Auburn took the field on Tuesday in a matchup against in-state foe, Alabama State University. The Tigers looked determined as they walked out of Plainsman Park with an 11-0 win.
Auburn wasted no time making its mark on the scoreboard as Niko Buentello recorded his league-leading 34th RBI, bringing in Anfernee Grier. Blake Logan was then able to single to center field, bringing in Joshua Palacios for the second Auburn run of the game. Auburn then scored four runs in the third, two in the fourth, two in the fifth, and one in the eighth.
The bats were hot for the Tigers across the board with seven players recording multiple hits, the most coming from Palacios, who recorded four hits in five at bats. The four hits he had Tuesday pushed him to 18 hits for his last 29 at-bats. Grier had another successful day, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run in the fifth. As a team, Auburn recorded 21 hits which matches a season-high.
“My theme for tonight would be efficient and professional.” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson. "Our bats were still really good for the most part. We took balls and swung at strikes. … Anfernee had another really good night and Palacios has been seeing it well for a while. Blake Logan also had a good night. ... Melvin Gray hadn't been in the lineup for a while, he had a huge double play at the end of the ballgame and him contributing three hits hopefully helps him.”
Ben Braymer notched his first start in an Auburn uniform, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing no hits and four strikeouts. The only two ASU hits of the game came in the eighth inning off of Gordon Cardenas, who pitched 3.1 innings and allowed two hits but also tallied three strikeouts and preserved the shutout.
“[Starting] was a little different at first, but at the end of the day it's the same thing,” Braymer said. "Whenever I take the mound, my job is to challenge hitters and let the defense work behind me.”
The Tigers head on the road this weekend to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in their second SEC series.
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