AUBURN – Hunter Morris had three hits, including a solo home run, as No. 16 Auburn rallied for a 9-7 win over Jacksonville State at Plainsman Park on Tuesday.
Auburn's Zach Blatt (1-0) gave up just two hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief to earn his first win of the season, while Austin Hubard recorded the final three outs to earn his eighth save. JSU's
Alex Jones (1-6) gave up three runs in 2 1/3 innings to get stuck with the loss.
The Tigers took a 4-0 lead after Trent Mummey hit a solo home run in the first inning and added three more in the second inning to take the early lead.
Jax State battled back to tie the game in the third inning after
Bert Smith had a RBI double, while
Jake Sharrock followed with a RBI single.
Daniel Adamson added a two-RBI double as the Gamecocks tied the game at 4-4.
Auburn then scored two runs in the home half of the third inning after Casey McElroy and Dan Gamache each drove in a run to give the Tigers a 6-4 lead.
The Gamecocks answered in the seventh inning to tie the game after
Jake Sharrock reached on a fielder's choice and then scored after Adamson hit a ball to center field, which was dropped and allowed Sharrock to score and Adamson raced all the way around to tie the game at 7-7.
Morris answered in the bottom of the seventh for Auburn after he hit a solo home run to lead off the inning as the Tigers took an 8-7 lead.
Jax State then plated a run in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game again after
Sam Eberle scored on the second Auburn error of the night, but the Tigers answered in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Tony Caldwell came in to pinch hit with bases loaded and delivered with a single to left field to score two runs for the final margin.
Daniel Adamson finished with three hits, while Smith had two hits to lead the Gamecocks. Mummey, Jenkins and Gamache each had two hits for Auburn.
Jacksonville State will play its final Ohio Valley Conference series this weekend at Morehead State. Friday's double-header will begin at 12 noon, while Saturday's single-game will also begin at noon.
