Auburn baseball faces elimination, Stanford in College World Series after quieted by Ole Miss
Auburn baseball's fielders went crashing into walls three times Saturday night, covering the perimeter of Charles Schwab Field as though issuing an early statement: The Tigers had arrived at the College World Series operating at maximum effort, full caution to the wind.
Their bats made contact with mostly wind, too.
Back in Omaha, Nebraska, for the second time in four years, Auburn's high energy was silenced by one of the hottest teams in college baseball in its CWS opener. A 5-1 loss to SEC West foe Ole Miss (38-22) leaves Auburn (42-21) facing elimination Monday (1 p.m., ESPN) against No. 2 overall seed Stanford.
Should've seen Auburn's disappearing offense coming
Since the early innings of the super regional at Oregon State, Auburn's hitting has been trending downward. In the last 24 innings of that series, the Tigers found a way to score nine runs, but on just 14 hits.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss passed through Southern Miss with back-to-back shutouts.
Dylan DeLucia was the newest hero for a suddenly dominant pitching staff. Auburn took until the fifth inning to put a runner on base, and through six, DeLucia had thrown 51 of his 71 pitches for strikes.
He rarely had three-ball counts. Auburn allowed him to get ahead. The Tigers finally threatened in the seventh with three consecutive hits to start the inning, making it 5-1 with two on. Ole Miss was faced with a decision; it was rewarded for its faith in the starter, who painted a corner against Auburn grad transfer Brooks Carlson for a big strikeout. Then seniors Brody Moore and Kason Howell popped out, stranding the runners.
The Tigers now have been contained to five hits or fewer in three consecutive games.
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Ole Miss attacked Joseph Gonzalez early
There was a sense of urgency to this CWS opener for Auburn, a favored team against Ole Miss while Stanford loomed on deck as the cost of a loss.
Joseph Gonzalez wasn't the only pitching option, but Auburn wanted its Sunday ace on the mound. He's a contact pitcher who relies on his sinker and slider; Ole Miss invited contact, swinging early in counts. Gonzalez's slider didn't have great movement.
The Rebels rallied for two runs with two outs in the first inning, and four of their five runs were scored with two outs. Gonzalez had a gritty outing considering the circumstances of his lacking slider, but his five innings of four-run ball weren't enough.
Auburn arms against Stanford
Junior Trace Bright could have started against Ole Miss, and he'll likely be the choice against Stanford now in the elimination game. In his last start, he didn't make it out of the first inning.
Auburn also used lefty reliever Carson Skipper for the last four innings Saturday, crucially saving other arms. Butch Thompson isn't afraid to make Skipper available even after heavy usage, so with the season on the line, Monday will be all hands on deck.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn baseball: College World Series starts with loss to Ole Miss
