AUBURN | Every time Mississippi State got a big hit, Auburn had an answer.
The final answer came from Cooper McMurray, whose two-out, RBI-double in the seventh inning lifted the 11th-ranked Tigers to a 6-5 win over the Bulldogs Friday night at Plainsman Park.
“I think a lot of us don’t like our start in SEC play hitting-wise,” McMurray told the Auburn Network. “But it just showed the character of the guys we’ve got in this locker room, the leadership that we’ve got. It’s a big-time win for us tonight.”
Ryan Hetzler shutout MSU over the final two innings to earn his fifth save of the season.
The game ended past midnight after the start was delayed for three hours and 13 minutes due to rain.
Auburn improves to 29-13 overall and 10-9 in the SEC.
MSU’s Joe Powell hit a three-run home run in the seventh to tie the game 5-5. After MSU starter Pico Kohn retired the first two batters in the bottom of the inning, Eric Snow worked a walk.
With a 3-1 count, Snow broke from first and McMurray lined a pitch down the right field line to drive home the winning run.
“Cooper McMurray, when he starts swinging it, that starts putting some length to what we’re trying to do,” AU coach Butch Thompson told the Auburn Network. “I’m proud of him tonight. I thought he had a couple of really good at-bats tonight against a really good left-handed pitcher.”
Carson Myers (1-2) earned the win after allowing three runs, two earned, on two hits in 1.0 inning.
AU starter Samuel Dutton held MSU to two runs on four hits in 6.0 innings. He tied a career-high with nine strikeouts and issued one walk on 102 pitches.
MSU took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a two-run home run by Noah Sullivan. AU struck for four runs in the bottom of the inning on an RBI-single by Chase Fralick, sacrifice fly by Eric Guevara and two-RBI double by Chris Rembert.
Guevara added a two-out, RBI-single in the sixth.
Rembert had a career-high four hits in four at bats with two RBI. McMurray was 2 of 4 with one RBI and Guevara 1 of 3 with two RBI.
The series continues Saturday at 6 p.m. CT and Sunday at 2 p.m. Both games will be on SECN+/ESPN+.
