Auburn baseball earned its second win of the week on Tuesday night, defeating Kennesaw State 14-1 before they return to SEC play this weekend. This comes after a tight, walk-off victory Monday night.
“Things didn’t really go our way last night until the very end. I think we did a good job keeping some momentum coming in today,” said Samford transfer Brooks Carlson. “We did a good job, overall. It felt good.”
Konner Copeland started on the mound for the Tigers and added his first tally in the win column, throwing four innings and striking out eight. He allowed no Kennesaw State runs on just two hits before Tommy Sheehan came in as relief.
“We had a heck of an outing, from pitched to hitting. It all worked around, so it was a great night,” Copeland said. “I’m going to keep getting better every day and next time I get another opportunity, I’m going to get out there and do the same thing.”
Auburn left two on base in the second and the bats finally got hot in the third, giving the Tigers a lead of six by the time it was over. A walk from Ryan Dyal started things off, followed by a single from Blake Rambusch as the Tigers got back to the top of their batting order.
Kason Howell singled as well, bringing up hard-hitter Sonny DiChiara, who singled to score Dyal and Rambusch. Following an out for Carlson, Cam Hill doubled, scoring Howell and getting Dichiara to third.
“Last year, me and Sonny played at Samford together, obviously, and I hit before him. It’s a little different,” Carlson said. “I know that they’re not really going to throw to him right now because he’s doing such a good job so I know I’m going to get some pitches to hit.”
Bobby Pierce sacrificed a ball to right field, allowing Dichiara to beat the throw home and earn Auburn’s fifth run of the day. Brody Moore sent a solo home run over the monster in left field, ending the scoring run on a high note.
“The last two games, even though we won them, we left thirty guys on base. That third inning settled us pretty good,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “I though Howell and Moore and DiChiara and everybody just went on the field and got back to a really good approach.”
Auburn took that momentum to the fourth. Copeland ended a Kennesaw State offensive effort with his eighth strikeout of the day, leaving two stranded to bring the Tiger offense back.
“I thought the biggest was when they got the two hits there in the fourth and it’s first and third. You want to put up a goose egg after you score six,” Thompson said. “To not let a run score, I thought that was huge.”
Carlson got a two-run home run twin to Moore’s, scoring Howell and giving the good guys an eight-run lead at the halfway point.
Sheehan came in to relieve Copeland at the top of the fifth, keeping the shutout alive in his two innings pitched. He struck out three, allowing no hits before Ben Bosse took over in the sixth.
“I also thought Tommy Sheehan may have been the best he’s been,” Thompson said. “You get into the sixth inning of a ballgame there and you’ve got two guys who have been working behind the scenes. I give the coaches credit. I give those individual players credit because they haven’t been able to go out there and just pitch and pitch and pitch. They’ve been working on their own”
The scoring dried up again in fifth, but Auburn woke up again in the sixth. Howell walked, advancing to third on a Dichiara single. Carlson singled, scoring Howell and moving up to second, with DiChiara to third on a wild pitch.
A single from Pierce would get both runners across home, bumping up the Auburn lead to double digits.
The Tigers finally gave up a bit in the top of the seventh, when freshman Bosse allowed a Kennesaw State single. The runner advanced to second on a passed ball, then to third on a balk. A single from their next in line would score the first Owl run of the day.
Bosse left the game having pitched 0.2 innings, facing just four batters and allowing the run that ended the shutout. He was replaced by sophomore Cam Hill for 0.1 inning. Hill’s night opened with leaving a Kennesaw runner stranded.
In the seventh, Auburn had three more cross home plate. Foster and Rambusch scored off singles from Bryson Ware and DiChiara, respectively. Ware went on to score off a Carlson ground hit to the shortstop.
All three runs were unearned with Auburn taking full advantage of the Kennesaw missteps and leaving just one on base.
Brooks Fuller pitched the eighth, taking the entire inning and striking out one of the three he faced. The Auburn offense did nothing in the bottom of the inning but did not need to, with Fuller maintaining a double-digit lead.
To close, Chase Isbell pitched the ninth, striking out one of the four batters he faced. He walked one but a final ground ball by the Owls allowed Isbell to finish the game with no hits.
“It’s kind of hard to get over your skis with an SEC weekend looming in 48 hours,” Thompson said. “The second half will have three of our five series here at Plainsman Park, so I’m excited. This weekend against South Carolina, it’ll be great.”
Auburn remains at home for the rest of their week, beginning their series with the Gamecocks on Friday at 6 p.m. CST.
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Callie Stanford, junior in communications, is the sports editor at the Auburn Plainsman. Currently a junior, she has been with The Plainsman since January 2021.
Twitter: @Stanford1Callie
