Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
On a picture perfect Friday night at Swayze Field, Ole Miss held on to defeat SEC foe Auburn, 6-4. The Rebels (29-10, 8-8 SEC) used a two-out, four-run rally in the seventh inning to earn the victory over Auburn (18-20, 5-11 SEC) for the eighth conference win of the season.
The Tigers loaded the bases and moved the tying run to second with no outs in the top of the ninth, but they only scored once as sophomore Will Stokes (5) retired three straight hitters to end the game.
Juniors J.B. Woodman and Henri Lartigue tallied three hits and one RBI apiece on the night. Woodman also scored three times for the Rebels. Ole Miss hitters recorded four runs on four hits with two outs in the seventh. The Rebels ended the night with 11 hits, reaching double digits for the 20th time this season.
Right-handed starting pitcher Brady Bramlett threw 6.0 innings and gave up only two runs on the night. The two runs were the first surrendered by Bramlett in 18.0 innings. Redshirt-freshman Brady Feigl (3-0) picked up the win after throwing 1.1 innings of relief and only allowing one run on two hits. Stokes earned his fifth save of the season when he was able to get the Rebels out of the bases-loaded threat in the ninth inning.
In the loss for Auburn, Niko Buentello hit his ninth home run of the season, a two-run blast that tied the game in the sixth. Buentello tied Andernee Grier and Jordan Ebert with a team-high two hits each as the Tigers ended with 10 throughout the night. On the mound, Cole Lipscomb lasted 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on six hits. Gabe Klobosits (2-3) gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits, all during the Rebels’ big seventh inning.
Bramlett stepped on the mound and fired away in the SEC matchup, striking out all three Tigers in the first. During the bottom half, Ryan Olenek ripped a would-be home run to left field, but Auburn outfielder Jackson Burgreen, made an incredible play to rob the freshman. Burgreen used his glove to bring the ball back in play before secure it with his bare hand, keeping the Rebels from striking in the opening frame.
After the first two innings, Bramlett had tallied five strikeouts, and the Tigers were held scoreless. Woodman ripped a single into the right-center gap to get things started for the Rebels in the bottom of the second. After Woodman moved to second on a wild pitch, Colby Bortles grounded out to third to move his classmate closer to home. With the run waiting on third, Lartigue sent a RBI single through the right side to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead.
A scoreless inning went by for both teams before Ole Miss plated the second run of the game. In the bottom of the fourth, Woodman once again lit the fire for the Rebels. His infield single was followed by a Lartigue single that placed Ole Miss runners on the corners. While Golsan reached first on a fielder’s choice, Woodman crossed the dish for his second time of the night.
The Tigers managed to tie up the game during the sixth inning, leading off with a single before the clean-up batter knocked a two-run homer with no outs. Bramlett settled back in and left the inning without any further damage.
Feigl took over the mound in the seventh inning, retiring Auburn in order, including striking out a pair of Tigers.
A seventh inning, two-out rally sent the Rebels back into the lead. With nobody on base, Robinson raked a double to left field for the first two-out hit of the frame. Olenek then sent an RBI single to right that scored Robinson and regained the lead for Ole Miss. Olenek advanced on the throw and was waiting his turn at second base before Tate Blackman drew a walk. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Woodman added a RBI to his day with an opposite-field single to plate Olenek. Bortles followed with another RBI base-knock, and Woodman scored on a fielding error by the shortstop. The Rebels scored four runs on four hits, all with two outs, to claim a 6-2 advantage.
The Tigers took their turn and tried to answer a run in the eighth inning. Wyatt Short entered the game with runners on second and third and only one out. Auburn plated one run on a sacrifice fly, but ultimately stranded two to leave the score, 6-3, in favor of Ole Miss.
In the top of the ninth, Auburn loaded the bases with no outs. Stokes took over the mound in an effort to get the Rebels out of the jam. The Tigers plated one run on a bases-loaded walk, bringing the score to 6-4. However, Stokes kept fighting and struck out back-to-back batters. With two outs, a pop up to Bortles ended the game to end the comeback effort and allow Ole Miss to hang on for the two-run victory.
Ole Miss and Auburn square off twice more this weekend at Swayze Field. The final two games of the series with the Tigers will be nationally televised on SEC Network with Saturday’s game beginning at 2 p.m. CT and Sunday’s series finale slated for 1 p.m. CT. In tomorrow contest, sophomore David Parkinson will get the ball for the Rebels, while Auburn will counter with senior Justin Camp.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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