Tide swept away in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa was twice as nice for No. 25 Auburn Saturday.
The Tigers beat Alabama 5-0 and 20-5 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium to sweep a doubleheader and the series. It’s Auburn’s first sweep of the Tide since 2001 and first three-game sweep in Tuscaloosa since 1976.
The 20 runs are the most since Auburn totaled 21 against Alabama in 1989. With a 19-5 win Friday, the Tigers scored 44 runs in the series, which is the most ever for AU against its in-state rival.
“Just all three games that’s about as complete as we’ve been and about as business-like as I’ve ever seen our guys on the road,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “We were challenged and we made a big deal about the 1-5 on the road (in the SEC) and if we were going to make any moves or catch back up in this great conference that we were going to have to not get distracted by anything and stay locked in.”
Auburn improves to 29-12 overall and 9-9 in the conference, moving within one game of Ole Miss and Arkansas for first place in the SEC West. The Tide falls to 22-20 and 5-13.
After batting .199 in its first 15 conference games, Auburn hit .380 this weekend to raise its SEC average 38 points to .237.
“I think this weekend was big for us just simplifying,” said Luke Jarvis, who was 4-of-7 with five runs scored and three RBI combined Saturday. “It felt like in week’s past that everybody was trying to do too much, and this weekend it felt like everybody was just fine singling people to death. It definitely paid off because there were a lot of guys that had really good weekends.”
The Tigers pounded out 19 hits in the nightcap including six for extra bases. Josh Anthony helped Auburn build an early 8-0 lead with a two-RBI double in the third inning and a two-run home run in the fourth. Edouard Julien capped off an 11-run eighth with a three-run blast that sailed well over the bullpen in right field for his team-leading ninth of the season and second in as many days.
Every starter had at least one hit including three by Will Holland, Conor Davis and Jay Estes. Anthony and Julien drove home four runs apiece while Davis had two RBI. Steven Williams was 1-of-2 with three RBI, Luke Jarvis was 2-of-3 with three RBI and Brett Wright 2-of-5 with two RBI.
Andrew Mitchell started his first conference game this season, holding the Tide to two runs on two hits in 4.1 innings. Auburn’s usual Saturday starter, Davis Daniel (3-3), came out of the bullpen to earn the win, holding Alabama to a run on two hits over the final 4.1 innings.
“(Daniel) was just trying to get better this weekend and I thought he did,” Thompson said. “He put the ball in the strike zone and was able to finish the ballgame for us.”
Tanner Burns (3-4) threw a gem for Auburn in game one, shutting out Alabama on four hits in 7.0 innings. The freshman right-hander struck out seven and issued one walk on 99 pitches.
“This is huge,” Burns said. “Getting three wins here against our in-state rivals is pretty big and hopefully it will carry momentum into Samford and then Florida next weekend.”
Cody Greenhill struck out four over the final 2.0 innings to complete Auburn’s first shutout of the Tide since 1990 and the first series win in Tuscaloosa since 2004.
The Tigers scored four of their five runs with two outs. Wright walked with the bases loaded to bring home a run in the third, Williams and Wright had RBI singles in the fifth, Julien walked with the bases loaded in the seventh and Williams singled home another run in the ninth.
Wright and Williams had two hits and two RBI apiece. Jarvis was 2-of-4 with two runs scored.
Auburn hosts Samford Tuesday night at 6 p.m. CT on SECN+ and WatchESPN. The Tigers return to conference play next weekend at Florida with the series beginning Thursday night at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.