AUBURN, Ala. - After claiming a 7-5 game one win on Saturday, Auburn used a five-run seventh to claim an 8-7 win in the day's second game, claiming a doubleheader sweep and a series victory over arch-rival Alabama at Plainsman Park. The two wins upped Auburn's record to 28-23, 13-13 SEC while Alabama dropped to 30-22, 12-14 SEC.With the series win, Auburn now holds the tie-breaker on four out of five SEC West opponents."I am really proud of our team today. The way they competed, I thought that was one of the most important things we did today. We competed for 18 innings," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "It was a long day and it was pretty intense."Trailing 4-3 heading into the seventh, Auburn ran through three Alabama pitchers to reclaim the lead it has lost in the fifth. A pair of walks and a Justin Fradejas (3-for-5) bunt base hit loaded the bases for Auburn. Dan Gamache (0-for-4) then grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, though a run scored to tie the game at 4-4.An intentional pass to Casey McElroy (1-for-3, RBI, 2 R) put runners on the corners for Tony Caldwell (1-for-3, RBI, 2 R), who singled to right to give Auburn a 5-4 lead. After a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position, a passed ball allowed McElroy to score and Wes Gilmer's (2-for-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI) second double of the game scored Caldwell to make it 7-4. Brooks Beisner's (1-for-4) single to left capped the scoring in the inning."This was big for us, both games were real exciting and came down to the end," Gilmer said. "The pitchers came out and threw well and gave us a chance to win and we got some big hits when we needed them."Dillon Ortman, who earned the win in the opener, picked up the save in the second game, collecting the final three outs after entering in the ninth following a Jared Reaves (2-for-4, 3 RBI) home run that cut the Auburn lead to a run."When you put freshmen out there they have to be mentally tough. I thought (Dillon) did a really good job. He got the win in game one and then came back and got the save," Pawlowski said. "He wants to be out there and he certainly picked us up today."Auburn had taken a 3-0 lead in the first, using doubles by Fradejas and Gilmer and a single by McElroy and a Caldwell walk to take the early advantage.Alabama responded with a two-run fifth as Taylor Dugas (2-for-4, 2 RBI) and Brock Bennett (2-for-4, RBI) both singled in runs.Alabama then took the lead, 4-3, as Reaves doubled in a pair in the seventh.Ethan Wallen (5-5) was the beneficiary of the five-run seventh as he picked up the win out of the bullpen.Charley Sullivan (2-2) was charged with the loss out of the Alabama bullpen.Auburn tries for its first sweep of Alabama since 2001 on Sunday at 1pm.The pitching matchup in the finale will pit Slade Smith vs. Jonathan Smart.Auburn 8, Alabama 7 (May 14, 2011 at Auburn, AL) (Game 2)----------------------------------------------------------------------Alabama............. 000 020 221 - 7 12 0 (30-22, 12-14 SEC)Auburn.............. 300 000 50X - 8 9 1 (28-23, 13-13 SEC)----------------------------------------------------------------------Win-Ethan Wallen(5-5) Save-Dillon Ortman(4) Loss-Charley Sullivan(2-2) T-2:46 A-3315Box Score in PDF FormatFollow Auburn baseball on twitter at twitter.com/AUTigerBaseball.
Good guys up 2-0 going to the top of the third.If the theme holds true to form, we will fall behind late and rally to win...
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