The Auburn Tigers entered this weekend’s series with Mississippi State needing a series win to snap a three-series losing streak. In order to do that, top-notch would be required.
[autotag]Tommy Vail[/autotag] answered the call as he turned in a scoreless start while recording a season-high in strikeouts.
Vail turned in 5.0 innings of three-hit baseball. He would also refuse to allow a run while striking out 10 batters in Auburn’s 2-1 win over Mississippi State on Friday at Plainsman Park.
“What’s important is having the same spirit, the same attitude, and just getting ready to get another win,” Vail said Friday. “Early in the game, I’m expecting them to be pretty patient. I knew I could attack in the zone early and then expand later on.”
Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] says that if Auburn’s pitching is that good every game, his squad will remain competitive throughout the second half of the SEC slate.
“We’re pitching a little better. It started last weekend,” Thompson said after Friday’s win. “This gives us a chance. If we can pitch competitively, that defense is ready to play. We pitched with better sequences and took the sting out of the swing.”
Auburn got on the board first in the low-scoring affair. After failing to record a hit and having just two baserunners through the first four innings, Auburn’s [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] crushed a 398-foot solo home run to right field to give Auburn the 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs would tie the game in the bottom of the 7th inning on an infield single by leadoff batter David Mershon that scored Amani Larry from 3rd base.
Auburn’s final blow came in the bottom of the 8th inning when [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] to put Auburn ahead, 2-1.
“I’m just happy to get the win,” Stanfield said of the play. “I saw it go up in the air and saw his back to me. I said, ‘Let me take a chance’ and it ended up working out. I was just trying to take the game into my own hands. It was a close game, and I knew Bobby was coming. I had full trust that Bobby would get the job done. I was just happy to be a part of it.”
[autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] entered the game and slammed the door for the Tigers, as he faced the minimum to solidify the win and earn his 4th save of the year. [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] is credited with the win on the mound by tossing 1.1 innings of no-hit baseball in relief.
Game two between the Tigers and Bulldogs is set for Saturday afternoon at 2 P.M. CT and can be seen on SEC Network+. [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag] (0-3, 5.74) will toe the rubber for Auburn on Saturday, battling Mississippi State’s Colby Holcombe (2-2, 5.32).
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