03/27 at 10:55 PM

Pitcher Angel Bunner tossed a one-hitter and the Tigers’ offense put up eight runs on 10 hits as No. 22/23 Auburn run-ruled the Ole Miss, 8-0, in five innings Sunday afternoon to claim a series victory.

The Tigers improved to 28-5 overall and 8-3 in the SEC. Ole Miss’s record fell to 12-24 overall and 2-9 in the SEC.

“Any time you put up double-digit hits, it’s a good day,” Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. “Our hitters did a good job of driving the ball and keeping pressure on their pitcher. Angel Bunner did another great job for us. She held them to one hit and did not walk anyone. She has been very consistent and is having a very good season.”

Bunner improved to 9-1 with the complete-game victory.

Only three Ole Miss hitters reached base in the game, with those coming on an Auburn error, a fielder’s choice and a two-out single. Ole Miss did not have a runner reach second base. Bunner struck out five in five innings of work in winning her fourth consecutive start.

Brittany Barnhill (1-10) started and took the loss after giving up eight runs, all earned, on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of work.

The Tigers put up seven runs in the second inning. Three consecutive singles, two via bunt, put Lauren Guzman at third, Hilary Mavromat at second and Kelsey Cartwright at first with no outs.

Elizabeth Eisterhold then poked a single through the right side to score Guzman and give Auburn a 1-0 lead.

Katie Colton followed with a fielder’s choice back to the pitcher who threw home to putout Mavromat, but still leaving the bases loaded. Morgan Estell then lofted a soft single into shallow center that scored Cartwright and pushed the Tigers’ lead to 2-0. Caitlin Stangl made it 3-0 with a ground out hopper to second that allowed Eisterhold to touch the plate safely. With two outs, Amber Harrison blooped a single into shallow left to score Colton and Estell and extend the Auburn lead to 5-0.   

Still in the second inning, Guzman launched a line drive that sailed just under Brittany Broome’s glove in left field and rolled to the wall. Harrison and White scored on the play to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

The Tigers put up one run to end the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Pinch-hitter Caitlin Schultze drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a single by pinch-hitter Morgan Murphy. Eisterhold followed with a walk to load the bases with no outs. After a strike out, Estell hit a hard chopper off the second baseman’s glove for a single that scored Schultze for the eighth Auburn run and end the game.

This week, Auburn takes a break from midweek games and returns to action with a weekend road series at No. 11 Tennessee. The Tigers play Friday at 7 p.m. CT in a game televised by ESPNU. Auburn plays at noon Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.

Tigers tied for 2nd, Barber tied for 1st
AWENDAW, S.C. - The sixth-ranked Auburn men’s golf team (281) finished Sunday’s opening round of the Hootie at Bull’s Bay tied for second, one stroke behind leader Wake Forest, at the Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, S.C.

The Tigers are tied at 3-under with defending national champion Augusta State and the No. 13 LSU Tigers.  The 2011 Hootie field features four top-10 and eight top-25 teams including No. 5 Florida, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 9 Augusta State, No. 15 Virginia, No. 21 N.C. State and No. 22 Duke.

The field also boasts 14 of the top-50 collegiate golfers in the nation.

“We played some good golf today,“ said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard.  “We did have a couple three-putts down the stretch that cost us a few strokes. The weather turned on us in the middle of the round. The winds picked up and the temperature dropped by about 15 degrees.  We probably finished the round in the mid-forties. The guys were resilient. Michael (Hebert) birdied the last two holes which was big for us.“

Sophomore Blayne Barber finished the day in a three-way tie for the lead at 4-under with Wake Forest’s Lee Bedford and N.C. State’s Mitchell Sutton. The Lake City, Fla., native’s 67 was his 12th round in the 60s this season and his lowest round since shooting a final round 65 en route to medalist honors at the 2010 Bridgestone Collegiate.

With the Tigers teeing off the back nine to start the day, Barber got off to a steady start, rattling off eight pars and sinking a birdie on No. 16.  The front nine was where he made his run, picking up two quick birdies on holes 1 and 2 with another on No. 6.

Junior Cory Gilmer (70) is tied for 10th at 1-under.  The Birmingham, Ala., native opened with pair of quick birdies on 10 and 12 and closed the remainder of the round with three birdies and four bogeys.

“Cory played well today,“ said Clinard.  “He made five birdies for us and was under par all day.  He’s that kind of player if he believes in his game.  He is a great ball striker.  Blayne played his style of golf. He was definitely hitting his stride out there today.“

Sophomore Michael Hebert (71) is tied for 19th followed by junior Kyle Kopsick (73) and freshman Niclas Carlsson (73) tied for 40th.

The Tigers will tee off in Monday’s leaders group with Wake Forest and Augusta State, going off the front nine at 9:40 a.m. CST.

“It’s a great pairing,“ said Clinard.  “Augusta State has a lot of great players, as does Wake Forest.  Both head coaches are good friends of mine.  But it’s not about those other schools, it’s about us and doing what we do.“

Texas A&M (282) is in fifth, followed by North Florida (287), Florida (288), N.C. State (288), Duke (288), Ole Miss (289), South Carolina (297), Kentucky (301), College of Charleston (306) and North Carolina (306).

Bulls Bay Golf Club and two-time Grammy award-winning band, Hootie & the Blowfish, host the annual tournament, which had its groundbreaking event in 2005.

Live results and complete tee times will be made available via http://www.GolfStat.com. Additional tournament information can be found at http://www.BullsBayGolf.com.

Wildcats handle Tigers, 6-1
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Auburn women’s tennis team (4-13, 0-6 SEC) hit the road Sunday for a match at Kentucky (4-14, 2-4 SEC), falling to the Wildcats, 6-1, in Lexington, Ky.

“I am disappointed with today’s match,” said Auburn head coach Tim Gray. “I have to give Kentucky credit, they came out fired up and it was the difference.”

In doubles, the Wildcats came away with victories on all three courts. On court three Auburn’s Caroline Thornton and Taylor Cohen dropped their match to the Wildcats’ Jessica Stiles and CeCe Witten, 8-3.

On court one, Auburn’s Paulina Schippers and Olivia Bennet fell to Kentucky’s Megan Broderick and Khristina Blajevitch in a close 8-6 match to clinch the point. In the No. 2 matchup Kentucky’s Caitlin McGraw and Marni Venter defeated the Tigers’ Plamena Kurteva and Jacquline Kasler, 8-3.

In the No. 1 singles matchup, Schippers lost to No. 112 Broderick of Kentucky, 6-4, 6-2. On court two Auburn’s Bennett fell to Stiles, 6-2, 6-4, while the Wildcats’ McGraw was overmatched by Auburn’s Thornton 7-5, 7-5, on court three for the lone Auburn victory.

In the No. 4 matchup the Tiger’s Kurteva was defeated by Blajkevitch, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, to clinch the match for Kentucky. On court six, Auburn freshmen Cohen dropped her match to the Wildcats’ CeCe Witten, 6-2, 6-3 while Kentucky’s Venter outlasted the Tigers’ Kasler, 6-3, 7-6(5) on court five.

Auburn will return home for a pair of home matches next weekend, taking on LSU on Friday and Arkansas on Sunday. All matches are played at the Yarbrough Tennis Center and admission is free.