Tag: Bobby Peirce

Auburn passes first midweek test, downs UAB at Plainsman Park

The Tigers managed to defeat UAB, 7-2, on Tuesday despite recording just three hits in the contest.

Who says you need a dominating offense to win a baseball game convincingly?

The Auburn Tigers (4-0) earned its first midweek win of the season Tuesday by downing in-state foe UAB (2-2), 7-2, at Plainsman Park. Despite winning by five runs, Auburn only managed to record three hits in the contest.

“You’re usually not sitting here with the result you want if the other team scores first and you get outhit in the ballgame,” Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said after the game. “I give the guys some credit for just hanging in there and battling.”

The usual damage pieces in [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag], and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] teamed up to notch one hit each in the stat sheet while the rest of the Tigers’ lineup went 0-14 at the plate.

Auburn’s first official hit came in the top of the 2nd inning when Peirce led off the inning with a single to 3rd base. He later scored in the inning on a bases-loaded walk to [autotag]Javon Hernandez[/autotag], putting the Tigers ahead, 1-0. Irish led off the 3rd inning by hitting a 420-foot home run off the batter’s eye in center field. Irish’s second home run of the season extended Auburn’s lead to 2-0.

Auburn waited three innings to earn its third and final hit of the game when Stanfield opened the 6th inning with a double to right field. [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] grounded out to 2nd base three at-bats later to send Stanfield home.

Auburn pitching made up for the lack of offensive power in the game as six pitchers combined to strike out 11 batters while allowing six hits, three walks, and two earned runs. [autotag]Conner McBride[/autotag] tossed 3.2 innings in his Auburn debut, striking out four batters and allowing two hits. Freshman [autotag]Griffin Graves[/autotag] earned the win by throwing two relief innings and striking out two batters. [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] struck out the side in one inning of work on 14 total pitches.

The Tigers will now shift its focus to an exciting, yet challenging weekend ahead in Jacksonville, Florida. Auburn will compete in the Jax College Baseball Classic beginning Friday at 5 p.m. CT against the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes. Auburn will also face No. 11 Virginia and Wichita State at 121 Financial Ballpark.

Check out these highlights from Tuesday’s win.

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Auburn clinches weekend series with Saturday win over Eastern Kentucky

Bobby Peirce recorded three RBI while Joseph Gonzalez tossed five innings in Saturday’s 6-1 win at Plainsman Park.

It was a cold day on the Plains, but the Auburn bats were hot.

[autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] recorded two hits as Auburn (2-0) claimed the first series win of the season by defeating Eastern Kentucky (0-2), 6-1 Saturday at Plainsman Park.

Auburn’s offense began, and ended, with Peirce on Saturday. Peirce put Auburn on the board first with a two-out triple in the 3rd inning to score [autotag]Javon Hernandez[/autotag] and [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] to push Auburn ahead, 2-0. He put a cap on scoring in the bottom of the 8th inning with a solo home run to extend Auburn’s lead to 6-1.

Ike Irish was Auburn’s offensive hero in Friday’s opener, and Peirce took control in game two. Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] is pleased with the versatility of his offense through two games and hopes to see the trend continue.

“Two outs, two strikes, and (Peirce) hit that triple to get us going,” Thompson said Saturday. “We really needed that. I hope that this is an offense that we can keep talking about a different guy every night. I hope that’s how we’re built.”

Following Peirce’s triple in the 3rd inning, [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] crushed his first home run of the season over the right field wall to extend Auburn’s lead to 4-0. Auburn’s fifth run of the game came off the bat of Hernandez, who grounded out to the shortstop to allow [autotag]Sam Robertson[/autotag] to score from 3rd base.

Eastern Kentucky’s lone run was scored in the 5th inning when DJ Sullivan doubled home Santiago Peralta. Sullivan led the Colonels in hits with two.

Saturday also marked the return of [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] to the mound after missing 364 days due to a shoulder injury. He struck out two batters, walked three, and allowed an unearned run in five complete innings. [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag], [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag], and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] combined to strikeout seven batters through the final four innings from the bullpen. Every out that Cannon recorded in the 9th inning was a strikeout.

The Tigers go for the sweep of Eastern Kentucky Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Auburn’s [autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag] will battle EKU’s Rian Yates on the mound.

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Ike Irish and Bobby Peirce named to Preseason All-SEC Team

Two Tigers have received Preseason All-SEC honors.

Auburn catcher Ike Irish and outfielder Bobby Peirce received All-SEC Preseason honors from the conference on Thursday.

Irish, who was already named a Second Team All-American by the NCBWA earlier this week, received a nod on the Preseason All-SEC First Team while Pierce settled for the Second Team.

Auburn’s sophomore catcher is coming off one of the best freshmen campaigns in Auburn baseball history after mashing a freshmen record 24 doubles and leading the team with 86 hits and a .361 batting average.

Irish’s doubles mark was not only an Auburn freshmen record, but the most any Tiger hitter had hit in a season since 2005.

As for Pierce, the graduate student outfielder from Scottsdale, AZ enters 2024 coming off a career-best .343 batting average a season ago.

While he’s never shown much power on the Plains, Pierce showed an elite ability to get on base last season while playing above average defense in the outfield.

He’ll lead the team into 2024 as the longest-tenured Tiger on the roster, having played in 102 games over his four-year career.

The established Pierce and electric Irish begin their season on February 16 when Auburn hosts a weekend series against Western Kentucky.

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Auburn claims top-25 ranking in Baseball America’s preseason poll

Solid pitching and a great transfer portal haul will make Auburn extremely competitive in 2024.

Auburn baseball is poised for another successful season in 2024.

The Tigers have earned a spot in another preseason poll, this time from Baseball America. The publication has included Auburn in its preseason top 25 by giving them the No. 23 slot.

Auburn will need to replace key pieces such as [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag], [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag], and [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag], but has a great returning cast led by [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag], [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag], and [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag]. Pitching-wise, the Tigers will be anchored by [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag], who returns from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for most of the 2023 season.

Returning pitching, as well as a solid transfer portal haul, is what will make Auburn competitive this season says Baseball America.

The Tigers must replace a lot offensively, but brought in some exciting players through the transfer portal to bolster the offense. On the mound, Opening Day starter [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] is back and healthy after missing nearly all of last season. If he recaptures his exceptional 2022 form and [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] makes a successful transition to the rotation, watch out for the Tigers.

Auburn is one of eight teams from the SEC that earned a top-25 ranking by Baseball America. Defending College World Series champion LSU is the conference’s highest-ranked team at No. 2 and is followed by Arkansas (No. 3), Florida (No. 4), Vanderbilt (No. 7), and Tennessee (No. 8) in the top 10. Texas A&M and South Carolina also grabbed a preseason ranking at No. 11 and No. 12 respectively.

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Auburn reveals challenging SEC schedule for 2024

Which SEC series are you most excited to watch?

We are in the heart of football season, but it is never too early to look ahead to what the spring will bring us.

The SEC released the 2024 conference schedule for each of its programs, and the Auburn Tigers will play one of the toughest in the league.

The ten-weekend slate features six series’ against teams who won 40 or more games in 2023, with four of those series’ being played at home. Auburn welcomes Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Alabama to Plainsman Park while traveling to Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Missouri, and defending College World Series champion, LSU.

Several contributors from last season’s return to next season’s roster, such as pitchers [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag], [autotag]Konnor Copeland[/autotag], and [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag]. Key bats such as [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag], [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag], and [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] will also grace the 2024 roster.

Here’s a look at Auburn’s 2024 SEC slate.

March 15-17 at Vanderbilt
March 22-24 vs. Arkansas
March 28-30 at Texas A&M
April 5-7 vs. Tennessee
April 12-14 vs. Kentucky
April 19-21 at Mississippi State
April 26-28 at LSU
May 3-5 vs. Ole Miss
May 10-12 at Missouri
May 16-18 vs. Alabama

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Cole Foster taken in 3rd round of MLB draft

The first member of Auburn’s 2023 roster has officially been drafted.

One day after two of Auburn’s top signees from the 2023 class were selected in the MLB draft, one of the Tigers’ top infielders joins the party.

[autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] became the first member of Auburn’s roster to be selected in the MLB draft, going No. 85 overall to the San Francisco Giants.

Last week, D1Baseball named Foster the No. 43 college prospect ahead of the upcoming MLB draft after he finished within the team’s top five in average, hits, RBI, and home runs.

Giants Baseball Insider’s Mark Delluchi shares his initial thoughts on the Giants’ third-round choice:

Foster is coming off a breakout junior season at Auburn, hitting .336/.429/.570 with 13 home runs in 55 games. A switch-hitter, Foster does not have any tools that jump off the page but also has no clear weaknesses either. Defensively, Foster has played primarily shortstop and second base, although most evaluators are skeptical that he will be able to stick at short.

Foster does have intriguing power potential from both sides of the plate but has struggled to tap into it consistently because of a hit tool that lags behind the rest of his game. If Foster can refine his approach and more consistently square up opposing pitching, he could hit for enough power to be a viable everyday player, even if he’s limited to second base.

Several other players to watch for as the MLB draft continues is 3B [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag], P [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag], and OF [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag].

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D1Baseball includes three Auburn players in Top 150 MLB draft college prospects rankings

These three players had great careers on the Plains. Now, it is time to take their talents to the next level.

The 2023 MLB draft is on deck, and three Auburn players will have the chance to take their talents to the next level.

Ahead of the MLB draft, which will take place July 9-11, D1Baseball has constructed a list of the top 150 college players that have the best chance to hear their names called during the draft. Among those 150, three of Auburn’s most talented players are included.

Infielders [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] and [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] and pitcher [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] are all on D1Baseball’s top 150 MLB draft prospects rankings. Foster and Ware had incredible seasons for the Tigers in 2023, while Gonzalez was limited due to injury setbacks.

Foster starts the list by checking in at No. 43 in the rankings. Foster has a career average of .305 with 22 home runs and 97 RBI. The 2023 season was his best at the plate, where he was fourth on the team in average with .336, third on the team in hits with 75, and was one of three players to hit ten-or-more home runs by smashing 13. His 49 RBI were also tied for fourth-best on the team with [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag].

Pitcher Joseph Gonzalez is next at No. 92. Gonzalez was expected to be the Tigers’ ace on the mound this season, but setbacks due to a nagging shoulder injury kept him away from the team for the majority of the season. He has a 10-7 record with an ERA of 4.08 in 37 appearances. His sophomore season in 2022 saw him record 54 strikeouts and allowed just 28 earned runs in 15 games, with 14 starts. This season, he pitched just one game, which was a winning decision against Indiana on Feb. 18. He tossed 5.0 innings of shutout baseball, where he allowed just one hit.

Finally, Auburn’s all-time single-season home runs leader rounds out the list at No. 105. Ware crushed 24 home runs this season, breaking [autotag]Hunter Morris[/autotag]’ previous record of 23 back in 2010. Ware also led the team RBI (63), and slugging percentage (.731). He was second in average (.350) and hits (78) behind freshman [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag].

Foster and Gonzalez have at least one more season of eligibility remaining. So if they are not pleased with their draft selection, they have the chance to return to Auburn for one more season. Other players of note that may get the chance to turn pro are pitcher [autotag]Tommy Vail[/autotag], as well as outfielders [autotag]Justin Kirby[/autotag], [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag], and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag].

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Auburn baseball earns 30th win with drubbing of Ole Miss

Auburn’s offensive dominance continued Saturday as the Tigers complete the sweep in Oxford.

After outscoring Ole Miss, 24-6 in Friday’s doubleheader sweep, Auburn continued its offensive dominance on Saturday en route to another impressive win.

The Tigers used a 20-hit effort at the plate and a solid defensive day to defeat Ole Miss, 13-5 on Saturday to complete the three-game sweep at Swayze Field in Oxford.

Auburn (30-19-1, 14-13 SEC) set the tone early by jumping out to a 12-run cushion before the Rebels (25-26, 6-21 SEC) had a chance to answer. [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] each plated runs on RBI singles in the top of the 2nd, and [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] smashed a solo home run in the 3rd inning to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.

Auburn would go on to do their most damage in the 5th and 7th innings. The Tigers scored six runs in the 5th to go ahead, 9-0, with a [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] grand slam being the biggest blow of the inning.

Auburn added three more runs in the 7th inning to push their lead to 12-0. Irish got the inning with a solo blast, with [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] adding runs with two-out singles.

The Rebels finally cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the 7th by scratching four runs across. Bo Gatlin put Ole Miss on the board with a two-run double, and later scored on a two-run home run by John Kramer to cut the Tigers lead to 12-4.

Each team traded runs in the 9th inning to cap scoring. McMurray again would extend the Tigers’ lead with a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag], and Ole Miss answered with a single by T.J. McCants to score Garrett Wood.

Every player in the Auburn lineup recorded a hit in the game, with five players recording three hits. McMurray led the team in RBI with five, while Foster and Irish each picked up two.

Starting pitcher [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag] allowed just one hit in 2.0 innings. [autotag]Drew Nelson[/autotag] earned the win for the Tigers by relieving Herberholz for 2.0 innings, where he allowed two hits and struck out one batter. [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag] led the pitching staff in strikeouts with two.

Auburn returns to Plainsman Park to play one more game at home this season on Tuesday. The Tigers and Jax State will do battle on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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Tigers take both games in double header, clinch fourth-straight series victory

Auburn outscored the defending CWS champs, 24-6, to clinch the series on Friday.

The Auburn Tigers (29-19-1, 13-13 SEC) won both games in Friday’s doubleheader against the Ole Miss Rebels (25-25, 6-20 SEC) to clinch their fourth consecutive series win. The Tigers won the first game by a score of 16-4 in eight innings and the second game by a score of 8-2.

Sophomore right-hander [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] got the start for Auburn in the first game and allowed three runs off of four hits, walked one batter and struck one out in 2.1 innings of work. Junior left-hander [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] picked up the win in a 3.1-inning outing in which he allowed no runs off of three hits and struck two batters out.

Junior left-hander Xavier Rivas got the start for Ole Miss in the first game and ended up with the loss in a 2.1-inning effort in which he gave up six runs off of seven hits, walked two batters and struck five out.

The Rebels got the scoring started in the first inning, but a four-run rally in the second inning put the Tigers in front and they never looked back. Auburn was able to put runs across in all but two innings as Ole Miss struggled to find its footing at the plate.

Auburn had four players with multiple hits in the first game. Junior shortstop [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] went 4-5 with four runs batted in, a double and two home runs. Fifth-year outfielder [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] went 4-4 with four runs batted in and four doubles. Redshirt senior right fielder [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] went 3-6 with a double. Junior second baseman [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] went 2-2 with three runs batted in. Senior catcher [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] hit the only other home run for the Tigers in the 16-4 run-rule victory over the Rebels.

Graduate left-hander [autotag]Tommy Vail[/autotag] got the start and picked up the win for Auburn in the second game. Vail tossed eight innings and allowed only one run off of two hits, walked one batter and struck out six.

Freshman right-hander JT Quinn got the start for Ole Miss and ended up with the loss in an outing that lasted 2.2 innings and saw three runs off of three hits, four walks and five strikeouts.

Howell reached on an error in the second inning which allowed senior third baseman [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] to score for Auburn’s first run of the game. A steady flow of offense kept the Tigers in front.

The Rebels’ two runs came from an RBI double by junior right fielder Kemp Alderman in the fourth inning and a sac-fly hit by junior shortstop Jacob Gonzalez in the ninth inning.

The Tigers had five players with multiple hits in the second game. Foster, Peirce, Ware and LaRue all went 2-5. Freshman designated hitter [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] went 2-4 with three runs batted in and a home run.

The final game of the series is set for Saturday at 2:00 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

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Auburn baseball clinches series at South Carolina with huge Saturday win

For the second straight game, Auburn used a big, early lead to cruise to victory.

Auburn baseball found themselves on the outside looking in of D1Baseball’s Field of 64 projections this week and continued to fall in the RPI ahead of a challenging series against the RPI’s top team in South Carolina.

The Tigers apparently used that as motivation, as they followed up Friday’s performance by scoring nine more runs on Saturday to take down South Carolina, 9-5, to clinch the series at Founders Park in Columbia.

For the second game in a row, Auburn jumped out to a comfortable lead in the first inning, which ended up paying off in the late innings. [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] each scored two runs with singles in the first inning to put Auburn ahead, 4-0, before the Gamecocks stepped to the plate.

“Two days in a row we scored in the first inning and really set a tone,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “It got us into the ballgame, and we did even more today in the first. You knew they’d make a rally, so we had to keep playing.”

Auburn tacked on two more runs in the 2nd inning on solo home runs by [autotag]Nate Larue[/autotag] and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] to extend the Tigers’ lead to 6-0. South Carolina got on the board in the bottom half of the inning on a single by Jonathan French.

Auburn’s hottest hitter, [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag], continued his stroke of luck by smacking two more home runs in the game. His first home run of the game was a two-run shot to center field and bumped Auburn’s lead to 8-1. He would score Auburn’s final run of the game in the top of the 9th inning with a solo home run.

McMurray has now hit seven home runs in seven straight games, and has now recorded three multi-home run games of the season.

“To open the day with a four-spot in the first is always big,” McMurray said Saturday. “Our pitching staff has come out and been really good for us and making it easy on the offense. On that side of the ball, we think we can score however many runs at any given time. It’s just about playing a full game of clean baseball.”

The Gamecocks began a rally in the middle innings, led by Cole Messina. Messina picked up four RBI on a 5th inning double and a two-run home run home run in the 7th inning. The rally would not be enough for South Carolina to earn the comeback, as they would fall to Auburn for the second straight game.

Auburn’s series win over South Carolina is the first time that the Gamecocks have dropped a series at home. Heading into the series, South Carolina had a 24-1 record at home, and have since dropped two straight.

“Players are allowed to get better, and this is a good step forward for us this weekend, but we have to keep playing,” Thompson said.

Pitching was also valuable in Saturday’s win. [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag], [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag], and [autotag]Konnor Copeland[/autotag] combined to strike out 11 batters and allowing just six hits.

Game three of the series between Auburn and South Carolina is set for 2 p.m. CT on Sunday. The game will be broadcasted on SEC Network+ as well as the Auburn Sports Network.

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