Coming off four straight losses including a sweep by Ole Miss last weekend, Auburn returned home to the friendly confines of Plainsman Park and continued its season-long home success.
Auburn used huge nights from shortstop Will Holland, third baseman Brendan Venter and right fielder Steven Williams to blow past LSU 11-4 in the series opener Thursday night.
Holland finished the night 4-for-5 with three runs scored, two RBI and a pair of doubles. Venter went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two doubles to extend his hit streak to a career-high 11 games, while Williams plated a pair with a two-run home run in the second inning to go along with a pair of runs scored.
“Whenever you kind of like call out your team, you wonder how they’re going to respond,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "I thought our guys had a great approach tonight.”
Freshman starter Tanner Burns turned in his best start in nearly a month, allowing four runs (two earned) over six innings of work. The Decatur, Alabama, native struck out four and walked two.
“I wanted the ball. My outing in Ole Miss wasn’t so hot. I’ve kind of been – I wouldn’t say down, but I guess motivated more,” Burns said. “Just getting the opportunity to help the team out as much as I can, that’s all I’m here to do.”
Auburn struck for the first run of the night on a wild pitch in the first inning before exploding for a crooked number in the second frame.
After Auburn’s first two batters were retired to start the second, Josh Anthony and Holland teamed up with back-to-back singles sandwiched around a wild pitch by LSU starter Zack Hess to give Auburn a 2-0 lead.
Following Holland’s RBI single, Williams launched a 1-0 pitch from Hess to right field to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead. Venter tallied the fourth run of the inning with a RBI double to left field to score Brett Wright.
LSU closed the lead to 5-2 in the fifth inning on a two-run double by Austin Bain, but Auburn responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI single from Holland a two-run single by Wright.
The Tigers finished their scoring in the seventh inning with a two-run double by Venter and a RBI single by Jay Estes.
“Coach Thompson has been talking to us lately about throwing the first punch and I think we did that tonight,” Holland said. “It’s big, but just like any other game we can’t make it bigger than it is. We just have to take care of them one at a time.”
Jake Slaughter finished 1-for-4 for LSU with a home run and two RBI. The Bengal Tigers, who fell to 32-22 and 14-14 in the SEC, struggled on the mound in the series opener as Hess allowed five runs on six hits in just three innings of work. Three LSU relievers allowed six runs over the final five innings while walking five and striking out four.
Burns earned the win for the Tigers to improve to 5-4 on the year. Fellow freshman Cody Greenhill held LSU scoreless over the final three innings to earn his fifth save of the season.
Auburn improved to 36-18 and 14-14 in the SEC with the victory. The Tigers are now 28-5 at Plainsman Park this season.
Game two of the series is set for 6 p.m. Friday as Auburn ace and potential No. 1 draft pick Casey Mize (9-3, 2.73 ERA) will take the ball for his 14th start of the season. LSU will counter with Ma’Khail Hilliard (8-4, 3.66 ERA).
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