After dropping the series opener, Auburn blew out Boston College 16-1 on Saturday.
“It’s never that big a swing," said manager Butch Thompson on if the team made adjustments from Friday's loss. "We had the leadoff guy on four times last night, and if you grabbed one of those moments with a runner in scoring position, it’s a whole different game. We did see a good arm, but we’re gonna see a bunch more. This is why I want us to have a punch-back game; I never want us to go down in a ballgame, but we’re gonna have to figure out how to be better in those moments, or these teams are just gonna keep running away from us."
Auburn came roaring out of the gate, with sophomore pitcher Mason Barnett pitching a 1-2-3 inning to get the Tigers to the plate. The game quickly titled in favor of the home team when Eagles' pitcher Emmet Sheehan walked three straight batters, followed by a Cam Hill grand slam.
The Tigers didn’t take their foot off the gas, scoring another six runs by the end of the fourth.
Barnett performed well, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
“Obviously Fitts struggled a little bit yesterday, but literally right after his outing he came up to me and said ‘Hey, this is what you should do, these were my mistakes here,'" Barnett said. "I think the bottom line is we had a really good game plan from Huddy and from Steven, and Fitts right there in my back pocket. I think the mentality was just ‘first-pitch fastball, get in a strike, and just stay ahead as long as you can, pitch to your strengths.'"
Auburn held the Eagles' top threats at the plate in check, too. Sal Frelick and Cody Morissette, MLB.com’s No. 25 and No. 43 prospects in the 2021 draft respectively, were held scoreless until the game was well out of hand.
Tyler Miller led all players in RBI with six; the junior has a base hit in twelve of his last fourteen plate appearances, two home runs and 10 RBI in four games. Miller tallied three hits, a walk and a home run in three at-bats on the day, bringing his batting average to an even .500.
“I’m staying with my approach more consistently this year," Miller said. "I’m looking for the middle of the plate, and if it comes in, I’m reacting. I’m not trying to do too much at the plate, taking what they give me, taking my walks. If they throw it away, I take it the other way. Just staying with my approach and trying not to overdo things."
Auburn moves to 7-3 on the season. The Tigers will finish out the weekend with another game against Boston College tomorrow at 1:00 PM Central, airing on SEC Network+.
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