Recap: Auburn baseball salvages game in LSU series with Sunday win

A strong 1st inning allowed Auburn to cruise to a Sunday victory over the defending national champions.

Auburn baseball started off its weekend series at LSU in a rocky way but managed to salvage a game in the finale.

The visiting Tigers set the tone early by jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the 1st inning. Auburn used that momentum to cruise to a 7-5 win over LSU on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] says that his team’s no-quit mindset and better approach at the plate led his team to a win.

“I just think they stayed in the series,” Thompson said postgame. “We did get a freshman starter on the mound against us today and got the starter out in the first. The first two starters got length and got as far as they wanted to. They had to make a change immediately in the ballgame. The bats and the approach were in a better spot today.”

Auburn’s strong start began in the 1st inning with an RBI single by [autotag]Carter Wright[/autotag] that scored [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag]. [autotag]Cade Belyeu[/autotag] added two runs on an RBI double while [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] tacked on two more with an RBI single in the next at-bat. All five of Auburn’s 1st inning runs came with two outs.

Belyeu added to his total in the 3rd inning with an RBI single to score Wright and push Auburn to a 6-0 advantage. LSU answered with an Ashton Larson RBI single to cut into the lead, 6-1.

The most danger Auburn faced in the game was in the 4th inning when Steven Milam smashed a three-run home run to trim Auburn’s lead to 6-4. The threat ended, however, as Green sent Belyeu home on an RBI double to left field in the 6th inning. Larson added his second RBI of the game in the 7th inning on a sacrifice fly, but the Bayou Bengals failed to threaten Auburn’s lead for the remainder of the game.

Belyeu and Green each recorded three RBI in Auburn’s win while leadoff batter Chris Stanfield totaled three hits. Auburn pitching allowed five earned runs on eight hits while walking four batters and striking out six. [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] earned the win in relief by striking out two of the five batters he faced in a one-inning effort. [autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] took home the three-inning save by allowing one hit and striking out two batters.

“We needed the win,” Carlson said postgame. “We just keep staying in there and keep fighting. We’ve been saying ‘keep fighting’ since I’ve been here and that’s just the way this team rolls. We’re not going to roll over no matter how the season’s going. I’m incredibly proud of each and every one of our guys.”

Auburn will step away from midweek action this week and will prepare for their next home series. Auburn hosts Ole Miss this weekend for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. CT.

Recap: Auburn baseball takes down UAB in Birmingham

Although Auburn is just 1-8 in SEC play to start the baseball season, the Tigers continued rolling in the non-conference on Wednesday.

Although Auburn is just 1-8 in SEC play to start the baseball season, the Tigers continued rolling in the non-conference on Wednesday by taking down the UAB Blazers 10-4 at Regions Park in Birmingham.

Auburn starting pitcher [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag] (1-1) got the ball for the third straight mid-week game but struggled through 2 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits in the contest.

The Tigers bullpen faired much better, as [autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Petrovic[/autotag], [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag], and [autotag]Hayden Murphy[/autotag] combined for 6 1/3 innings of 1-hit ball. Petrovic, Crotchfelt, and Murphy allowed just one base runner over the game’s final 5 frames.

On the offensive side, Auburn exploded for 10+ runs for the second non-conference game in a row. Infielder [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] and senior captain [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] happened to be the stars of the night. After Cooper Weiss drove in the first Auburn run with a single in the top of the first, McMurray and Peirce combined to drive in 6 of the next 9 Tiger tallies. Both players homered, while McMurray contributed 3 total hits and 3 RBIs.

Peirce had the biggest blast of the game in the sixth inning when he roped a 2-run, go-ahead home run into the seats to give Auburn a 6-5 lead. The 2-run homer was the beginning of a 7-run 8th inning that was bookended by another Pierce RBI single.

Auburn’s mid-week victories have yet to translate into weekend play, but we’ll see if that trend changes when the Tigers welcome No. 4 ranked Tennessee to Plainsman Park on Friday.

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Recap: Tigers come up short in game one against Texas A&M

In an attempt to build some momentum in SEC play, Auburn baseball falls short in game one in College Station

Auburn baseball has been struggling to start its SEC schedule, constantly trying to find answers to come out of games with victories in order to build its resume. After winning their first conference game in the series finale versus Arkansas last weekend, the Tigers hope to build momentum in this weekend’s series against Texas A&M.

Unfortunately, Auburn (16-9) could not gain any in game one on Thursday, as it fell to the Aggies (23-3) 9-7 at Blue Bell Park.

Texas A&M got the scoring started early in this game in the bottom of the 1st. With one out and one runner on, Stanford transfer Braden Montgomery hit a two-run home run over the right center wall, making it 2-0 in early going.

The Aggies extended the lead in the bottom of the 3rd. After Jace LaViolette doubled and advanced to third later on, Jackson Appel hit a fly ball to left field that was caught, but was deep enough to bring LaViolette in. They were in firm control at 3-0.

That was until the top of the 4th when the Tigers made a massive move to get themselves back in it. [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] began the inning with an infield single to third base, before two straight outs to follow put Auburn in yet another bad spot.

[autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] eased that worry though when he doubled down the left field line, getting Irish to third. [autotag]Mason Maners[/autotag] came up immediately after and sent a pitch over the left field wall, tying the game up at 3-3.

The bottom of the 4th produced more damage from Texas A&M, as Hayden Schott led the home half off with a home run to right center, putting his team back in front 4-3.

Later in the inning, two back-to-back singles by Gavin Grahovac and LaViolette brought in a run each, giving the Aggies a three-run lead once again at 6-3.

The top of the 6th saw another surge by the Tigers. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Stanfield reached on a fielder’s choice in which Irish scored off of a throwing error. Later on [autotag]Carter Wright[/autotag] reached on his own fielder’s choice hit, where [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] also scored on an error. The game was once again tied, this time at 6-6.

Texas A&M did not let that last for long though. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 6th, Appel was hit by a pitch, scoring in a run. Ted Burton then walked on the next at-bat which brought in another run for the Aggies. Schott followed that up with a line drive to right field that was caught, scoring a third A&M runner and making the score 9-6.

Irish attempted to kick start one more push for Auburn in the top of the 7th with a solo home run to right center, but that was all the scoring that would occur for the rest of the game, as the Aggies secured a 9-7 victory.

[autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] picked up the loss in relief for the Tigers, dropping to 2-1 on the season. [autotag]Conner McBride[/autotag] was the starter on the mound. He pitched 3.0 innings, giving up six hits and six runs, while striking out three and walking two.

Evan Aschenbeck picked up the win in relief for Texas A&M, improving to 4-0 on the year. He pitched 4.0 innings, giving up one run on two hits while striking out five on the night.

The two squads will meet up again in game two on Friday, where first pitch is set for 6 p.m. CST. [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] is set to start on the hill for Auburn.

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Auburn snaps Hogs’ long win streak, wins series finale

An eventful 6th inning for Auburn led to a win over the No. 1 team in the land on Saturday.

The No. 24 Auburn Tigers (15-8, 1-5 SEC) earned its first SEC win of the season on Saturday by taking down the nation’s top team.

Trailing No. 1 Arkansas (19-3, 5-1 SEC) 5-1 heading to the bottom of the 6th inning, the Tigers rattled off six runs in the frame to go ahead, 7-5. Solid pitching over the final two innings, plus an insurance run in the 8th inning were enough to lift Auburn to an 8-6 win over the Razorbacks on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park in Auburn.

A record crowd of 5,087 fans watched the Tigers earn the win. A big crowd, plus great effort, led to the win says head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag].

“This is a group of guys that have done everything we have asked them to do the right way,” Thompson said postgame. “For us to come out being down 0-2 in a series at home and have more fans than we’ve ever had in the park’s history show up is pretty moving. For me personally it’s a big deal, and I know it means a lot to these players, but that’s Auburn. That’s the best version of us, and the fans were huge to provide some momentum in the ballpark today.”

The Tigers entered Saturday hoping to avoid a second-straight sweep to open SEC play. After three innings of scoreless play, Arkansas broke through in the 4th inning with a three-run home run and an RBI double to jump ahead, 4-0. [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] responded by sending Ike Irish home on an RBI single to cut the Razorbacks’ lead to 4-1.

Arkansas’ Kendall Diggs, who scored a run in the 4th inning, sent another run across in the top half of the 6th inning to extend the deficit to 5-1. In danger of letting the game get away from them, Auburn responded by scoring six runs in the bottom frame to take the lead.

[autotag]Mason Maners[/autotag] led off the inning with a home run, which sent Razorbacks pitching into a downward spiral. The next five batters would reach base with zero outs in the inning, which allowed two runs to score. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of McMurray, who crushed a three-run blast to push Auburn ahead, 7-5.

Over the next three innings, [autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] combined to allow just one earned run with three strikeouts to limit Arkansas’ bats. Irish hit a solo home run in the 8th inning to deliver the final blow, and securing an Auburn win.

Auburn recorded 10 hits on the day, with McMurray, Irish, Maners, and [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] leading the way with two hits each. McMurray drove home four runs while Irish scored two. On the mound, Joseph Gonzalez allowed four earned runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings in his first SEC start of the season. Carlson earned the win by tossing a three-hit, one-run effort in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Cannon slammed the door by striking out two batters without allowing a hit over the final two innings to grab the save.

Auburn will host Jax State for a midweek tilt on Tuesday in an effort to prepare them for another tough road test next weekend at Texas A&M. The Tigers and Gamecocks will battle at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday at Plainsman Park.

Runs Hits Errors LOB
No. 1 Arkansas 6 10 1 11
No. 24 Auburn 8 10 0 8

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Austin Peay powers through Auburn, forces Sunday rubber match

The No. 20 Tigers will look to bounce back Sunday after allowing 15 runs on 16 hits to Austin Peay in game two of the weekend series.

The No. 20 Auburn Tigers gave up 15 runs on 16 hits to Austin Peay on Saturday. It did not help matters that the Tigers committed seven errors in the effort. Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] was less than pleased with his squad’s performance.

“I think the feeling going through that one, I think that’s the worst game I have been a part of as the head coach at Auburn,” Thompson said postgame. “I’ll take ownership of that. It was pretty lethargic. Pretty rough outing by our guys. It all started on the mound and give all the credit to their guy. I really think, in seven innings, we had one real swing and that was (Cooper) Weiss.”

Both teams traded blows in the first inning by hitting a multi-RBI home run each. However, Austin Peay controlled the game by scoring consistently and scoring seven runs over the final two innings to secure a 15-6 win over the Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park.

[autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] put the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning by hitting a two-run home run to cut into the Governors’ lead, 3-2. After that, Austin Peay scored eight unanswered runs before Auburn found the plate again. The Governors scored eight runs on three RBi doubles, two RBI singles, and a home run.

[autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] ended the streak by hitting a two-run home run in the 8th inning to cut Austin Peay’s lead to 11-4. The Governors would not back down, as they would score four more runs in the top of the 9th inning to secure the win. Auburn scored two more runs in their half of the inning, but it would not be enough to complete the comeback effort.

Auburn used seven pitchers in the game, with starter [autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag] taking the loss after giving up four earned runs on seven hits through three innings of work. Auburn’s pitching staff struck out 10 batters on Saturday, with [autotag]Dylan Watts[/autotag] leading the way with four. [autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] was the lone pitcher to not allow a run in 1 1/3 innings of work.

At the plate, Weiss was the lone player to record multiple hits. He and Irish led the team in RBI with two.

“It’s a quick flush and you have to get right back out here and try to win a series tomorrow,” Thompson said. “We need to be interested in getting back out here and competing tomorrow.”

The Tigers look to win the series over Austin Peay on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

Runs Hits Errors LOB
Austin Peay 15 16 1 15
No. 20 Auburn 6 8 7 6

WP: Devine (3-0) | LP: Myers (1-1)

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Auburn drops midweek contest to Troy

The Tigers drop their first home midweek contest of the year to an in-state foe.

Despite scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning, the Auburn Tigers (23-17-1, 7-11 SEC) fell 8-7 at the hands of the Troy Trojans (29-13) at home in Plainsman Park Tuesday night.

“We just couldn’t do enough,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “That’s a good ball club. That’s a team with an RPI higher than ours and doing good in their league. We couldn’t muster enough on the mound to be competitive at home.”

[autotag]Hayden Murphy[/autotag] got the start for Auburn and allowed five runs off of five hits, walked two batters, and struck two out in two innings of work. [autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] ended up with the loss in 3.1 innings of work that saw two runs off of one hit, three batters walked and three struck out.

Noah Manning earned the win for Troy in 4.1 innings of work in which he held the Tigers scoreless, only allowed three hits, walked one batter, and struck two out.

The Trojans had two two-run homers in the top of the second inning to cut the deficit to one. They tacked three more runs on in the top of the sixth inning to take a two-run lead.

The Tigers put across one more in the bottom of the seventh inning when [autotag]Justin Kirby[/autotag] hit a sac fly to right field to bring home Kason Howell.

Auburn will be back in action this weekend against the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. CDT on Friday, 3:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. CDT on Sunday. The first two games will be broadcasted on SEC Network+ and the final game will be on SEC Network.

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 Daniel on Twitter @DanielJLocke

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Alabama evens series with Auburn in a pitcher’s duel

Auburn’s late push was not enough to earn a game-two win on Saturday evening.

After winning Friday’s series opener at Alabama in convincing fashion, Auburn hoped to play well enough on Saturday to earn their second SEC series win of the season, and their first weekend series win on the road.

However, a three-run 2nd inning was enough for the Crimson Tide to take game two of the series. A bases-loaded walk and a two-RBI double by Alabama bats in the inning aided Alabama in its’ 4-2 win over Auburn on Saturday, thus creating a winner-take-all game three on Sunday afternoon.

Those three early runs by Alabama (25-11) were crucial, as Auburn (20-14-1, 5-9) outhit the Crimson Tide, 6-5, and left just one runner on base throughout the game, as opposed to Alabama, who stranded 10 runners.

Alabama got on the board first on a bases-loaded walk from Auburn starter Drew Nelson to Andrew Pinckney in the 2nd inning and would add to the lead just two pitches later when Mac Guscette scored two runs on a double down the left field line to extend Alabama’s lead to 3-0.

Alabama added one more run in the 4th inning when [autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] relieved [autotag]Tommy Sheehan[/autotag] on the mound, and immediately walked Ed Johnson with the bases loaded to move the Tide ahead, 4-0.

After two straight innings of sending the minimum to the plate, Auburn found their way onto the scoreboard in the 7th inning when [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] crushed a solo home run over the left field scoreboard to cut into Alabama’s lead, 1-0.

Auburn threatened the Crimson Tide’s lead yet again in the 9th inning when the first two batters of the inning reached base — [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] with a single and a full-count walk to [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag]. Stanfield scored on a [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] single to cut Alabama’s lead in half, 4-2. However, the threat ended when Peirce struck out on the ensuing at-bat, and Ike Irish grounded into a double play to end the game.

Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] applauded his team’s comeback effort, but hopes to one day “turn the corner.”

“I absolutely loved the engagement of our ballclub and giving us a chance when the game didn’t get started the way we wanted it to,” Thompson said after the game. “I thought we were one barrel away and had the guys who could do it.”

Alabama’s pitching deserves credit for keeping Auburn’s bats relatively quiet throughout the game. Starter Garrett McMillan allowed just one hit while striking out four over 5.0 innings of work. Zane Probst and Alton Davis also combined to allow two hits and an earned run to Auburn batters while striking out a batter and issuing just one walk.

Auburn had the most success against Hunter Furtado, as he allowed the Tigers to record three hits and one earned run off of him.

Nelson ended his start by allowing three earned runs on two hits with three walks in 1.0 inning of work. Auburn’s bullpen did a great job of holding the lead together as [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag], Tommy Sheehan, Parker Carlson, and [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag] combined to allow just three hits and one earned run over the final 8.0 innings. Crotchfelt struck out four batters and allowed two hits in the final three innings.

“He looked the part. He went through the entire lineup. That absolutely was his coming out party in my opinion,” Thompson said of Crotchfelt’s performance on the mound.

Auburn will have another opportunity to win the series over Alabama on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT from Sewell Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

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Gators blow by Auburn in game two, evens series

The Tigers’ offense exploded in game one. In game two, the Gators returned the favor.

Much like in Friday’s series opener, one team had a great day at the plate while the other never really got it going.

In Friday’s opener, Auburn knocked off No. 3 Florida, 10-1, behind an 11-hit effort and a six-run 2nd inning. On Saturday, The Gators responded by posting 19 hits in a 12-5 victory to even the series.

All 10 Florida (23-5, 6-2 SEC) batters recorded a hit in Saturday’s win, with seven of those batters recording multiple hits. Starter Hurston Waldrop backed up his offense by striking out 10 batters and allowing four hits in 6.0 innings of work.

Auburn (18-8-1, 3-5 SEC) struck first on a groundout by [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] that scored [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] from 3rd base to put Auburn ahead, 1-0 in the top of the 1st inning. Florida answered in the bottom of the inning on a Jac Caglianone two-run blast to put them ahead, 2-1.

[autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] would put the Tigers back in front with a two-run home run of his own in the top of the 3rd inning, but Florida scored five runs in the bottom half to take a 7-3 lead and grab control of the game.

The Tigers cut into Florida’s 8-3 lead in the top of the 7th inning when Foster and Peirce scored yet again on a single by [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag], but Florida scored four runs over the final two innings to earn the convincing win.

“All three times we scored tonight, not only did they score the very next half-inning, but they scored more than we scored in the top half,” head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said after Saturday’s game. “They answered us every time we scored and created offense.”

Auburn continued to experiment with the weekend rotation by sending [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] to the mound for his first start of the season. He lasted 2.1 innings where he allowed seven hits, seven runs (four earned), and struck out one. [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag] and [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag] also provided 2.0 and 2.2 innings of relief respectively, with Herberholz allowing five hits and zero runs in his outing while striking out three batters.

[autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] ended the game for Auburn by throwing an inning of relief where he allowed two hits and an earned run.

Auburn’s offense recorded eight hits in the game, with Foster and Peirce leading the way with two hits each.

RELATED: How to watch/listen to Auburn baseball’s series at Florida

Game three of the series is set for Sunday at noon CT on SEC Network+. [autotag]Tommy Vail[/autotag] takes the mound for Auburn, and he will battle two-way star Jac Caglianone for the series win.

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