Dexter Price improved to 3-0 on the year by holding Samford to just two runs in 5 1/3 innings as Auburn ran its winning streak to six in a row with a 10-3 win at Samford on Tuesday night.

Justin Bryant (1-for-6, 2B) and Brian Fletcher (2-for-4, HR) each drove in three runs in the contest, as Auburn improved to 15-5 on the season.

“You have to be ready to play midweek games, and I thought the guys came ready,” Auburn head coach John Pawlowski said. “Samford has a quality ballclub, and if we aren’t ready to play, it makes it a tough ball game. We did what we needed to do. We came up here and got a win.”

Price held Samford to eight hits, walking just one and striking out two.

“Maybe the best thing Dexter had going today was his fastball command. He put the ball on both sides of the plate and down in the zone,” Pawlowski said.

Fletcher’s 35th career home run gave Auburn a two-run lead in the first, driving in Hunter Morris (1-for-4, 2 BB), who had walked, before Samford answered with a two-out RBI single by David Schulze in the bottom half, making it 2-1.

Fletcher’s third RBI of the game put Auburn back up by a pair as he singled in Creede Simpson (2-for-4, 2 BB, 2 R) with a two-out line drive to left center in the top of the third, making it 3-1.

A two-out triple by Justin Fradejas (3-for-5, 3B, 3 R, RBI), starting his second game of the season, helped Auburn push the lead to 4-1 in the top of the fourth with Ryan Jenkins (1-for-4, RBI) driving him in with a single back up the middle.

Samford (11-9) cut into Auburn’s lead on Brad Moss’ RBI groundout to score Tripp Swann from third, making it 4-2 after five. But three in the sixth and one in the eighth and two more in the ninth capped it for the Tigers.

Auburn completes its five-game road trip on Wednesday night in Montgomery when it plays Alabama in the Capital City Classic at Riverwalk Stadium. First pitch for the non-conference game is 7 p.m. but fans are encouraged to arrive by 6:30 for the pregame festivities. Tickets from the originally scheduled game on March 9 are to be used again at the gates.

Slade Smith (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will get the starting nod for Auburn against Alabama.

Morris rakes in another honor
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named Hunter Morris the Pro-Line Athletic National Hitter of the Week, the organization announced on Tuesday.

The junior from Huntsville has already been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week following his explosive offensive performance at Georgia when he hit team-best .625 (10-for-16) with a double and four home runs, driving in 14 RBI, including a team-high nine on Sunday.

In Friday’s opener he was 4-for-6 with five RBI and then he was 5-for-6 in the sweep-clinching win on Sunday, hitting two home runs, one of which was his first career grand slam. He finished the weekend with a 1.438 slugging percentage, scored seven runs and had two stolen bases as
Auburn earned its first sweep in SEC play since the 2003 season.

Morris is the top hitter on the SEC’s best-hitting club, checking in with a .425 batting average, which by itself is the third-best mark in the SEC.
He also has a .793 slugging percentage, second in the SEC, and leads the league in hits (37) and home runs (eight), is second in RBI (31) and seventh in runs scored (22).