Tigers Eliminated from NCAA Baseball Tournament by Florida State, 10-4
Tigers Eliminated from NCAA Baseball Tournament by Florida State, 10-4
Tallahassee, Fla -- Auburn’s postseason run ended with a 10-4 defeat at the hands of Florida State on Sunday night at Dick Howser Stadium. Auburn finished the inaugural season under the direction of Head Coach Tom Slater 34-26.“I am very proud of the effort this team gave throughout the weekend,” Slater said. “These kids played real hard tonight just like they did each and every day this season. They played their guts out every time we took the field and they should hold their heads high for the effort they gave every day.” Florida State jumped on top quickly, scoring a single run in the top of the first and another four in the top of the second, three on a Shane Robinson blast that hit the scoreboard in left, knocking out Auburn starter sophomore Jared Shore (1-2) after just 1 1/3 innings of work. Auburn narrowed the gap to a run with four in the bottom of the fourth inning as Josh Donaldson sent a laser over the fence in right, his seventh of the season, bringing home Jeff Boutwell and Clete Thomas. Tyler Johnstone had scored Auburn’s first run in the frame as he lead off with a single, moved to third on Thomas’ double and scored on Josh Bell’s RBI groundout. The Seminoles tacked three runs on in the fifth off of Auburn’s first man out of the bullpen, Michael Nix, with two lead-off walks and a pair of singles to right. Nix went a solid three full innings, allowing three runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts in his second-longest outing of the season. John Madden, working for the third time in three days, limited the damage as the senior entered with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth and allowed just one run to score. Madden finished the game with 4 2/3 of five-hit ball, allowing two runs. “Michael Nix and John Madden were outstanding and did an excellent job of keeping us in the game. I knew we would score and we got it to a run,” Slater said. Donaldson finished the game 2-for-4 with a run and three RBI while Tyler Johnstone was 1-for-5 with a run. Both were named to the all-regional team along with Karl Amonite, Clete Thomas and Bruce Edwards. FSU’s Kevin Lynch (12-0) earned the win for the Seminoles as he allowed just three hits and no runs in 4 2/3 of work. The Seminoles are 53-18 and will face the winner of the Gainesville Super Regional. AUBURN NOTES
|
 
|
