HOOVER, Ala. – Cole Foster smashed a three-run home run and No. 13 Auburn used big innings and extra-base hits to defeat Missouri 10-4 Tuesday in the SEC Tournament at the Hoover Met, the Tigers' ninth straight victory.
"Cole Foster's home run allowed us to exhale and get back to playing our brand of baseball," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "We got enough and did enough. Thankful to come out here and get a win."
Foster's tie-breaking blast, one of the Tigers' seven extra-base hits, capped a four-run fourth inning after Auburn scored three in the third. Bryson Ware's 22nd home run, one shy of Auburn's single-season record, culminated a three-run eighth inning.
"I knew that guy had a high spin rate fastball and he was going to try to blow me up with it," Ware said. "I just told myself I was going to be on time for it. Thankfully, I got enough of it to get it out of here."
Auburn starting pitcher Tommy Vail struck out the side in the first inning but walked the first two batters in the top of the second leading to a 1-0 Missouri lead after a sacrifice fly before Vail's fourth strikeout ended the inning.
Auburn scored three runs on two hits in the bottom of the third to take a 3-1 lead. Nate LaRue singled on the first pitch of the inning and Chris Stanfield doubled off the wall in right to put runners on second and third with no outs. Foster was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Bobby Peirce, who walked on five pitches to force in LaRue and tie the score at 1-1.
Cooper McMurray's fielder's choice grounder to first scored Stanfield to give Auburn a 2-1 lead. Ware followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Foster to put Auburn ahead 3-1 after three innings.
Missouri got its first two hits and capitalized on two walks and a pair of Auburn errors to even the score at 3-3 and end Vail's outing with two outs in the top of the fourth. Vail allowed two earned runs on two hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
Missouri took a 4-3 lead on a wild pitch from reliever Chase Isbell, who then struck out Luke Mann with the bases loaded to end the inning after Mizzou scored three runs.
Auburn answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame to reclaim the lead.
The first pitch of the inning hit Kason Howell, leading to a Missouri pitching change with Brock Lucas relieving starter Javyn Pimetal. LaRue drew a one-out walk to put Howell in scoring position for Stanfield, whose second hit of the game brought home Howell to square the score at 4-4.
Foster's colossal clout into the trees beyond right field scored Stanfield and LaRue for a 7-4 Auburn advantage.
Isbell (3-1) earned the victory, throwing three scoreless innings before giving way to Zach Crotchfelt with two outs and a runner on first in the top of the seventh. Crotchfelt induced a grounder to second to help hold Missouri scoreless for a third straight inning.
"Trust the players behind me," said Isbell, whose outing was only one out shy of his career long. "They make amazing plays all the time. Getting that three-inning mark, I was happy about that."
After a leadoff single in the top of eighth, Crotchfelt fanned the next three batters to preserve Auburn's three-run advantage.
Auburn continued to put its leadoff batters on base from the fifth through the eighth innings, including a pair of Ike Irish doubles, finally cashing in in the eighth when Foster singled and scored on Peirce's double to center.
After McMurray's double, Ware hit his 22nd homer, one short of Hunter Morris' program record.
Crotchfelt struck out four straight and pitched the final 2.1 innings to record his first save.
Seeking its 10th straight SEC victory, fifth-seeded Auburn (34-19-1) plays fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in Wednesday's late game.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
