AUBURN | It was another day for Auburn’s freshmen to shine.
Edouard Julien hit a grand slam and Cody Greenhill held No. 17 Vanderbilt scoreless over the final 3.1 innings to lead the 20th-ranked Tigers to an 11-5 win Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
Auburn, which won 4-1 Friday, wins a series against the Commodores for the first time since 2009 and will go for the sweep Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. The Tigers improve to 33-14 overall and 12-11 in the SEC while Vanderbilt falls to 25-21 and 11-12.
“We had three freshmen that really contributed to help us basically win a series today,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “For (Julien) to be playing this well, because his transition had to be bigger than anybody on our roster to be in the deep South and get settled in, he’s making a difference."
Julien’s second grand slam of the season in the second inning bounced off the top of the scoreboard in left-center, giving him a team-high 12 home runs, which is the most by an Auburn freshman since Todd Faulkner hit 20 in 1998. The Quebec City, Canada native leads Auburn and all freshmen nationally with 50 RBI.
“I got a first-pitch change up and I was right on it and I just missed it,” Julien said. “I knew he was going to come back with a fastball right after, and I got a fastball and was able to put a barrel on it.”
Julien’s parents made the 1,479-mile trip from Canada to watch their son play this weekend.
“It’s huge for me because they’ve been there my whole life and my dad’s been practicing me since I was 4 years old,” Julien said. “It’s huge for me to do good in front of them.”
Jay Estes gave Auburn an early 2-0 lead driving in two with a two-out double in the first inning. Brendan Venter got a five-run second started with a solo home run, his eighth, Conor Davis had an RBI groundout in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and Luke Jarvis drove home two with a two-out single in the eighth.
All of Auburn’s starters had at least one hit led by Estes, who was 3-of-4. Julien and Josh Anthony had two hits apiece.
Greenhill earned his fourth save of the season, allowing just one hit. He struck out three and issued two walks on 44 pitches.
Auburn starter Tanner Burns (4-4) took the win holding Vandy to four runs on five hits in 5.0 innings. The freshman right-hander struck out five and issued two walks.
It’s the third-straight weekend that Burns and Greenhill have teamed up for a win.
“Tanner is competing like crazy and Cody Greenhill, just a good competitive finish,” Thompson said. “Those two guys together, it’s not perfect and I think they’re going to continue to get better. I think Tanner is going to become moire efficient as he keeps pitching and I think Cody is going to keep developing secondary stuff. But they’re just able to have success right now because they’re competing so well."
Elliott Anderson couldn’t get Auburn out of a jam in the sixth, allowing a run on two hits and a walk before turning it over to Greenhill.
Vanderbilt starter Patrick Raby (3-5) took the loss allowing seven runs on seven hits and two walks in 2.0 innings.
Sunday’s game will air on SECN+ and WatchESPN. Auburn senior left-hander Andrew Mitchell (0-1, 3.28 ERA) will face freshman right-hander Mason Hickman (7-1, 3.78).
