Auburn took both ends of its double-header against the Rhode Island Rams on Saturday. Led by solid pitching from their starters, the Tigers took game one 16-0 and game two 12-0.
Game 1
Sophomore Joseph Gonzalez was given the ball to start the game. The Rams were able to load the bases with only one out in the first. Luckily for Gonzalez, Brody Moore was able to convert a double play to end the inning.
In the bottom half, Blake Rambusch got the offense started off with a solo blast. Second baseman Cole Foster followed soon after. He singled to right in the second to score a run, then notched another RBI from a walk in the third. He finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs over the day.
Foster also flashed the leather from the four spot several times on the day. Foster and Moore have impressed their teammates with their defensive play in the middle infield so far this season.
“I have full faith in them,” said junior pitcher Trace Bright. “You have no worries with them behind you. If they put a ball in play, they’re going to make a play. It’s great and I can’t thank them enough.”
Mike Bello and Ryan Dyal also finished the game with the latter hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning. Dyal’s average is up to .278 on the year, and was visibly happy with his show of power postgame.
“It was pretty awesome,” Dyal said. “For things like that to come, you kind of have to not think about it. If you get thinking about it a little too much, and they really don’t come alot.”
Meanwhile, Gonzalez had regained his composure to work through the Rams’ hitters. He finished with 6.2 innings pitched, striking out eight while only walking one.
“Joseph looked like like he did when he was in Texas,” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “When he got that third inning then went three, four, five, six, he got a little autopilot going.”
The bullpen expanded on his dominance. A combination of Tyler Drabik, Cam Hill, and Ben Bosse threw 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
The offense continued to explode. Mike Bello ended the tirade of runs in the eighth with a two-run double. The Tigers scored five runs in the eighth, including two from sacrifice flies.
Overall, the offense finished with 10 hits, 12 walks, and five extra base hits.
“I just thought mentally we were in such a good place,” Thompson said. “I just think we learned a lesson from last week and we’ve been harping on these six games here.”
Game 2
The Tigers’ offense, still hot from earlier and with only seven innings to inflict damage, completely dominated the first frame. Rhode Island starter Zach Fernandez could only get one out after 49 pitches, which came on an interference from Kason Howell.
The Tigers had 14 plate appearances in the inning. They scored nine runs on seven hits and three walks.
Sonny DiChiara drew a hit by pitch and knocked in a run on a single in the first. He also scored from third on a wild pitch. He was later replaced by Garrett Farquhar in the third.
Trace Bright got the start on the mound, and was able to easily silence the Rams’ bats. He was perfect until the fifth, when Xavier Vargas struck out, but reached on a wild pitch. His no-hitter was broken up the inning after Brody McKenzie singled up the middle, their sole hit in the contest.
“I felt like I’ve grown in three years since I’ve been here,” Bright said. “But I think this year has been a big leap for me.”
The firepower continued in the third, when Rambusch and Howell opened the inning with doubles to right field. Hill and Dyal added a couple more runs on a sac fly and double, respectively. Rambusch finished with three RBIs on the day.
“The offense was rolling,” Bright said. “It was a long first inning, but it makes it a lot easier to throw strikes and work for them out there.”
As the strike zone got bigger, runs were much harder to come by for the Tigers, and they finished the final three innings without a hit. Over the two games, they out hit-the Rams 21-6.
Auburn finishes its series tomorrow, with the game time moved back to 12:30 p.m. CST, before traveling to Huntsville on Tuesday to take on Tennessee Tech. That game will start at 6 p.m. at Toyota Field.
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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.
