AU BASEBALL: Nelson overcomes slow start

Cole Nelson didn’t have his normal week of preparation, didn’t have his slider and didn’t really have his sharpest outing Sunday.

It’s tough to figure what the lanky lefthander will be able to do when he puts it all together, because his seven-inning, two-run, eight-strikeout, no-walk effort — good enough for his third win in three tries and good enough for Auburn’s 5-4 victory over Miami (Ohio) — sure looked good on paper.

“Sometimes you just have days where everything is not there,” Nelson said. “I’ve got a couple places to look at now to improve. I think it was kind of a good test of will to see if I could do it.”

Nelson’s third consecutive quality start, combined with continued clutch hitting from the middle of the lineup and a gritty effort from relief pitcher Zach Blatt, gave Auburn its first sweep of the season and its sixth straight victory.

Granted, this was the same place Auburn was last year and the wins have come against Florida Atlantic, Davidson and Miami (Ohio), but it had the Tigers feeling pretty good about the season to date as they head into a non-conference game Tuesday against Alabama.

“It’s a solid nine guys in the lineup and we’ve got solid guys off the bench that are doing a great job,” first baseman Hunter Morris said. “It carries some momentum.”

Whatever momentum Nelson carried from his impressive outing last week was lost by an unplanned trip home Monday to visit his ill father.

Nelson left Monday morning for Edina, Minn., and didn’t get back to Auburn until shortly before Friday’s first pitch at 6 p.m. He played some catch during the week and threw a short bullpen session Friday night, when he decided he’d pitch his third consecutive Sunday.

“He said he wanted to pitch,” coach John Pawlowski said. “Sometimes that’s the best thing, to get right back out there.”

Nelson struggled from the start, allowing a solo home run to Adam Weisenburger and two more singles in the first inning. He needed a lot of pitches then and he needed a bunch when he allowed another run in the fourth inning, but Nelson found a way to battle out of jams.

His effective change-up compensated for a subpar slider, but more often it was clutch defensive plays from the likes of centerfielder Creede Simpson and second baseman Justin Hargett that helped keep the RedHawks from ever reclaiming its early lead.

“Defense bailed me out. A lot,” said Nelson, who is 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA. “I let them put it on the ground, and sometimes line drives and the defense kept coming up big.”

Auburn’s hitters didn’t come up as big as when they combined for 27 runs and 38 hits in the first two games of the series. And the Tigers needed every last run.

Morris, who had been mired in an early-season slump, picked up four hits for the second consecutive game, including a two-run home run in the first inning. Tony Caldwell added a solo shot in the second and Kevin Patterson and Dan Gamache — two of the team’s slower-footed players — hit back-to-back triples to jump-start a two-run seventh inning.

Auburn’s two-three-four hitters — Simpson, Morris and leftfielder Brian Fletcher — went 9-for-12 Sunday and 26-for-40 with 13 runs and 14 RBI for the weekend.

“If we can get Hunter and Fletch swinging it like that in conference play,” Pawlowski said, “it bodes well for our offense.”

Blatt, an Opelika native, earned the first save of his career by working the final two innings. He gave up a double on the first pitch of the eighth and a two-run home run to Jordan Jankowski before settling down to retire the next five batters in order.

“Him and (Austin Hubbard) are both so competitive down there,” Pawlowski said. “They’re going to have to pitch through some tough spots and I thought Zach did a good job today.”

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