May 11, 2018
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OXFORD, Miss. ââ'¬" No. 16 Auburn fell behind early and couldn't make up the deficit as the Tigers fell to No. 5 Ole Miss, 8-3, Friday night at Swayze Field.
Auburn (35-16, 13-13 SEC) tried to put together a rally in the ninth inning as Brendan Venter led off the frame with a solo home run and three Tigers followed with singles to load the bases. However, the tying run was left in the on-deck circle to end the game.
"Our guys are going to compete," head coach Butch Thompson said. "I thought both nights they rallied until the finish, but this is too good of a club at home, in this environment. We have to punch first tomorrow if we want to come out here and get a game, which we do."
Junior right-hander Casey Mize (9-3, 2.73) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings of work. Opposite Mize, Brady Feigl (8-4, 4.10) picked up the win in 8.0-plus innings of work.
Ole Miss (38-13, 15-11 SEC) was the first to score in the bottom of the second inning on a two-out RBI single followed by a two-run home run from Chase Cockrell.
After Steven Williams cut down a run at the plate to keep it a 3-0 ballgame in the bottom of the third, Brett Wright got the Auburn offense on the board with a solo home run to left field. It was Wright's 10th home run of the season and the Tigers' eighth straight game with a long ball, marking the team's longest streak since 2010. It also marks the first time since 2010 that three different Tigers have hit double-digit home runs in a season.
However, Ole Miss got the run back and then some on a two-run home run from Tyler Keenan in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 5-1. The Rebels then added run in each of the next three innings. Thomas Dillard and Keenan provided RBI doubles in the fifth and sixth innings, and the Rebels took advantage of an Auburn throwing miscue to plate a run in the seventh.
Auburn again battled until the last out as Luke Jarvis led off the top of the eighth with a double and came in to score on a RBI single from Josh Anthony. Venter then hit the leadoff home run in the Tigers' last at-bat to cut the deficit to five, but it was just too much to overcome.
Jarvis turned in his second three-hit game of the season, while Jay Estes and Venter added a pair of hits apiece. Venter extended his hitting streak to eight games, while Estes has now turned in multiple hits in six straight.
With five strikeouts on the night, Mize passed former Tiger Hayden Gilemmo for fourth all-time with 292 career strikeouts.
The series finale between the Tigers and Rebels is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. CT. Auburn will send freshman right-hander Tanner Burns (4-4, 3.00) to the mound opposite Ole Miss right-hander James McArthur (5-0, 4.09).