The Auburn Tigers tallied their first win of 2022 on Saturday, topping Texas Tech 2-1 in Arlington.
Joseph Gonzalez, one of the team's few returning pitchers with starting experience, got off to a hot start on the mound. He threw five scoreless innings, with five strikeouts and only two hits against.
The Red Raiders’ starter, Brandon Birdsell, didn’t match the output of Gonzalez. Cole Foster got the scoring off for the Tigers in the second, knocking Bryson Ware in from a single.
"I knew he threw hard and had good stuff," Foster said of Birdsell. "With guys like that I just try to stay simple. Once I got to 2-0 I knew a fastball was coming, and I just told myself stay simple. Short and sweet."
Along with scoring the go-ahead run, Ware made his presence known in left field, gunning down Hudson White at home to end the top of the third.
The other Tigers offense came from center fielder Kason Howell, who’s sacrifice fly brought home Sonny DiChiara in the fourth.
Garrett Wade came in to pitch in the sixth to relieve Gonzalez. However, he immediately got into trouble, after walking two and striking out one. A Kurt Wilson sacrifice fly cut the Tiger’s lead to one.
"We gave up a run, but we didn't give it up," said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. "We faced an elite program that's been consistent for a long time. When you do that, you know they're not going to give it away. What we did bank mentally is that we can play at a high level."
The Auburn bullpen finished the game without allowing a run, as a combination of John Armstrong, Carson Skipper and Blake Burkhalter threw 3.2 scoreless innings, giving the Tiger’s their first win of the season.
"You just have to learn to breathe," Burkhalter said. "There's a lot of people here. Your heart can start racing a little fast, but you just have to breathe and soak it all in. I came in, and I knew what I was going to. I knew what I was trying to accomplish, get ahead in the count."
Auburn will finish the State Farm College Baseball Showdown Sunday, as they take on Kansas State. First pitch is set for 10:30 a.m. CST on Feb. 20.
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Dylan Fox, Junior in Civil Site Design Engineering, joined The Plainsman as a sports writer in Spring 2020. From Geneva, IL.
