Tag: Bobby Pierce

Auburn completes sweep of Missouri, ends regular season on 8-game winning streak

The Tigers are playing their best baseball right at the start of postseason play.

The Auburn Tigers are officially red-hot. 

After taking both games in Friday’s doubleheader over Missouri, they had a chance to sweep their second straight SEC series. It wasn’t looking good as they entered the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 7-4 in Plainsman Park Saturday.

As it has all season Auburn’s offense came alive when they needed it most, exploding for five runs to take a commanding 9-7 lead and win the game. Auburn secured its fifth straight SEC series win and ended the season on an eight-game winning streak with the comeback. They are now 33-19-1 overall and 17-13 in league play.

“We absolutely played hard and kept going,” Auburn coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “When it opened up and we got an opportunity, we made the most of it.”

[autotag]Brody Wortham[/autotag] started the eighth inning off with a single and came around to score on a [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] double to get the scoring started. [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] then singled Stanfield home to pull Auburn within one. 

[autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] followed up a [autotag]Bobby Pierce[/autotag] strikeout with a double to put the go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs for [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag]. Missouri decided to intentionally walk him to load the bases for freshmen [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag]. 

Before he could do anything the Missouri pitcher threw a wild pitch that allowed Foster to score and make it a 7-7 game. 

Irish then put Auburn ahead with a two-RBI single to make it a 9-7 game.

“We battled and we fought, we figured some stuff out and it’s all come together here lately,” Irish said. “I was not trying to do too much, stay with my approach and put the ball in play, especially with two strikes. They shifted on me and I hit it where they weren’t, and we got one to sneak through.”

He finished the game with a pair of doubles and two RBI.

Auburn was playing catchup the whole game after Missouri scored three runs in the first inning. They got two of the runs back in the second inning after [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] and Stanfield hit sacrifice flies to score Irish and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag], respectively.

Missouri added a run in the top of the third but Pierce responded with a double and scored on a Ware single to make it 4-3 in the bottom of the inning.

Missouri then played small ball in the fourth to get their fifth run of the game. They led the inning off with a bunt single, advanced on a ground out and scored on a two-out double.

The home Tigers quickly responded when [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] led the home half of the inning off with a solo home run to make it 5-4. Both pitching staffs settled in after that, Auburn reliever [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] retired the next 10 batters he saw before allowing a single and then a home run in the eighth.

The lefty allowed two runs in 3.2 innings of work and struck out three and gave his offense a chance to get back in the game.

“I just wanted to go out there and fill up the zone and give my offense a chance to get back in this game, which obviously they did,” Bauman said. “Coming back on a short day’s rest, I wanted to keep it easy, let my defense work, which is what I try to do, and it ended up working out pretty well.”

[autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] entered in the eighth and the only runner he allowed was one he hit. He struck out one batter as he earned the win.

Auburn has not lost an SEC game since May 5 and is set to open its SEC Tournament run on Tuesday against Missouri.

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Auburn run-rules No. 1 LSU to win series

Auburn handed No. 1 LSU its first SEC series loss of the season.

The Auburn Tigers took control early against top-ranked LSU with a six-run first inning as they run-ruled the visiting Tigers 12-2 to pick up the series win Sunday at Plainsman Park.

It is Auburn’s third straight SEC series win and they are now 27-19-1 overall and 11-13 in conference play.

“I thought all three games, even our loss, our processes were good,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “We absolutely showed up in a big way today.”

After getting six runs of support in the first inning, Auburn starter [autotag]Christian Herberholtz[/autotag] shut down the vaunted LSU offense, allowing just two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four batters in his first win of the season.

“I felt great,” Herberholz said of his outing. “Strike one is huge. I think if you get strike one you can do just about anything. Strike one is the biggest strike for sure.”

“Just trust your stuff and let your defense work behind you,” Herberholz added. “It was a good feeling, being able to trust every pitch you have and trust your defense behind you. I just try to give it my all and give our team the best chance to win.”

The two runs are the fewest LSU has scored in a game this season and their 11 total in the series is also their lowest output.

After LSU led the game off with a home run Auburn was immediately threatening thanks to three-straight walks in the bottom of the first. [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] singled to tie the game up before consecutive walks of [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag], [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag], and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] put Auburn ahead. [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] then singled home two more to give Auburn a commanding 6-1 lead.

Howell padded Auburn’s lead with a two-RBI triple in the fourth and then did the same in the sixth to make it an 11-1 game. He finished the game with five RBI and two triples.

“Yeah, it was an unbelievable weekend,” Howell said. “Our fans were unbelievable, me and my close friend graduating, it’s been a great weekend.

“This team has always fought,” Howell added. “That’s been a staple of our program ever since Coach Thompson took over. We’re fighters. Now we’re just doing it with a little bit of precision and skill that we’ve acquired. We’re just continuing to fight and give everything we have.”

[autotag]Drew Nelson[/autotag] relieved Herberholz in the sixth and was nearly perfect. He allowed just one hit in three innings of work up pick up the save and give Auburn the opportunity to run-rule the No. 1 team in the country.

They did just that in the eighth when [autotag]Bobby Pierce[/autotag] was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Pierce advanced to second on a groundout by Irish before LSU intentionally walked Ware.

McMurray made them pay with a hard grounder off the first base bag that got away from the fielder and drove in Pierce to end the game.

“I’m standing right there with them so I know when they’re connected, and it’s nice that we hooked it up,” Thompson added. “We’ve done an amazing job at figuring out who we are, getting marginally better in a couple spots and staying together. That’s what we have to do moving forward.”

Auburn will return to action Tuesday when they faceoff with Samford at the Hoover Met. The game is set to start at 6 p.m. CT.

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Auburn unable to complete sweep against South Carolina

The Tigers were unable to hold onto an early lead.

Auburn was nearly able to complete the sweep against South Carolina but came up just short as the Tigers lost 8-7 to the Gamecocks in Columbia.

The Tigers entered the ninth inning trailing 8-6 but [autotag]Bobby Pierce[/autotag] led the inning off with a home run to make it a one-run game. [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] walked to put the tieing run on but pinch-runner Josh Hall was picked off. [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] singled to keep the threat going but the next two batters were retired to end the game.

“I just thought the effort was tremendous,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “Bobby there in the ninth just kept us engaged and Ware gets a hit. It just felt like we kind of ran out of outs today instead of losing the ballgame because the competitive spirit was so good.”

The Tigers once again took an early lead, putting up four runs in the first inning. Chris Stanfield walked and scored on a fielder’s choice, [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] hit a two-run homer and [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] hit a solo shot.

The Gamecocks quickly responded, scoring two runs of their own in the first inning. [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] gave Auburn a 5-2 lead with a solo home run of his own in the second inning.

South Carolina answered with two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to tie it at 5-5 before Ware led the sixth inning off with his second homer to retake the lead. It was his 18th of the season.

The Tigers were unable to hold onto their lead as Tanner Bauman surrendered a three-run homer in the seventh inning.

Auburn’s eight pitchers combined to walk eight batters and allow 11 hits. True freshmen Cam Keshock and Ryan Olson were the only Auburn pitchers to not allow a run. They combined to pitch 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and striking out one batter.

“Great battle, all three games,” Thompson added. “If we’ll battle that way, like we did last week, if we battle like that, we’ll take whatever happens results wise. If we can keep the process and energy that will equal our true results.”

The Tigers will return to action Friday when they host No. 1 LSU for a three-game series.

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Auburn unable to complete comeback against Georgia Tech

The Tigers came back from down 7-2 but were unable to hold onto their lead.

The Auburn Tigers erased a 7-2 deficit against Georgia Tech but were unable to hold on as Jackson Finley hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Yellow Jackers a 12-8 win Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The Tigers pitchers combined to issue 12 walks in the game, including two in the ninth inning and one in the 10th inning. They are now 19-13-1 overall and 4-8 in SEC play

“We’re giving a consistent effort all the way around,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “What I’m starting with I’ll finish with, I think our fortunes will change once we stick our head in the mitt and start locating some pitches.”

Auburn entered the seventh inning trailing 7-2 but started chipping away. They got one run in the seventh and two more in the eighth to make it 7-5 and get back in the game.

They immediately started threatening in the top of the ninth with [autotag]Bobby Pierce[/autotag] singling and [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] getting hit by a pitch. A wild pitch allowed Pierce to score and make it 7-6 with the tieing run on third with nobody out for [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag].

After working a full count he laced a home run over the left field wall to give Auburn the 8-7 lead. Their first lead since they scored a run in the top of the first.

“It’s pretty simple. Our guys always fight. We’re absolutely going to keep doing that. We’ve done it time and time again,” Thompson said. “We can’t do what we want to do until we put our face in the mitt. I don’t know any other way to slice it.”

[autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] was going for the save in the ninth inning but walked the Yellow Jackets’ leadoff batter and gave up a single, forcing Auburn to turn to[autotag] Tanner Bauman[/autotag]. He walked his first batter to load the bases and Auburn quickly turned to [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag].

He got a ground ball for the first out but it allowed Georgia Tech to tie the game. He then got back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning and send the game to extras.

Cannon gave up a double to start the bottom of the 10th inning and after an intentional walk, he loaded the bases with another walk. It looked like he might escape another bases-loaded jam after he induced consecutive outs at home but Finley ended the game on a grand slam to send Auburn home defeated.

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