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A spirit that is not afraid

LaRue, bullpen help Tigers clinch first SEC series over Texas A&M

<p>Nate LaRue (28) takes a swing against Texas A&amp;M in College Station, on March 27.&nbsp;</p>

Nate LaRue (28) takes a swing against Texas A&M in College Station, on March 27. 

After splitting the previous two games in extra innings, the Tigers bounced back from a slow start to take home a 13-9 victory over the Aggies. This marks their first series win in College Station since 2013.

Tommy Sheehan was the previously unannounced starter for the game. His control struggled early on, giving up four walks and five earned in the first inning to give the Aggies an early advantage. 

The Tigers responded quickly however, as catcher Nate LaRue hit a two-run homer to open the scoreboard in the second. After Blake Rambusch singled home and Cole Foster later in the inning, the game was tied at three.

Mason Barnett came in for Sheehan after the first, but he didn't fare much better against the Aggie bats. While he did strike out four, he gave three free passes and allowed two earned in four innings of work, finishing his night after 64 pitches.

Again, however, Auburn responded. LaRue, Foster and Mike Bello stole much of the show on offense. 

Those three combined for eight runs and eight RBI in the game. While LaRue hit the homerun to open the scoring, his best at-bat came in the seventh, as he had an 11-pitch battle with A&M's Jacob Palisch, where he hit a ground rule double to score Bello and put Auburn in the lead.

"I was just trying to stay up there and fight pitches off the best I could,” LaRue said. "This is a big one for us. It's going to be a great time on the way back. I know the guys are all excited."

Auburn's bullpen continued their run of success after it took over in the sixth. Chase Allsup, Carson Skipper and Blake Burkhalter went four innings, striking out five and allowing one earned run. Burkhalter, who was on his third appearance of the week, filled his usual role and closed the game out for Auburn, who is now 17-7 on the season.

Auburn faces a mid-week matchup against Jacksonville State on Tuesday, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. CT. They will travel to LSU for their next series, starting Friday, also at 6 p.m..

 “This is something to build off because we'll have to do this again next weekend,” said head coach Butch Thompson.  “We need to reset, recover, and get right back to playing more baseball." 


Dylan Fox | Sports Writer

Dylan Fox, Junior in Civil Site Design Engineering, joined The Plainsman as a sports writer in Spring 2020. From Geneva, IL.

@DylanBFox

dbf0012@auburn.edu


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