May 6, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn sent 12 batters to the plate in the fifth inning, scoring seven times to vault past No. 23 Vanderbilt, 14-0 and complete the three-game series sweep on Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
The Commodores (25-22, 11-13 SEC) walked four Tigers hitters and balked home another in the fifth while suffering their first sweep at the hands of Auburn (33-14, 13-11 SEC) since 2002. Vandy mustered just two hits while dropping its eighth game in the last 10 outings.
Auburn starter Andrew Mitchell (1-1) retired the first 14 Vanderbilt batters he faced and allowed just a two-out infield single from Stephen Scott in 5.1 scoreless innings of work. The left-hander permitted one hit and struck out five to secure the win.
Mason Hickman (7-2) was sharp early and limited the Tigers to a single run courtesy a sacrifice fly despite a leadoff double, walk and single in the third. The freshman retired the side in the fourth before Auburn unloaded in the fifth.
Brendan Venter struck his second homer of the series to lead off the home half. After a pair of walks and fielder’s choice, Vandy headed to the bullpen, only to see the Tigers score six more times including four runs with two down off Jackson Gillis and Chandler Day.
The Tigers struck again in the seventh, this time off new reliever Aaron Brown as Conor Davis drilled a three-run home run. The long ball was the sixth of the series for the Tigers.
Auburn’s six-through-eight trio of Jay Estes, Venter and Davis combined to go 7-for-10 with nine RBIs and seven runs. Davis led the charge, finishing 2-for-3 with five RBIs while reaching base three times and scoring two runs.
Hickman allowed four hits and four runs while walking three and striking out two in 4.1 innings in the loss. Gillis recorded just one out, giving up four runs on three hits alongside two walks. Day lasted 1.1 innings with a hit, walk and strikeout.
Vanderbilt returns to action on Tuesday, hosting nationally-ranked Tennessee Tech at 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus and can be heard on the vucommodores app as well as locally on WNSR 560 AM/95.9 FM with Joe Fisher on the call.
