Auburn wins back-and-forth finale on walk-off passed ball

Courtesy of Auburn Athletics

AUBURN, Ala. – In a back-and-forth series finale, Auburn scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning with the winning run crossing home plate on a walk-off passed ball to defeat Ole Miss 10-9 Sunday evening at Plainsman Park.

After a three-run double gave Ole Miss a 9-8 lead in the top of the ninth, Auburn was down to its last out with nobody on base in the bottom of the inning. Mason Maners drilled a triple down the right field line, and pinch hitter Kaleb Freeman drove him in to tie the game with a single to center.

“I thought from the start the guys hung in there,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “Maners’ triple was timely. Hitting that triple made the outcome possible.”

After tying the game, in a matter of five pitches, pinch runner Javon Hernandez advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored the winning run on a passed ball.

“Once I saw Kaleb get that big hit to tie the game, I had a feeling they were going to call on me to pinch-run,” Hernadez said. “I was ready. I was thinking this is a good time to be aggressive. We were fighting all day. As soon as I saw the ball low, I saw it hit off his glove or the bottom of his gear, I just took off.”

Tied at 5-5 in the seventh inning, Cooper McMurray and Cade Belyeu turned in back-to-back doubles to score the go-ahead run, but Ole Miss answered with a solo homer to start the eighth and tie the game.

Again, Auburn took the lead with a pair of solo homers from Cooper Weiss and Ike Irish in the bottom of the eighth, but the Rebels reclaimed the lead with the previously mentioned bases-clearing double in the top of the ninth.

Auburn ultimately scored the go-ahead runs in three consecutive innings en route to the win.

“A great job by the resiliency of the club,” Thompson added. “They’ve hung in there and competed enough to get that last punch back. I really wanted it for them.”

Ole Miss (25-22, 9-15 SEC) jumped out to a 5-0 lead with a two-run homer and three-run homer in the top of the first, but Auburn responded with a pair of two-out RBI singles from Belyeu and Caden Green in the bottom of the inning.

The Tigers (22-24, 4-20 SEC) drew a run closer with an unearned run in the second, and freshman reliever Cam Tilly recorded five outs on 16 pitches but was forced to leave the game with a lower back injury. Chase Allsup entered on short notice and got back-to-back strikeouts to end the third before ultimately pitching 4.2 innings and striking out a career-high nine batters, the most by an Auburn reliever this season.

“My whole goal was just to pick up Cam,” Allsup said. “I know that’s not how anyone wants to be taken off the mound, against their will or anything. I kind of tried to treat it like a start almost where I had all the time to warmup.

“Regardless of the score, I was just trying to take it a batter at a time,” Allsup added. “I was just trying to keep it where it was.”

Green collected his second RBI single in as many at-bats in the bottom of the third, driving in Belyeu to make it a one-run game.

Chris Stanfield made his second diving catch of the game in center field in the top of the fourth and drove in the game-tying run on a RBI double in the bottom of the inning. Deric Fabian led off the frame with a double of his own before advancing on Weiss’ sacrifice bunt and scoring on the double.

Tied 5-5 in the fifth, the Tigers threatened with three walks from McMurray, Green and Maners but a popup to second ended the inning and kept the score tied.

Allsup retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced with the career-best strikeout total, but back-to-back hits in the seventh put Ole Miss’ go-ahead run on third base with one out. However, a ground ball to third resulted in the second out at home and a grounder to short ended the inning without any damage. The Rebels managed just one hit from the first through sixth innings before threatening in the seventh.

“Allsup gave us a chance today,” Thompson said. “That’s a couple of outings where he threw the ball really well. He’s had control and command. He’s absolutely grown as a pitcher. He’s hung in there. I’m glad to see him have success. He persevered and was rewarded today.”

Conner McBride turned in a scoreless eighth inning but ran into trouble with two singles and a walk in the ninth. Parker Carlson recorded the final two outs for the Tigers and earned the win.

Five Auburn players in Stanfield, Irish, Belyeu, Green and Fabian all collected multiple hits, and the team’s 15 hits were the second most in a game this season.

Auburn travels to Georgia Tech (28-17, 12-12 ACC) for its second-to-last midweek contest Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT at Russ Chandler Stadium.