Auburn Falls To No. 10 Florida State, 4-3 In Second Round Of NCAA Regional

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June 4, 2005

Josh Donaldson

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Auburn jumped to an early 3-0 lead however No. 10 Florida State scored four unanswered runs, including three in the fourth inning to defeat the Tigers 4-3 in the winner's bracket of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional before a crowd of 6,398 at Dick Howser Stadium Saturday.

Auburn will face Army (39-13) Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in an elimination game.  The Black Knights eliminated South Alabama 8-5 Saturday afternoon. The Auburn-Army winner will play FSU Sunday evening at 7 p.m. ET.

"Give credit to Florida State, they're a quality team," Auburn head coach Tom Slater said. "Bryan Henry was outstanding at locating his pitches, both side-to-side and up-and-down.  It's easy to see why he was a first-team All-ACC pitcher."

Florida State (51-18) right-hander Bryan Henry (9-2) tossed a complete game for the Seminoles while striking out a career-high 10 batters.

Auburn scored its three runs all in the second inning, including a two-run home run by freshman third baseman Josh Donaldson.  Donaldson drove a 0-2 offering from Henry with one out over the fence in left-center field for his sixth homer of the year.

Karl Amonite led off the Tigers' second with a triple to right-center field and Jeff Boutwell walked before Russell Dixon's sacrifice fly plated Amonite with the first run of the frame.

Gibbs Chapman scored Florida State's first run in the third inning on a Jack Rye one-out single to right field. Chapman put the Seminoles up for good in the fourth inning with a one-out single up the middle off Auburn starter Josh Sullivan scoring Tony Thomas Jr.

Brian Preacher started the FSU three-run fourth with a walk and scored on a Ryan Jernigan double down the left field line. Jernigan tied the game after advancing on a passed ball and scored on a Sullivan wild pitch. Tony Thomas Jr. singled, stole second before scoring two batters later on Chapman's single.

Sullivan (7-5) took the loss for the Tigers after allowing four runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.  Sullivan walked six and struck out four batters.

Jared Shore and John Madden combined to hold the Florida State scoreless over the final 5 2/3 innings.  Shore worked 2 2/3 innings while Madden, making his school-record 43rd appearance of the season, worked the final two innings.

Freshman right-hander Cliff Mullins (1-2, 4.09) will get the start for Auburn against Army.

Florida State 4, Auburn 3 (June 4, 2005 at Tallahassee, Fla.)
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Auburn................ 030 000 000  -  3  6  0      (33-25)
Florida State......... 001 300 00X  -  4  8  1      (52-18)
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AUBURN NOTES
Auburn is 15-8 all-time in Tallahassee in regional action and 35-26 all-time in NCAA Regional play. In regional competition, Auburn is 4-7 versus Florida State.

Auburn has hit eight home runs as a team in its last three games, including four in its two regional games.  The Tigers have homered in four consecutive games and in five consecutive NCAA Regional games dating back to 2003.

Karl Amonite's second inning triple was his first of the season and second of his Auburn career.  Amonite's only other triple in an Auburn uniform was at Georgia on March 30, 2003.

Josh Donaldson's second inning two-run home run was his first career postseason home run.

John Madden's appearance was his school-record 43rd of the season.  Madden broke the previous Auburn single-season record of 42 held by Gregg Olson in 1987.