings, Auburn (24-12, 8-7 SEC) scored two runs to tie the game in the top of the seventh before Brooks Carlson drove in the winning run on a pinch-hit RBI double down the right field line to score Bobby Peirce and take a 3-2 lead in the eighth.
"That was a great way to end a game and a series," Carlson said. "Even though we only got one, that was huge for our confidence to come back with a win on the road in the SEC."
After the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth, Gonzalez retired the Bulldogs in order in the bottom of the frame to end his outing. It marked his third straight quality start in as many league outings.
Auburn left two runners on in the top of the ninth, and Blake Burkhalter entered in relief to close out his SEC-best eighth game of the year.
Mississippi State (21-16, 6-9 SEC) drew a leadoff walk and moved the runner to second on a sacrifice bunt. Burkhalter then got a strikeout to record the second out of the frame before the dramatic final play. Brad Cumbest hit a line drive to left, and Ware charged, scooped and fired to Nate LaRue at the plate, tagging the runner just ahead of his slide.
"I knew he hit it pretty hard and that I had a shot to get him at home, but I had to charge it pretty hard," Ware said. "The grass was slick and it kind of slipped in my fingers, but thankfully I got it low enough to get him in time."
It marked the first time Auburn won a game by making the final out at the plate since 2017.
"We had a couple of chances in the top of the ninth," Thompson added. "Ware struck out, but then he never quit. I've never been prouder of a Mississippi boy coming back and making a throw right there."
Mississippi State jumped out to a lead for the third straight day, scoring on a pair of solo homers from Hunter Hines and Kellum Clark in the second inning.
The Tigers put six baserunners aboard in the first four innings, including two baserunners with one out in the first and third, but couldn't capitalize on the early opportunities.
Gonzalez retired 13 of the next 16 batters he faced following the solo homers with one batter reaching on an error.
Auburn had its best opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the sixth. Cam Hill hit a leadoff double and Brody Moore drew a walk with Hill moving to third on a wild pitch. However, Mississippi State starter Cade Smith escaped the inning unscathed.
After Gonzalez worked his second straight clean inning in the sixth, Auburn broke through and tied the game with two runs in the top of the seventh. Kason Howell started the scoring with a RBI double to left, his 13th of the season, and the Tigers tied the game as Hill found a hole through the infield to score Howell from second.
Gonzalez worked around some traffic on the basepaths in the seventh, stranding a pair of runners to keep the score tied, 2-2, with an inning-ending ground ball.
The Tigers took advantage of a leadoff baserunner as Peirce put a ball on the ground that snuck into right field to start the eighth. LaRue sacrificed Peirce to second, and the Tigers took their first lead of the game on the RBI double from Carlson, ultimately proving to be the difference.
Auburn returns to Plainsman Park for five games next week, starting with a pair of midweek contests against Alabama State and Kennesaw State Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT.
No. 17 Auburn wins series finale in Starkville in dramatic fashion
