The No. 19 Auburn Tigers (33-19-1, 17-13 SEC) earned their fifth-straight series win and back-to-back sweeps after taking all three games against the Missouri Tigers (30-23, 10-19 SEC) this weekend at home inside Plainsman Park to close out the regular season. The Tigers also cliched their second straight SEC-winning season for the first time since doing so four-straight times from 1997-2000.
"It's a good mark of consistency and program growth," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said about the accomplishment. "You can see it in the crowds, you can see it with the players. That's the kind of consistency you want for the program. This is a hard league."
The first two games of the series were played in a doubleheader on Friday night. Auburn won the first game 4-0 and the second game 7-2.
Sophomore right-hander Chase Allsup got the start in the first game and allowed only three hits, walked two batters and struck out seven batters in seven scoreless innings. Junior left-hander Tanner Bauman provided two innings of quality relief work and earned his first save of the season.
Freshman left fielder Chris Stanfield got the scoring started by putting an RBI single through the left side of the infield. The home Tigers scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when both senior third baseman Bryson Ware and freshman designated hitter Ike Irish hit solo home runs. Irish also reached on an error in the bottom of the eighth inning that allowed redshirt senior right fielder Bobby Peirce to score. That was all of the offense in Auburn's 4-0 victory to kick off the series.
Senior left-hander Konner Copeland got the start for Auburn in the second game and earned the win in 5.1 innings of work in which he allowed one run off of three hits, walked one batter and struck out five.
Auburn took the lead in the bottom of the first inning and never gave it back. The road Tigers scored their only two runs of the night in the top of the sixth inning but were still down 4-2 after doing so. Auburn added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the game and series victory.
Six used six different pitchers in the series finale, but sophomore right-hander Will Cannon earned the win. Cannon pitched the last 1.2 innings of the game and held Missouri scoreless.
Missouri scored three runs in the top of the first inning to take its first lead of the series. The teams went back and forth the entire game, but a five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning secured Auburn's second sweep in a row as the regular season came to an end.
The SEC Tournament is set for next week at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama. Auburn will be looking to make its second consecutive appearance in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska and the road begins in Hoover.
