Niko Buentello and the 21-26 Tigers avoided the sweep Sunday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium after defeating rival Alabama 8-1. Buentello tied his career highs with three hits and four RBIs as Auburn advanced to 8-16 in SEC play.
“This was a good, solid win,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “This was a big one as our guys just keep battling. The resiliency of our team has been tremendous.”
Bringing runners home in the first, third and ninth innings increased Buentello’s season RBI total to 47, the most for any Auburn player since 2011.
Ben Braymer was credited with the win after he pitched a career-best 6.0 innings with five strikeouts and no walks. He allowed only one run on seven hits on a season-high 108 pitches.
An RBI double by Melvin Gray and a sac fly from Buentello gave Auburn the 2-0 lead in the first inning. Buentello returned to the plate in the third to launch his fourth double of the weekend, driving home a pair of runs to extend the Tiger lead 4-0. On a called play, Buentello came home on a delayed move after Damon Haecker broke for second to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead.
Alabama (27-21, 12-12) got on the board in the fifth with Chance Vincent coming home on a wild pitch. Auburn’s Daniel Robert relieved Braymer and Daniel Sprinkle closed out the game on the mound.
Seventh and eighth inning RBI singles by Melvin Gray and Kyler Deese made it a 7-1 Tiger lead before Buentello tacked on the final run with an RBI single in the ninth for a final score of 8-1.
“I thought the runs we scored in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings were the difference,” said Thompson. “We kept scoring and that was huge for us. I’m really pleased with how came out and battled for a win.”
Auburn will return home for a Tuesday night showdown against the Troy Trojans at Plainsman Park.
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