Mize leads Auburn to shutout win
AUBURN | Casey Mize pitched an opening day gem for the Tigers.
The All-American right-hander struck out seven in six scoreless innings to lead Auburn to a 6-0 win over Longwood at Plainsman Park Friday night.
“I thought our team played really steady,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “Casey Mize got us started off right. I thought it was almost pedestrian for him the first three innings, then I thought the last three innings I really saw him start to click into something.”
Mize nearly lost the shutout in the sixth when Antwaun Tucker singled to centerfield, but Eli Mercado was thrown out at home trying to score from second base by Jay Estes for the final out of the inning.
Mize allowed three hits, all singles, hit one batter and didn’t issue a walk on 75 pitches. He retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced once he started featuring his spilt-change.
“I don’t know why I was refusing to throw it, but once we started doing that everything really started clicking. I kind of got in the groove and everything felt like it was supposed to feel,” Mize said.
Calvin Coker was just as dominant out of the bullpen. The senior struck out five in 2.0 innings allowing one hit. Cody Greenhill closed out the game with a scoreless ninth allowing a hit and issuing one walk.
“Calvin Coker, I don’t know if I’ve seen him throw two better innings. He looked in midseason form and was electric,” Thompson said. “He could of easily finished the ballgame but I felt like with a very reduced pitch count he can come back Sunday and help us and I was pretty convicted in getting Cody Greenhill on the mound for his first outing. He misfired a little bit but did enough to preserve the shutout.”
Luke Jarvis, Brett Wright and Will Holland had two hits apiece for the Tigers. Jarvis drove home two runs in the sixth on a two-out single and Wright had an RBI double in the second and a solo home run over the right centerfield wall in the eighth.
Holland had an RBI single in the fourth. Conor Davis was 1-of-4 with an RBI double in the third.
“Luke Jarvis, I thought the biggest bat of the ball game was when we’re up 3-0 and moving the game along and playing steady — he had swung and missed and it got him to two strikes and I thought it was a veteran, senior at-bat to just backspin the ball back up the middle and make it the fourth and fifth runs to get us out 5-0,” Thompson said.
Auburn played error-free in the field including two diving stops by Josh Anthony at third base.
The series continues Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. CT on SECN+.