Auburn storms back to defeat Mississippi State in wild series finale
If you enjoy offensive-heavy baseball, then the series between Auburn and Mississippi State was perfect for you.
After a low-scoring affair on Friday, Auburn and Mississippi State combined to score 44 runs over the final two games. In Sunday’s finale, the Tigers claimed the series with a 12-11 win over Mississippi State.
In a similar fashion to Saturday’s 11-10 win for Mississippi State, Auburn trailed the Bulldogs by a heavy margin in Sunday’s game before flipping the switch and starting a comeback.
The Tigers trailed Mississippi State, 7-0, through the first three innings of the game before hanging a three spot in the bottom of the 4th inning. For the third-straight game, Cooper McMurray put Auburn on the board with a home run. His three-run blast trimmed the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-3.
“I knew he had a good slider so I was just trying to stay on it,” McMurray said of Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijintje. “Fortunately he gave me one over the plate with two strikes and I was able to pull it down the line. Thank God it stayed fair. Doing whatever we can to help the team win. I’m blessed to be in that situation.”
The momentum would shift back to the Bulldogs in the top of the 5th inning, as two passed balls from Auburn’s Will Cannon sent home two Mississippi State base runners to extend their lead to 9-3.
McMurray made his presence felt again in the bottom of the 6th inning as he crushed his second home run of the game off of the left field foul pole to cut Mississippi State’s lead to four. Nate LaRue joined the party as well by hitting a two-run blast of his own two at-bats later to cut the Bulldog advantage to 9-7.
A sacrifice fly by Kason Howell in the 7th inning would get Auburn to within one, 9-8. Mississippi State would add another run in the 8th on a single by Kellum Clark to bring the Bulldogs’ advantage to 10-8.
With one out in the 8th inning, and two runners on, Bryson Ware smacked a three-run shot on the first pitch of the at-bat to left field to put Auburn ahead, 12-11. Mississippi State scored an unearned run in the top of the 9th to tie the game, but Cole Foster would deliver the dagger in the bottom of the inning. His double to center field was deep enough to score Josh Hall, thus giving Auburn the series win.
“I’m just proud of them to keep fighting through everything that happens,” head coach Butch Thompson said Sunday. “If this is the new way this game is played, I’m the one who has to adjust more. They just need to keep fighting and find their opportunities when they can have success.”
Auburn has another challenging weekend ahead of them, as they travel to No. 6 South Carolina for another important SEC series starting Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Founders Park in Columbia. Before the road trip, the Tigers will host in-state foe Troy for a midweek clash on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.
COMEBACK: COMPLETE!
There's no quit in these Tigers! #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/0K4VNOdJIw
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) April 23, 2023
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