Auburn (12-3) mercy ruled Austin Peay (11-4) 24-5 on Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park behind a huge third inning at the plate. It was a whirlwind of a series with each team scoring plenty of runs in the three games, but Auburn won the rubber match.
"I was really interested in today," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "I wanted today to get here and see how this team would respond with so many new pieces."
Austin Peay jumped out to an early lead Sunday afternoon after a two-run home run from Lyle Miller-Green in the top of the first. Auburn, however, quickly responded with two runs in the bottom of the first and three in the bottom of the second.
Then came the third inning. The Tigers broke loose from Austin Peay in the third scoring eight runs on six hits. Auburn also mounted three free passes in the inning on two walks and one hit batter. First baseman Cooper McMurray started the inning for the Tigers with a double. Catcher Carter Wright was then walked and designated hitter Christian Hall was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Left-fielder Mason Maners hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield allowing McMurray to score before Auburn centerfielder Chris Stanfield walked to load the bases back up. Shortstop Cooper Weiss followed up the walk with a double driving in two runs, and he was followed by second baseman Deric Fabian who also doubled driving in Stanfield and Weiss.
Third baseman Gavin Miller would then hit an RBI single to left field to score Fabian. Finally, Auburn would hit around bringing McMurray back to the plate. McMurray took advantage of the second at-bat of the inning hitting a two-run homer over the batter's eye in centerfield. McMurray finished the day 4-4 at the plate.
"I thought McMurray was amazing," Thompson said.
The third inning provided more than enough runs for Auburn as they would go on to mercy rule Austin Peay. It was a great response after an ugly loss in game two on Saturday for the Tigers. With the win on Sunday, Auburn clinched its second series win of the season.
"We were seeing the ball well," McMurray said. "It was a good win for our team."
Next up, Auburn will play Troy on Tuesday night at Toyota Field in Madison, Alabama. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.. The game will air on YouTube and the Auburn Sports Network.
