AUBURN, Ala. – No. 23 Auburn fell to No. 17 Ole Miss, 5-3, in the middle game of the three-game set Saturday night at Plainsman Park.
Auburn (25-14, 9-8 SEC) cut Ole Miss' (27-13, 10-7 SEC) two-run lead to one on a pair of occasions, but that's as close as the Tigers would get after the third inning.
"Our effort was solid all night," head coach Butch Thompson said on the Auburn Sports Network. "We're kind of just grinding gears and battling. We were competitive and hung in there and battled in the ballgame. We just couldn't catch them."
Conor Davis and Will Holland provided the offensive for Auburn as they hit a combined three solo home runs. It was the third time this season the Tigers hit three home runs in a game, the last of which came at UCF on February 24.
Tanner Burns (4-2, 2.32) battled for 5.0 innings and suffered the tough-luck loss. He gave up three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.
Opposite Burns, Ole Miss starter Doug Nikhazy (4-3, 3.93) earned the win. Nikhazy also tossed 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
The Rebels struck first as Cole Zabowski led off the top of the second with a solo home run, but Auburn answered right back as Davis launched the first pitch of the bottom half off the scoreboard in left center to tie things at one apiece.
The back-and-forth affair early in the game continued as Ole Miss reclaimed the lead on a pair of runs in the third. With the bases loaded and one away, the Auburn defense appeared to get the double play ball it needed. However, after the Rebel batter was initially ruled out, the call was reviewed and the runner at first was ruled safe to give Ole Miss the lead. Kevin Graham followed with a single through the right side to push the advantage to two.
Holland got the Tigers to within a run as he deposited his third home run of the season high over the monster in left in the bottom of the fourth.
After Ole Miss added a run in the sixth, Davis rocketed his second home run of the game deep into the alley in left center in the home half. It was the first career two-home-run game for Davis and the second for an Auburn player this season.
Matt Scheffler led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single on the 14th pitch of the at-bat. However, he was left there before Ole Miss tacked on an insurance run on the game's fifth solo home run in the top of the ninth. The Tigers went down in order in the last frame to end the game.
The rubber game between the Tigers and Rebels is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. A pair of freshman hurlers will square off on the mound in Auburn's Brooks Fuller (2-1, 2.32) and Ole Miss' Gunnar Hoglund (1-1 4.60).