Keegan Thompson was on the mound Friday for the Tigers and, despite a shaky start, the Cullman native later settled in, and stymied the Bisons for 7 scoreless innings en route to an 8-0 win.
“The defense made a lot of plays, the outfield ran a ton of balls down and I just went out there and did what I could to compete,” Keegan Thompson said.
The right-hander threw 90 pitches, while striking out 5 batters, conceding only one hit and retiring the final 14 batters he faced. Thompson continues to dominate opponents, extending his streak to 21 scoreless innings.
“This wasn’t his cleanest outing but maybe my favorite because I feel like he has a chance to win every time he goes out,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “When he’s really on, he’s going to be hard to beat.”
The Tigers ace normally does not need much run support, but the Auburn bats were on fire Friday afternoon in Plainsman Park. Auburn matched its season-high in the hit column, racking up 15 hits on Lipscomb starter Brady Puckett. Jonah Todd, lead-off man for the Tigers, led the way, going 3-of-4 from the plate with one RBI.
In addition, the Tigers were given a boost in production from the bottom third of the order. The 7, 8, and 9 hitters in the Auburn lineup tallied four RBIs collectively. Jay Estes and Blake Logan both drove in two runs, while Josh Anthony, Luke Jarvis, Bowen McGuffin, and Sam Gillikin all joined in on the barrage with two hits each.
“I just thought we were having very good at-bats against Puckett,” Butch Thompson said. “It was good to see Blake Logan and really the bottom of our lineup I was pleased with.”
Ryan Watson struck out two batters in 1.0 inning before loading the bases, which gave way to Calvin Coker, who closed the game out for the Tigers, getting the final two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and securing their eighth win of the season. Keegan Thompson gets his third win of the season, while starter Brady Puckett loses his first of the year for Lipscomb, allowing seven runs on 12 hits in 4.1 innings pitched.
Auburn improves to 8-2 on the season, while Lipscomb falls to 6-3. Game two of the three game series is set for Saturday at noon CST at Plainsman Park.
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