AUBURN | Edouard Julien’s two-out single drove home two in the eighth inning to lift No. 17 Auburn to a 5-3 come-from-behind win over No. 21 Tennessee and a sweep of the three-game series.
The Tigers improve to 18-2 overall and 3-0 in the SEC with their 13th consecutive win.
"We hung in there and got those two runners in position and for the second day in row Edouard Julien, with two strikes, he just crouched, went the other way, kept his head and barrel connected against (Garrett) Crochet, one of the best relievers in the Southeastern Conference," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said, "especially left handed, may be at the top of the list, with (Matt) Cronin from Arkansas as it stands right now, and got it done for us."
Auburn’s eighth began with a leadoff walk by Matt Scheffler, who moved to second on a single by Will Holland. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Steven Williams.
A strikeout by Rankin Woley, brought Julien to the plate. The sophomore lined a 1-2 pitch into left field to score Scheffler and Holland and give the Tigers a 4-3 lead.
“I was just trying to go oppo (opposite field),” Julien said. “I didn’t want to pull it. With two strikes I was just trying to put something in play and I was fortunate to put that slider into the outfield.”
Julien, who went to second on the throw home, then scored as pinch-hitter Everett Lau reached on a throwing error by the shortstop.
Tennessee loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Kyle Gray ended the game with a groundout to second base to earn the win.
The Tigers had two key defensive plays late in the game. Kason Howell made a diving catch in deep right-centerfield to save a run in the seventh, and Judd Ward saved a run in the eighth when he caught a fly ball in foul territory down the left field line and gunned out UT baserunner Jake Rucker trying to score from third at the plate.
“I think those two plays were really the momentum shifters for us,” Holland said. “They really got us going on offense even though they were defensive plays. You love to see it as a teammate.”
Alerick Soularie’s solo home run to leadoff the eighth gave the Volunteers a 3-2 lead before AU struck for three in the bottom of the inning.
"Especially in the eighth inning when the game was tied and they had a guy come up and hit a bomb, we could of laid down and gave them the game and still won the series. But we’ve got a lot of grit on our team and we really wanted this win today because we know how important they are later in the season," Holland said.
Auburn got two runs in the fifth as Conor Davis led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a groundout by Ward. Howell scored after being hit by a pitch, moving to second on Ward’s groundout, stealing third base and coming home on a Scheffler single that bounced off the pitcher.
Holland had two of Auburn’s seven hits along with two stolen bases. Auburn had six stolen bases in the game and 11 in the series.
Gray (1-1) held UT to one hit and two walks over the final 1.2 innings. Auburn used six pitchers with Ryan Watson throwing 1.0 scoreless innings, Peyton Glavine retiring one batter in the fifth, Cody Greenhill allowing a run in 2.2 innings and Richard Fitts retiring one batter in the eighth.
Starter Carson Skipper lasted 3.0 innings allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits. The freshman left-hander struck out one and walked one.
"Kyle Gray, didn’t do it easy, not pretty, but he’ll gain something from being able to know that he finished an SEC ball game," Thompson said. "We were just kinda fighting it all day. But everyone of these guys that pitched, Peyton Glavine, Fitts, everybody that got in the ball game for us, they gave us the best that they could and the dam never broke. And kept us in striking distance.”
The Tigers begin an eight-game road trip Tuesday at UAB. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on C-USA TV. Auburn returns to conference play next weekend at No. 5 Mississippi State.
