Auburn cracks top-10 of latest USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll after sweeping LSU
Auburn cracks top-10 of latest USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll after sweeping LSU Auburn's weekend sweep of LSU pushes them higher in the rankings.
Coming off a week where the Auburn rallied to defeat Georgia Tech, and a weekend sweep of LSU, the Tigers are moving up in the polls once again. Auburn has moved up three spots in the latest USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll. They go from No. 12 to No. 9 in the newest rankings released on Monday. Auburn now has an overall record of 26-10, and they hold a 9-6 record in SEC competition.
The week began with the Tigers earning a 9-8 road win over Georgia Tech. Auburn possessed a 5-1 lead before Georgia Tech scored six runs in the sixth inning to take a 7-5 lead. Auburn would then score three runs in the eighth to take a 9-7 lead after Deric Fabien scored on a Bub Terrell single. Georgia Tech would add one run in the ninth but could not get any closer.
Then, Auburn headed back home from a big weekend series with No. 3 LSU. The Tigers from Baton Rouge entered the series with only three losses on the season. The Auburn Tigers doubled that number in the loss column. Auburn won game one 8-4 with a great performance from pitcher Samuel Dutton. He picked up his fifth win of the season by pitching six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.
Cade Fisher picked up his first win of the season, and Auburn used two runs in the fourth to get a 4-2 win in game two. Fisher pitched five innings and allowed just one run. He also struck out six batters while on the mound. Auburn trailed 1-0 as the fourth inning began. Eric Snow scored after a Ike Irish double to tie the game at one. Then, Irish would score when Cooper McMurray hit a double to center field to give Auburn a 2-1 lead. Snow hit a two-run home run in the fifth to give Auburn a 4-1 lead.
On Sunday, Auburn held on for a 3-2 win after scoring three early runs. It was McMurray once again delivering the offense. In the first inning, he hit a double to left field that would score both Irish and Chris Rembert. Bristol Carter added the third run in the second for a 3-0 lead. LSU scored two runs in the eighth, but Auburn held on for the win.
The sweep resulted in LSU dropping to No. 7. Auburn will have another big weekend series this week when they travel to meet the new No. 1 Texas Longhorns. First though, they will need to focus on Jacksonville State Tuesday night.
Other teams in the SEC in the USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll are Arkansas (No.2), Tennessee (No.3), Georgia (No.5), Ole Miss (No.11), Alabama (No.15), Oklahoma (No.16), and Vanderbilt (No. 17).
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