Auburn 9, Samford 3: Another big inning clinches comeback win

For the second day in a row, Auburn used a big inning to rally past an in-state team, as the Tigers defeated Samford, 9-3, Wednesday night at Plainsman Park.

Reid Carter (1-0) entered from the bullpen with the bases loaded and Auburn (29-19) down, 3-2, in the top of the sixth. He got out of the jam, pitched 2 1/3 scoreless relief innings and got six runs behind him in the bottom of the sixth to pick up his first win this season.

Auburn's big inning started when Patrick Savage singled on a full-count pitch in the Tigers' first look at new reliever Charles Terry (1-1), and The Tigers tied the game two batters later on Ryan Tella's RBI single. With the bases loaded, Blake Austin drew a hit by pitch to give Auburn the lead. After Hunter Kelley sacrificed Tella home and Cullen Wacker picked up an RBI single, the bases were loaded again, and Savage drove in two runs on a two-run single to right, his second hit of the inning.

Will Kendall made it to the fifth as the Tigers' starter, seeing all three runs score on his register. He went 4 2/3 innings, striking out two, walking three and giving up up six hits. He left the game with a leg injury, which was later revealed to be a strained groin.

Justin Camp helped finish off the Bulldogs in the fifth after Kendall exited with one out and one on, but only after a little excitement. Camp allowed the inherited runner to score and gave up a walk and single, but he used a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. His sixth was also a bit rocky, loading the bases on two singles and a walk before being pulled for Carter. Daniel Koger pitched in relief for the second day in a row, throwing a perfect ninth to seal the win.

Auburn had a 1-0 lead after two thanks to Dan Glevenyak and Jordan Ebert putting together back-to-back doubles, and Kelley's RBI single in the fifth pulled the Tigers within a run. Auburn's scoring was done in the eighth, when Glevenyak scored Wacker with a sac fly.

There was again production all throughout the lineup, particularly from the 2-3-4 holes. Wacker (2-for-5, two runs), Cooper (2-for-5) and Savage (3-for-4, run, two RBIs) combined for nearly half of the 15 hits and were a big part of stringing together rallies that gave Auburn its run scoring chances. In the bottom half of the order, Ebert had three hits and eighth-hitting Tomscha was 2-for-3 with two runs.

Auburn now heads to Gainesville, where the Tigers will play three, beginning Friday night, against the Florida Gators.

Box score

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
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Samford............. 000 210 000 -  3 11  1
Auburn.............. 010 016 01X -  9 15  1
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