AUBURN, Ala.? VMI, ranked 30th in the country by Collegiate Baseball, pounded out eight runs on 14 hits, but it wasn't enough to deny the tenth-ranked Auburn Tigers a 10-8 come from behind victory as the teams split a two-game, midweek series at Plainsman Park on Wednesday afternoon. The Keydets record falls to 13-4 with the loss, while the Tigers improve to 18-3 on the season.
The Keydets fought back to tie the game in the third inning before taking a 4-2 lead thanks to a three-run fourth inning. The visitors then tacked on four more insurance runs to take an 8-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, before the Tigers rallied with two in the seventh, one in the eighth and five in the ninth, capped by a walk-off home run by Josh Donaldson over the leftfield wall.
Sophomore Kevin Crum, who entered the game tied for the national lead in saves, entered the contest with an 8-4 lead to begin the eighth inning, as it marked the first time this season he entered a game in a non-save situation. He allowed one run to score in the eighth, as that tally came home when catcher Michael Roberts threw to first base after dropping strike three, allowing Joseph Sanders to score to make the game 8-5.
The Keydets were unable to tack on any additional insurance runs despite loading the bases with only one out, as AU reliver Scott Shuman got a strikeout and a groundout to escape unharmed. That proved costly for the visitors, as the Tigers got things going with a one-out double by Dustin Spruill, while Luke Greinke followed two batters later with an RBI single to make the score 8-6. Sanders tied the game with one swing as he laced a double down into the rightfield corner, chasing Crum from the game in favor of Jacoby Fields. The senior outfielder, making his first appearance on the mound this season, faced only one batter, as Donaldson laced the 1-2 pitch beyond the Green Monster in leftfield to score the come-from-behind win.
For the Tigers, Spruill led the way with a 4-for-5 outing with a pair of runs scored, while Ben Jones went 3-for-3 on the afternoon as well. Also collecting multiple hits were Sanders, Donaldson and Andy Bennett. Junior Thane Smith had a perfect 4-for-4 afternoon at the plate with a double and two runs scored, while Robert Crumpler, Eddie Van Es and Fields each had a pair of knocks as well.
The Tigers took a 1-0 advantage in the second inning, as an infield single by Jones plated Spruill. The Keydets answered quickly as Smith led off the third inning with a double down the rightfield line then came around to score on a pair of groundouts, as Crumpler collected the RBI to knot the game at one. The hosts again took the lead in the bottom of the third, when Robert Brooks came around to score on an RBI groundout by Ross Smith, however, were unable to tack on more runs as Bennett was thrown out at home by A.J. Yoder after a base knock by Spruill to end the inning.
VMI rallied for a three-spot in the fourth inning to take their first lead of the ballgame, as the runs came home on Chad Rice's double, a sacrifice fly by Yoder and a passed ball that allowed Rice to score. A four-run rally in the sixth extended the lead further, as Johnny Thompson recorded only one out in giving up each of the four runs after retiring both batters he faced the day before. Crumpler's bases-loaded single brought home the first run of the inning, while a two-run double by Van Es was followed by a sacrifice fly from Ryan Litz accounted for the Keydets' final runs of the day.
Chris Henderson, who entered the game in relief of starter Michael Bowman to begin the third inning, was in line for the win after surrendering only three runs, one earned while working 4.2 innings. Those two unearned runs came across in the seventh, as Fields made his first error of the season, as a fly ball to left field by Mike Bianucci popped out of his glove to lead off the inning. Bianucci came around to score on a fielder's choice by Josh Stapleton, who later came around to score a run of his own on a bunt single by Philip Stringer, leaving the score 8-4 as Crum entered the game in the eighth.
The Keydets and Tigers each begin conference play this weekend, with AU headed to Athens, Ga. to take on the Georgia Bulldogs while VMI heads to Charleston, S.C. to take on Charleston Southern. The Keydets play game one of the weekend series on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m., before wrapping up the series with an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Saturday.
