AU Drops First Game of Series

[Snaggletiger]

Tigers Undone By A Pair Of Longballs In 3-2 Loss To #15 Arkansas
Grant Dayton allows three runs on 10 hits while striking out 10

 
 March 20, 2009


AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn came into Friday's SEC home opener against No. 15 Arkansas with the second-most home runs in the nation but it was a pair of home runs off the Arkansas bats that ruined a stellar pitching performance by Grant Dayton as Auburn fell, 3-2, at Plainsman Park. Dayton fanned an Auburn season-high 10 hitters in the loss as Auburn lost at home for just the third time all season and the first time in 11 games.

[Pell City Tiger]

Hogs take game 2 of the series, 10-6.

Tigers Drops Second Game Of Series To #15 Arkansas, 10-6
Arkansas scores five unanswered runs in the final two innings for the win

AUBURN, Ala. - No. 15 Arkansas scored all 10 of their runs after two outs were made in the inning and scored five unanswered runs after being down 6-5 after the seventh en route to a 10-6 series-clinching win over Auburn on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park. Both of Arkansas' runs in the sixth were unearned after a fielding error on Joseph Sanders to start the inning while two ninth-inning walks were the catalyst to Arkansas' three runs in that inning.

Auburn fell to 15-7, 2-3 SEC while Arkansas is now 15-4, 5-0 SEC.

"Arkansas scored all of their runs with two outs. They stepped up and had several two-out base hits and that was the difference," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "You look at what we did pitching-wise and we gave up 11 free bases (nine walks, two hit batters). When you give out that many free bases against a team like Arkansas it's going to be tough and we just couldn't overcome that today."

Austin Hubbard (2-1) was charged with the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and four walk in two innings, entering in the eighth after Sanders' error and allowing his inherited runner from Bradley Hendrix and the first hitter he faced in the inning to score.

Arkansas reliever Stephen Richards (4-0) picked up the win a day after earning the save in Friday's 3-2 game. The left-handed reliever had entered in the seventh with the bases loaded and one out after three straight walks and Arkansas ahead, 5-4. He allowed a two-run single to Sanders that put Auburn up 6-4 but struck out the next two hitters he faced in before the Arkansas offense picked him up with the two eighth-inning runs.
 
With Auburn up 6-5, Ryan Cisterna hit a pop-up to Sanders but the Auburn third baseman was unable to make a play on the ball, knocking Hendrix out of the game after two innings. Hubbard then walked nine-hole hitter Collin Kuhn before getting Chase Leavitt to line out and struck out Scott Lyons. A walk to Ben Tschepikow loaded the bases for cleanup hitter Jacob House, who singled to left-center, scoring two before Hubbard fanned Andy Wilkins to head to the eighth down a run, 7-6.

Auburn threatened to tie it or even take a lead in the eighth as Brian Fletcher walked to lead off the inning and Casey McElroy singled to short to put two runners on with none out. A Tony Caldwell sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position for Bradley Ray, who lined into an inning-ending double play with the runners in motion to thwart the Auburn scoring chance.

"The last two innings were not great innings for Auburn baseball. We gave up five runs in the last two innings after scoring two in the bottom of the seventh and we had a miscue and a missed sign. That's the difference sometimes, the little things. We have to get better at it and we have to regroup tomorrow," Pawlowski said. "In order to get to the SEC Tournament you have to avoid being swept and tomorrow's a big game."

Auburn took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Hunter Morris RBI groundout to second, scoring Trent Mummey for the 38th time this season.

Arkansas answered with three runs in the top of the second off of Auburn starter Jon Luke Jacobs on a Chase Leavitt two-RBI double and a Lyons run-scoring single to left to go up 3-1.

Auburn tied it in the bottom of the second on Justin Hargett's second home run of the season, a two-run job to right with McElroy on first and two outs in the inning.

The two teams traded zeros from then until the sixth when Arkansas went up 5-3 on a Kuhn RBI single scored Andrew Darr, who was hit by a pitch, and a Leavitt RBI single scored Kuhn.

Auburn got it back to within a run at 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth on Morris' fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center, upping the Auburn team total to 48 on the year, which is 16th all by itself in school history. It appeared the Morris' shot would have been the second in back-to-back home runs with Ben Jones but a leaping catch by Arkansas right fielder Leavitt at the wall brought a Jones home run back into the park for the first out of the inning.

Auburn will try to avoid the sweep on Sunday when it sends Sr. RHP Paul Burnside (0-1, 5.50) to the mound against Arkansas Fr. LHP Drew Smyly (1-0, 1.83). First pitch is set for 1pm CT.

[boartitz]

Watch game here.
http://www.myp2pforum.eu/ncaa/36228-ncaa-baseball-week-mar-16-22-streaming.html

[boartitz]

 

[AUChizad]

That was a progressively more brutal beating with each meeting. (3-2, 10-6, 12-6)

Either Arkansas is badass, or the early games this season are yet again false signs of hope...

[Thrilla]

Boartitz is bringin' the smack.

The beginning of this season is losing its luster unless we can improve our SEC play.  Vanderbilt is next...they are 14-8 but 2-4 in SEC play so maybe we'll have a chance to improve the record.

[boartitz]

That was a progressively more brutal beating with each meeting. (3-2, 10-6, 12-6)

Either Arkansas is badass, or the early games this season are yet again false signs of hope...

We may be. I kinda doubt it though. We just took MSU 20-9 in the snow and rain. Our best start ever in SEC play I think. I don't think we have a dominating team damn the record. I think we have just been lucky so far.
I'll take it. Counts the same.

[boartitz]

ARKANSAS NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arkansas (22-6) has been ranked No. 1 for the first time this season in Collegiate Baseball newspaper's NCAA Division I baseball poll.

The Razorbacks won two of three at South Carolina over the past weekend and sit in first place in the Southeastern Conference with a 10-2 record. Arkansas has won 9 of its last 11 games.

Georgia, ranked No. 1 last week, dropped two of three at home to Louisiana St. Of the top five teams in the rankings last week, only one had fewer than two losses, and that was Arkansas. Arizona St. moved up to second after sweeping a 3-game series at Washington. The Sun Devils have won 10 of their last 12 games.

POLL NOTES: In other key series across the nation over the past weekend, U.C. Irvine beat Cal. St. Fullerton two of three. North Carolina beat Georgia Tech. two of three. Miami, Fla. knocked off Florida St. two of three. And Texas beat Oklahoma St. two of three. Several teams have been red-hot. Rice and Mississippi have won six in a row. East Carolina has won 15 of its last 16. George Mason has won 20 straight home games. And Eastern Illinois has won 11 in a row and 15 of its last 16. Teams that fell out of the poll this week include Ohio St. (2-3 last week), New Mexico (1-4), Clemson (2-3), Illinois (2-2) and South Carolina (2-3). New in the poll this week is Coastal Carolina (5 wins in a row), George Mason, Georgia Southern, Eastern Illinois and Minnesota.

The Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball season.

(Top 30 Agate Follows)

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's
 
NCAA Div. I Poll (As of April 6, 2009)
 
www.baseballnews.com
 
Rank School (Record) Points Previous
  1. Arkansas (22-6) 493   4
  2. Arizona St. (23-5) 492   7
  3. North Carolina (24-7) 490   6
  4. Louisiana St. (23-8) 487   5
  5. Georgia (25-5) 486   1
  6. Rice (21-7) 483   8
  7. U.C. Irvine (19-8) 480 12
  8. Cal. St. Fullerton (20-7) 479   2
  9. Georgia Tech. (19-6) 478   3
10. Miami, Fla. (23-8) 477   9
11. Virginia (26-5) 475 10
12. Oklahoma (25-7) 473 13
13. Baylor (20-8) 469 11
14. Texas (20-8) 468 14
15. Mississippi (22-8) 466 17
16. Cal Poly (21-7) 463 16
17. Oregon St. (18-6) 459 23
18. Texas Christian (19-9) 457 27
19. Coastal Carolina (24-7) 452 —
20. Oklahoma St. (21-10) 449 15
21. Texas A&M (20-11) 442 21
22. Florida (19-11) 438 19
23. New Mexico St. (28-4) 437 24
24. East Carolina (25-5) 434 29
25. George Mason (24-5) 430 —
26. Georgia Southern (21-7) 429 —
27. Eastern Illinois (21-5) 427 —
28. San Diego St. (22-11) 425 25
29. San Diego (22-11) 424 30
30. Minnesota (16-9) 422 —