AUBURN | Tanner Burns got it started and Cody Greenhill finished. The pair of sophomores led No. 15 Auburn to a 4-1 win Friday night at UCF.
Burns (1-0) held UCF to a run on two hits in 5.2 innings to earn the win while Greenhill retired the last four batters of the game to earn his first save of the season.
The Tigers improve to 5-1 while the Knights fall to 4-1.
“Our guys did a great job and I thought the difference was the poise on the mound,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “Tanner Burns throwing 30-plus pitches in the first inning and just settling down. The breaking ball really got going from the third through the fifth inning, got better and better and better.
“(Greenhill) is just a guy we believe in so, so much. He was on his A-game. A great job by our pitching staff.”
Burns struck out seven and issued two walks on 96 pitches to lower his ERA to 1.69. UCF was able to load the bases with two outs in the first, but Burns struck out Griffin Bernardo to end the threat.
“I was a little anxious the first inning, but that didn’t need to happen. I’m a little upset about that,” said Burns of throwing 30 pitches in the first. “But overall, I’m happy we won. There’s some stuff to work on. The first inning I was just anxious and then I just got in my groove the second inning and it just took off.”
Greenhill came on in the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs, needing just two pitches to end the threat on a Dalton Wingo fly out to right field. He retired UCF in order in the ninth.
Elliott Anderson came in for Burns in the sixth with a runner on first and two outs, allowing back-to-back singles for UCF’s only run. He allowed three hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 2.0 innings.
Auburn made the most of its five hits. Edouard Julien hit a two-run home run in the second inning, his fourth of the season and third in the last two games. Ryan Bliss added a two-out, RBI double in the fourth to give the Tigers an early 3-0 lead.
Auburn added an insurance run in the ninth as Bliss led off with a walk, went to third base on a throwing error by the UCF pitcher and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kason Howell.
Julien finished 2 of 3 with a run scored and two RBI. Bliss was 1 of 3 with a run scored and one RBI.
“I’m just trying to put the ball in play, not trying to do too much,” Julien said. “I just want to help the team win.”
The series continues Saturday at 5 p.m. CT and concludes Sunday at noon. Both games will be available on UCFKnights.TV, which requires a subscription.