Tag: Nate LaRue

Auburn storms back to defeat Mississippi State in wild series finale

Auburn and Mississippi State provided offensive fireworks for the second game in a row on Sunday.

If you enjoy offensive-heavy baseball, then the series between Auburn and Mississippi State was perfect for you.

After a low-scoring affair on Friday, Auburn and Mississippi State combined to score 44 runs over the final two games. In Sunday’s finale, the Tigers claimed the series with a 12-11 win over Mississippi State.

In a similar fashion to Saturday’s 11-10 win for Mississippi State, Auburn trailed the Bulldogs by a heavy margin in Sunday’s game before flipping the switch and starting a comeback.

The Tigers trailed Mississippi State, 7-0, through the first three innings of the game before hanging a three spot in the bottom of the 4th inning. For the third-straight game, [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] put Auburn on the board with a home run. His three-run blast trimmed the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-3. 

“I knew he had a good slider so I was just trying to stay on it,” McMurray said of Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijintje. “Fortunately he gave me one over the plate with two strikes and I was able to pull it down the line. Thank God it stayed fair. Doing whatever we can to help the team win. I’m blessed to be in that situation.”

The momentum would shift back to the Bulldogs in the top of the 5th inning, as two passed balls from Auburn’s [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] sent home two Mississippi State base runners to extend their lead to 9-3.

McMurray made his presence felt again in the bottom of the 6th inning as he crushed his second home run of the game off of the left field foul pole to cut Mississippi State’s lead to four. [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] joined the party as well by hitting a two-run blast of his own two at-bats later to cut the Bulldog advantage to 9-7.

A sacrifice fly by [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] in the 7th inning would get Auburn to within one, 9-8. Mississippi State would add another run in the 8th on a single by Kellum Clark to bring the Bulldogs’ advantage to 10-8.

With one out in the 8th inning, and two runners on, [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] smacked a three-run shot on the first pitch of the at-bat to left field to put Auburn ahead, 12-11. Mississippi State scored an unearned run in the top of the 9th to tie the game, but [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] would deliver the dagger in the bottom of the inning. His double to center field was deep enough to score [autotag]Josh Hall[/autotag], thus giving Auburn the series win.

“I’m just proud of them to keep fighting through everything that happens,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said Sunday. “If this is the new way this game is played, I’m the one who has to adjust more. They just need to keep fighting and find their opportunities when they can have success.”

Auburn has another challenging weekend ahead of them, as they travel to No. 6 South Carolina for another important SEC series starting Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Founders Park in Columbia. Before the road trip, the Tigers will host in-state foe Troy for a midweek clash 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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Auburn’s bats go quiet in series loss to Alabama

The Tigers fell 6-1 to Alabama to drop the series.

Auburn’s offense was unable to get going in the decisive game three against Alabama as the Tigers fell 6-1 Sunday in Tuscaloosa.

The Tigers managed six hits and five walks but went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position as they failed to take advantage of their scoring opportunities.

“A couple double plays were back-breaking in the game, momentum changers,” Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “They pitched well enough to win. We moderately pitched better but we’ve got to continue to grow.”

Auburn fell to 20-15-1 overall and 5-10 in SEC play with the loss and have now lost their last three conference series.

“You’re playing your rival,” Thompson said. “You’ve got to be able to wear it. If you’re not where you want to be, you’ve got to keep fighting and keep going, take care of each other, keep practicing hard until we can grow, get better and be more competitive in this league.”

Auburn opened the scoring in the top of the fourth when [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] drew a two-out walk, stole second, and came around to score on a [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] single.

Auburn starter [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag] cruised through the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. He let the first two batters reach and was pulled for [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag], who was unable to stop the rally.

He hit the first batter to load the bases and walked in the game-tying run before surrendering a two-RBI single that gave the Crimson Tide a 3-1 lead.

They stretched it out to a 4-1 lead in the seventh inning when Drew Williamson stole home with two outs. They added two more runs in the eighth inning with a two-out double and triple to put the game away.

Auburn will return to action Tuesday when they take on Samford. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be on the SEC Network.

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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 JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.

Auburn falls apart in eighth inning, gets crushed 24-7 by Georgia

The Bulldogs scored 16 runs in the eighth inning to put the game away.

Auburn once again erased an early lead Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs but unlike the first two games of the series, the Bulldogs kept adding on and crushed the Tigers 24-7 in Plainsman Park.

Auburn (6-7-1, 2-4 SEC) trailed just 8-7 entering the eighth inning but the pitching staff came unraveled, surrendering eight hits and issuing eight free passes as the Bulldogs scored 16 runs to take command of the game and end any chances of Auburn completing their third straight comeback win.

Charlie Condon walked to lead off the inning and scored after consecutive singles by Parks Harber and Corey Collins to make it 9-7. A four-pitch walk to Will David loaded the bases with nobody out.

A second-straight walk brought another run home before Mason LaPlante broke the game up with a two-RBI single to make it 12-7. They kept adding on as their next eight batters reached safely to make it 20-7.

Auburn needed to cut the deficit to under 10 in the bottom of the eighth inning to prevent a run-rule loss but was unable to do so.

For the third time in the series, Auburn fell behind early. This time Georgia did their damage at the top of the first. Ben Anderson led the game off with a double and scored two batters later when Condon singled him home.

Harber gave them some breathing room next when he belted a two-run homer over the left field wall to give them an early 3-0 lead. Connor Tate opened the third inning with a solo home run to make it a 4-0 game.

After the next three Bulldog hitters reached base to load the bases with one out, [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] replaced freshman starter [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag] with [autotag]Christian Hernandez[/autotag]. The right-hander struck out Sebastian Murillo but walked Cole Wagner to give the Bulldogs a 5-0 lead.

Auburn started chipping away in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally. [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] got things started with a single before [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] was hit by a pitch. After Georgia failed to get Ware out in a rundown, [autotag]Justin Kirby[/autotag] hit a shallow blooper into right field to score Ware and make it a 5-1 game.

The Tigers got another run back in the fourth after [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] walked and advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a single by [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag]. Kason Howell kept the rally going with a bunt single but Auburn was unable to get another run across and left two more runners stranded.

The Bulldogs struck again when Parks led the fifth inning off with a double and David singled him home to make it a 6-2 lead. Thompson once again went to his bullpen after that, this time calling for Parker Carlson. 

Georgia once again loaded the bases after an error by [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] and Carlson walked a batter. The Bulldogs took advantage of the opportunity with a two-RBI single by LaPlante to make it 8-2 and break the game open.

The Tigers chased Georgia starter Liam Sullivan in the fifth inning after Kirby singled and Bobby Pierce reached on an infield single. Cooper McMurray entered as a pinch hitter and smoked a double to right field to make it 8-4 and get Auburn back in the game.

Auburn’s offense caught fire in the sixth inning. Howell walked to start the inning and Cole Foster doubled to bring Ware up with two runners in scoring position and nobody out. Ware smashed his 11th homer of the season to left center to make it an 8-7 game and seize the momentum for Auburn.

It would not last as the Bulldogs went on to score 16 runs in the eighth inning and prevent Auburn from sweeping the series.

Auburn baseball flashback: the last time Auburn played Southeastern Louisiana

Auburn’s journey to Omaha in 2022 began with a 19-7 thrashing of Southeastern Louisiana in game one of the Auburn Regional.

Auburn baseball’s road to Omaha began at Plainsman Park against Southeastern Louisiana in game one of the Auburn regional.

The Tigers exploded for 11 runs in the first inning, with six of those runs coming off of home runs by switch-hitting [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag], who hit two home runs in the inning, one from each side of the plate.

The large lead in the 1st inning allowed Auburn to cruise to a 19-7 victory. Auburn ended the game with seven home runs. Foster ended the game with three home runs, [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] recorded two, and [autotag]Sonny DiChiara[/autotag] and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] each hit one. [autotag]Trace Bright[/autotag] recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts in 5.0 innings on the mound.

The Tigers would keep their offensive firepower going over the final two games of the regional by defeating Florida State and UCLA by a combined score of 32-11. Auburn would then win the Corvallis Super Regional, and competed in the College World Series for the second time in three seasons.

This weekend, Southeastern Louisiana returns to Plainsman Park for a three-game set and hopes to get revenge on the Tigers.

Before the Tigers and Lions tussle in Plainsman Park, here’s a look back at Auburn’s 19-7 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in the 2022 Auburn regional.

Series final between Auburn and Alabama ruled no-contest

A disappointing end to the series for everyone.

Auburn was unable to complete the sweep against Alabama on Sunday after the game was ruled a no-contest after a weather delay halted the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Auburn had a golden opportunity to take their first lead of the game with the bases loaded with just one out. They were unable to take advantage of this opportunity as the game entered a weather delay with the rivals tied at 1. The lengthy delay and curfew restrictions around road games prevented the game from restarting before the designated time.

Starting pitcher [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] held the Tide scoreless for the first four innings before their bats came alive in the top of the fifth. Alabama led the inning off with back-to-back doubles to take a 1-0 lead. Gonzales was able to gather himself and limit the damage to just the one run.

Auburn’s offense wasted no time erasing the deficit. [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] and [autotag]Garrett Farquah[/autotag] started the inning with singles before [autotag]Brody Moore[/autotag] brought LaRue home with a safety squeeze. Alabama intentionally walked Sonny DiChiara and Blake Rambusch drew a walk to load the bases and give Bobby Pierce a chance to give Auburn the lead.

Unfortunately, the game entered a weather delay during his at-bat, and play was never resumed.

Auburn will return to action at Samford Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.

Auburn baseball rallies in full-game comeback to take second Alabama game

Auburn took six innings to complete a four-run comeback and beat the Tide in game two of its rivalry series.

Baseball legend Yogi Berra put it best — it ain’t over ’till it’s over.

The Auburn Tigers lived that creed on Saturday when they came back from a four-run deficit in the first inning to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide 6-4 in their second victory of the rivalry series. Auburn now has an opportunity to sweep the series when they play the Tide again on Sunday.

Alabama wasted no time kicking off proceedings. Tide catcher Dominic Tamez hit a blistering ground ball to left field to knock in an RBI in the top of the first, and with two men on, outfielder William Hamiter blasted a ball over the right-center fence to put Alabama up 4-0.

That would be the last run they scored.

Auburn managed to keep things stagnant until the bottom of the fourth when it began to chip away. Tigers outfielder [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] hit a solo shot to center field to cut the deficit down to three. The bottom of the fifth was kind to the Tigers, too — a grievous error on a routine throw to second by the Tide allowed infield player [autotag]Garrett Farquhar[/autotag] to score and infielder [autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag] subsequently knocked in an RBI single to cut the deficit down to one. Auburn got the run to tie in the bottom of the sixth when [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] hit an RBI single as well.

It was Peirce, who kicked off the scoring for Auburn, that put them back ahead.

His RBI single brought the Tigers up 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh. He wasn’t done scoring, though — after an errant pitch, Peirce ran home from third and made it 6-4 Auburn, a score that would stand at the end of the game.

After the impressive comeback, the Tigers will look to complete the sweep on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT.

WATCH: Nate LaRue smash first career homer over left-field wall

Auburn sophomore Nate LaRue said goodbye to this one for his first career home run in an Auburn uniform.

One day after Rankin Woley made the green monster in left field at Plainsman Park look tiny with a mammoth home run, sophomore Nate LaRue said, “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

The Mobile native took this pitch from the Presbyterian hurler and made sure it would have no chance of staying in the park. It is LaRue’s first career homer as a Tiger.