Combined Reports
(March 20, 2010)

ATHENS, Ga. - Justin Bryant had four hits, including two home runs, and drove in eight RBI while Cory Luckie was masterful on the mound as Auburn steam rolled its way to a 20-3 conference season-opening win over Georgia at Foley Field on Friday night. Auburn pounded Georgia pitching for 22 hits, four of which were home runs, to claim its’ first win over Georgia and in Athens since the 2005 series opener between the two clubs.

"We came up with some big hits and some big two-out hits. You have one of those games where guys swing the bats well and play good defense," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "It’s so tough to win on the road. Every team has talent and ability and to get the first one on the road is an important step for us."

Bryant, who entered the game with just three extra-base hits and eight RBI in his first 15 games, singled in a run in the third, hit a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double in the sixth and a pair of two-run home runs in the eighth and ninth innings as Auburn scored 20 runs in a SEC game for the first time since a 21-11 win over Arkansas in 2000.

"I had been struggling lately at the plate so I came in early today and worked on my getting my hands inside stuff and it really helped out in the end," Bryant said. "I was seeing the ball well tonight, and everyone else on the team was too, and we just had a good night all together."

Hunter Morris also had a big day at the plate, hitting his fifth and sixth home runs of the season in back-to-back at bats in the sixth and seventh innings. His sixth-inning shot went three-quarters of the way up kudzu hill in right, driving in two runs, and his seventh-inning three-run blast went to the left of the scoreboard in right-center, upping his total to 29 career home runs. Add in his fourth-inning double and a ninth-inning single and the junior first baseman finished the night with four hits and five RBI, only to be overshadowed by Bryant offensively.

Tide beats Vandy in battle of ranked teams

TUSCALOOSA – Alabama sophomore left-hander Adam Morgan held the SEC’s No. 1 rated offensive team to a season low one run in six-plus innings, leading the No. 21 Crimson Tide to a 4-1 series opening win over No. 18 Vanderbilt at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Friday night.

Morgan held the SEC’s top hitting team to one run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and three walks.

Vanderbilt (15-3, 0-1 SEC) came into the game hitting .352 and was averaging almost nine runs and 12 hits per game this season.  The Commodores managed only eight hits in the loss, their second-lowest hit total of the season. The lowest was seven hits in a loss at UCLA on Feb. 26.

Senior third baseman Jake Smith and junior catcher Brock Bennett provided the offensive support in Friday’s win.  Smith was 2-for-4 with a solo home run and Bennett went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Smith entered the game with only two hits in his previous 23 at-bats. Bennett, who hit his first career home run against Minnesota on Tuesday night, collected his first career SEC hit and first career SEC RBI in the opener against Vanderbilt.

Alabama (15-1, 1-0 SEC) scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. Smith jump-started the two-out rally with a solo home run to left field.  It was his first home run of the season.

Junior right fielder John David Smelser reached on an error by second baseman Anthony Gomez and then stole second base.  After a wild pitch sent Smelser to third base, VU starter Sonny Gray walked sophomore DH Jon Kelton and freshman left fielder Brett Booth to load the bases before junior catcher Brock Bennett lined a single to left center field to score Smelser and Kelton to give the Tide a 3-0 lead.

Morgan (3-0) blanked the Commodores through six innings before allowing a pair of two-out hits in the seventh inning that put the Vanderbilt on the board. Connor Harrell stroked a two-out single to right and scored on an Anthony Gomez double to centerfield for the Commodores only run.

Gray (3-2) suffered his second loss of the season after he allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.  He added four walks and four strikeouts.

Junior right hander Nathan Kilcrease replaced Morgan after the RBI double and got Brian Harris to fly out to left field to end the inning.  He worked 1 1/3 innings and allowed one hit and struck out one.  Junior right hander Brett Whitaker pitched around a leadoff double in the ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.

Alabama extended its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning on a pair of doubles by junior shortstop Josh Rutledge and senior first baseman Clay Jones. Rutledge led off the inning with a double and scored on the Jones double into the left field corner.

FIU drops Troy

MIAMI, Fla. – Missed opportunities continued to haunt the Troy University baseball team on Friday night as the Trojans dropped a 4-2 decision to homestanding FIU.

The Trojans fall to 7-9 on the season with the loss and are 1-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. FIU improved to 12-6 on the year with a victory in the Panthers’ first league game. The teams will meet against on Saturday at FIU Stadium with the first pitch slated for 5 p.m.

Troy left 11 runners on base in the game, including one in the seventh when Ryan Ditthardt hit into an inning-ending double play, and two in the eighth, when Steven Felix and Daniel Peterson were both struck out by FIU reliever Eric Berkowitz with runners at second and third.

“Like we have had in games before, we had a lot of chances tonight,” Trojans head coach Bobby Pierce said. “Andrew Dickinson pitched a heck of a game and gave us a chance to win, but we just couldn’t get the hit we needed.”

Dickinson (2-2) took the loss despite allowing just four runs, three earned, on seven hits while striking out a career-high eight Panthers. FIU starter Scott Rembisz (3-1) was up to the challenge, holding the Trojans to just two runs on fie hits through 6.1 innings. He walked three and struck out 10.

Berkowitz worked the final three frames for FIU to earn his first save of the season. He struck out three as the Trojans went down on strikes 13 times, the sixth time this year the team has hit double figures in strikeouts.