AUBURN | Auburn’s bats stayed red hot Tuesday night.
The 2nd-ranked Tigers pounded out 16 hits including nine for extra-bases in a 19-1 run-rule win over Jacksonville State in seven innings. AU has totaled 65 runs in its last four games.
"So exciting to see," said AU coach Butch Thompson. "We knew the potential. We’ve kind of strived for it all year long. To see them hook it up, especially now, is a big deal. These are runs in baseball. They are fleeting, but what’s not fleeting is the evaluation of the strike zone."
Auburn finishes the regular season 25-6 at home, winning 11 of its last 12 games at Plainsman Park, and 21-4 in non-conference games.
Auburn started quickly, loading the bases with no outs in the first inning before Cooper McMurray drove a grand slam over the wall in right-centerfield.
"I think when the bases are loaded it’s just get a job done early in the count," said McMurray. "At this point in the season there are no individual stats that matter, it’s all about winning. When the three guys ahead of me get on base it’s making my job a lot easier. Just trying to get a good pitch and put a good swing on a ball and get a job done.
Bub Terrell added an RBI-double in the first and Chris Rembert clobbered a two-run home run off the scoreboard in left-centerfield in the third.
The Tigers struck for 11 more runs in the fourth on nine hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Terrell had two doubles and four RBI in the inning while Deric Fabian drove home two with a single.
Pinch hitter Andrew Sutton, who has served as Auburn’s first-base coach for most of the season, hit a solo home run in the fifth in his first at-bat of the season.
"I think I took about two, three hard steps out of the box and then blacked out a little bit. Worried about touching first base, mainly. The crowd going crazy was a dream come true. That’s what I’ve been waiting for," said Dutton.
He’s the older brother of AU ace starter Samuel Dutton.
"We had a blast with that tonight," said Thompson. "That was a special moment. He’s got that for life, to run around these bases in an Auburn uniform. He’s worked every day to be ready to play the game. And you’re rewarded for stuff like that. That’s another life lesson."
McMurray was 2 of 2 with five RBI, Terrell 3 of 4 with three doubles and five RBI, Rembert 2 of 3 with three RBI and Fabian 1 of 3 with two RBI.
AU starter Andreas Alvarez (2-1) earned the win with 5.0 shutout innings. The freshman right-hander allowed one hit and struck out two on 68 pitches.
"I thought he got to his fastball," said Thompson. "We would like for him to be out ahead and be more comfortable, but he’s growing. He has a great arm. He got us five innings and the first batter of the game got a hit. After that, nobody got a hit off him. He grinded through it."
Parker Carlson threw a scoreless sixth and Mason Koch allowed one run in the seventh.
Auburn, 37-15 overall and 16-11 in the SEC, closes out the regular season with a three-game series at No. 22 Ole Miss beginning Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. on SECN+/ESPN+.
