Auburn ousted from SEC Tournament with 10-7 extra inning loss to Ole Miss
HOOVER, Al.--- Things started out much of the same for Ole Miss starting pitcher David Goforth. Just like last weekend's 11-1 loss in Oxford, Goforth made it exactly 2.1 innings against Auburn before giving way to the bullpen, but this time, the Rebel bullpen and offense found a way to squeak out a victory.
It's hard to stay in a ballgame when you commit five errors, but Auburn found itself right with Ole Miss the entire game despite the high amount of miscues. That's not to say that without those errors Auburn wins the game, but the Tigers certainly did themselves no favors in the field today.
Two of Auburn's top hitters, Trent Mummey (strained hamstring) and Brian Fletcher (brusied hand) sat out with injuries. Big left hander Cole Nelson took the mound to start, but battled control issues in his 3.2 innings and gave up 4 runs, with 3 being earned.
Slade Smith followed Nelson and pitched spectacular, but was plagued by errors and 3 unearned runs in his 3.1 innings of work.
Auburn found themselves down 7-4 going into the bottom of the seventh, but Hunter Morris quickly changed that with a monstrous three-run blast to knot the game up at seven.
That was all the offense Auburn had left though, as Taylor Hashman put the Rebels up in the 10th inning with a 3-run homerun off of reliever Bradley Hendrix.
Tony Caldwell, starting in place of injured Brian Fletcher delivered three hits, including a two-run bomb in the 3rd inning.
Auburn's postseason fate is sealed, and going into Selection Monday, the Tigers sit in a pretty good position to host a regional. At 40-19, Auburn is ranked 13th in the country, as well as the SEC West Champions.
At the tournament, they defeated a USC squad that is without a doubt hosting a regional, and that win alone may have clinched the Tigers a spot as a host team.
One thing is for certain, Auburn certainly misses Plainsman Park. With the cavernous alleys and gigantic dimensions at Regions Park, Auburn's tournament outcome would have been much different.
There were at least seven or eight balls that would have been long gone in Auburn, and many more that would have clanked off the short porch wall in left field.
With power being Auburn's strong suit, they would benefit in a big way from being able to play at home next weekend.
The Tigers will find out their fate at 11:30 a.m. Monday. You can watch live on ESPN, or you can check back here shortly after for coverage of start of the Tigers run in the NCAA tournament.
It's hard to stay in a ballgame when you commit five errors, but Auburn found itself right with Ole Miss the entire game despite the high amount of miscues. That's not to say that without those errors Auburn wins the game, but the Tigers certainly did themselves no favors in the field today.
Two of Auburn's top hitters, Trent Mummey (strained hamstring) and Brian Fletcher (brusied hand) sat out with injuries. Big left hander Cole Nelson took the mound to start, but battled control issues in his 3.2 innings and gave up 4 runs, with 3 being earned.
Slade Smith followed Nelson and pitched spectacular, but was plagued by errors and 3 unearned runs in his 3.1 innings of work.
Auburn found themselves down 7-4 going into the bottom of the seventh, but Hunter Morris quickly changed that with a monstrous three-run blast to knot the game up at seven.
That was all the offense Auburn had left though, as Taylor Hashman put the Rebels up in the 10th inning with a 3-run homerun off of reliever Bradley Hendrix.
Tony Caldwell, starting in place of injured Brian Fletcher delivered three hits, including a two-run bomb in the 3rd inning.
Auburn's postseason fate is sealed, and going into Selection Monday, the Tigers sit in a pretty good position to host a regional. At 40-19, Auburn is ranked 13th in the country, as well as the SEC West Champions.
At the tournament, they defeated a USC squad that is without a doubt hosting a regional, and that win alone may have clinched the Tigers a spot as a host team.
One thing is for certain, Auburn certainly misses Plainsman Park. With the cavernous alleys and gigantic dimensions at Regions Park, Auburn's tournament outcome would have been much different.
There were at least seven or eight balls that would have been long gone in Auburn, and many more that would have clanked off the short porch wall in left field.
With power being Auburn's strong suit, they would benefit in a big way from being able to play at home next weekend.
The Tigers will find out their fate at 11:30 a.m. Monday. You can watch live on ESPN, or you can check back here shortly after for coverage of start of the Tigers run in the NCAA tournament.
