Auburn’s bats come through in victory over Samford

Auburn defeated Samford for the second time this season. The Tigers won by a score of 8-4.

On Tuesday, the Auburn Tigers traveled to the Hoover Met to take on the Samford Bulldogs. Earlier this season, the Tigers knocked the Bulldogs off by a score of 4-1. Interestingly enough, the Tigers will be back at the Hoover Met next week for the SEC Tournament. Before that, though, they had to get past Sonny DiChiara’s old team.

The game started out with a bang for Tony David’s squad as they scratched across two runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Former LSU Tiger and center-fielder Maurice Hampton got the game started with an RBI single that plated first baseman Stephen Klein and left-fielder Colton Ledbetter. After the Tigers pulled starting pitcher Jordan Armstrong in the first inning, the bullpen was able to ease the pain.

The Tigers’ bats came around in the top half of the second inning when they brought across five runs. The scoring started when catcher Nate LaRue singled to score designated hitter Brooks Carlson. A batter later, second baseman Garrett Farquhar delivered a two-run double. The scoring continued as shortstop Brody Moore grounded out, but it brought across LaRue. As if four runs wasn’t enough, former Bulldog DiChiara delivered with an RBI single to right field.

The scoring ceased until the seventh inning. The bullpen for both teams was able to hold the opposing batters in check. In the top of the seventh inning, center-fielder Kason Howell singled into right field to score right-fielder Bobby Peirce. Then, LaRue hit a two-run double to score both Howell and Carlson. After the Tigers pushed across two, their lead increased to 8-2.

The last two runs of the game came in the bottom of the ninth inning when pinch hitter Kaden Dreier hit a two-run home run. It wasn’t the prettiest pitching performance in terms of hits allowed by the Tigers’ pitchers. However, the Tigers were able to pull through with production at the plate. Auburn defeated Samford for the second time this season by a score of 8-4.

The Tigers will make the trek from Auburn to Lexington for this weekend’s series with the Kentucky Wildcats. Their series will determine the two teams’ seeding for the SEC Tournament that starts next week. As of now, Auburn is the No. 4 seed while Kentucky is the No. 12 seed. Things are liable to change, so we will see how things unfold in the Bluegrass State.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=none image=https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]