The Auburn Tigers took down the Sacramento State Hornets on Friday, Feb. 19, at Plainsman Park to start the 2016 season. The offense was the story Friday as, despite a staggering seven errors in the field, Auburn was able to build a comfortable lead and win the game with a score of 10-5.
The star of the night for the Tigers was junior outfielder Anfernee Grier. Earlier this week, Grier was named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team, and he lived up to the honor. With four at-bats, he was walked once and had three hits, including a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give Auburn a 5-2 lead.
“I just swung the bat, and I guess it went out,” Grier said in reference to his home run. “I put a good swing on it, and it just carried out the park.”
Another junior, Niko Buentello, opened the game up with a bases-clearing double in the third to give the Tigers their first lead of the day at 3-1. The bats were hot for Auburn this evening, as they racked up a total of 14 hits.
“We needed every bit of it for the way we played defense,” said coach Butch Thompson. "The defense is not something we've seen. The defense had been pretty steady.”
An opening-day crowd of 3,665 all packed into the park to watch the first game of the Butch Thompson era. It was sloppy at times, but the most important thing for the Tigers was walking away with a win.
“[We] will always take the [win] and that is our intention,” Thompson said. "Sometimes you play great and win. Today we didn't play great and won.”
Thompson said that before the game, he was able to take a moment and reflect on where he was and what today meant for him personally.
“I walked to center field 30 minutes before the game and peered back in, because I'm human, and had a rush ― I'm the head baseball coach at Auburn,” Thompson said. “This is my big leagues. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. It was really neat to see the opening day banners, everybody show up and what a beautiful day.”
Auburn will be back in action against the Sacramento State Hornets tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Plainsman Park.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
