Bliss homers in final game of season

Published 6:20 pm Thursday, May 27, 2021

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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

He went down swinging.

In what could have been his final collegiate game, Auburn’s Ryan Bliss had two hits with a home run during a 7-4 loss to Ole Miss in the opening round of the SEC baseball tournament on Tuesday.

Bliss can return for his senior season, but he is eligible for the Major League Baseball draft in June, so it’s possible he may have played his final college game.

Bliss, a Troup High graduate, had a remarkable junior season while leading Auburn in a number of offensive categories.

Bliss led Auburn in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.428), slugging percentage (.654), runs scored (50), hits (77) and doubles (14), and he was second on the team in home runs (15) and RBIs (45).

Bliss, who also had an outstanding season defensively from the shortstop position, made a dramatic jump in the power department after only hitting five combined home runs his first two seasons at Auburn.

In the loss to Ole Miss, Bliss led off the game with a home run, and he added an RBI single in the seventh inning.

Auburn (25-27) needed a victory to keep its season alive.

GEORGIA

After beating LSU 4-1 on Tuesday, Georgia fell to Arkansas 11-2 in the second round of the SEC tournament.

Georgia will play Ole Miss or Vanderbilt in an elimination game on Thursday.

Ben Anderson, a red-shirt junior from LaGrange High, was 0-for-2 during the loss to Arkansas.

Anderson had two doubles during the win over Arkansas.