Recently-crowned two-time All-American Casey Mize’s offense didn’t always have his back this season when the likely No. 1 overall pick was slinging his MLB-ready heat in the other half of the inning. But when it mattered Saturday in the Raleigh Regional semifinals, the Auburn bats exploded.
Fueled by Mize’s 11-strikeout gem and a nine-run fifth inning, Auburn defeated Army 12-1 to earn a date with the winner of Army-NC State on Sunday evening in the Regional final.
“It was a good win for our program — well-pitched and well-defended,” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “Army presents so many challenges with the short game and their ability to run, and I Casey really impressed me this outing with his ability to field his position.
“I was starting to wonder if we were going to put something together because they had done such a good job on the mound to that point, and we hung in there and had the big inning, which was huge for us. The guys were resilient and hit some balls hard. We finished the game very well.”
Mize’s sixth double-digit strikeout performance of the year went seven innings to grant the Springville, Alabama, product his 10th win of the season (10-5, 2.95 ERA). The ace rifled 11 strikeouts, walked one and allowed one earned run and four hits before being relieved of duty by sophomore southpaw Elliot Anderson.
Mize and Army starter Daniel Burggraff exchanged blows through the opening trio of innings before Tigers catcher Brett Wright led off the fourth with a solo home run. Senior first baseman Josh Anthony commenced the next frame with his own solo shot, followed five pitches later by Auburn’s third one-man homer, this time from leadoff batter Will Holland to push the lead to 3-0.
“We always want to do our best for Casey; Casey’s our bulldog,” Anthony said. “Anytime he gets on the mound, we always want to show him that (we) have his back, and we did an unbelievable job of doing that tonight.”
Freshman Eduoard Julien drove in roommate Steven Williams three batters later for his 66th RBI of the year — two shy of Frank Thomas’ freshman record.
Army pulled Burggraff in favor of righty Jacob Carte, who inherited a pair of baserunners and a 4-0 deficit. The native North Carolinian’s first pitch was an RBI single by Jay Estes, followed by a 2-RBI double from Luke Jarvis and an RBI double from Anthony — Auburn’s fifth extra-base hit of the inning. A shortstop throwing error scored the final pair of the nine-run frame to make it 10-0 Auburn.
For only the second time in program history (1994-95), the Tigers have begun consecutive Regionals 2-0. Auburn’s 11-run margin of victory is good for third-largest in the team’s NCAA Tournament history.
“The past couple outings with Casey, we haven’t really had that much run support,” Wright said. “It’s important for us. We want Casey to win every time he’s on the mound.”
After narrowly whiffing on an NCAA Super Regional berth last season, the Tigers are now one win away from their first appearance in the event since 1999.
“We’re going to try to win a championship,” Mize said. “We almost did it last year, obviously it didn’t work out. It’s a new year and I think we’re a better team. I’m just trying to stress to the guys that every pitch is extremely important, so we’re going to have to stay focused throughout the whole game.
“We’ve just got to come out and execute and have fun while we’re doing it. Tomorrow’s going to be a great opportunity.”
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
