The Tigers clinched their series against South Carolina on Saturday, riding a four-run seventh inning to an 8-6 victory. Auburn is now 28-12 on the season.
Trace Bright got the start on the bump for Auburn. He held the South Carolina hitters without a run for five innings. He struck out four and walked just two in that time.
Meanwhile, the Auburn offense was able to scrape a few runs together, one each in the second, third and fourth innings.
Nate LaRue got the scoring started, hitting a sac fly to center and scoring Brody Moore. The Tigers' defense also performed well, nailing three double plays to get Bright out of jams.
Cole Foster also had a web gem in the first, flipping the ball to first with his glove to get the assist.
“He turns the ball so well at second base.” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “Hopefully, it’s a good reset for Cole today.”
Bright’s luck ended in the sixth. After a walk and an error put two runners on, he threw a mistake pitch to the Gamecocks’ second baseman Braylen Wimmer, who blasted a three run homer to tie the game.
South Carolina used their newly-awakened offense to grab three more runs in the seventh off of three hits. Tommy Sheehan and Jordan Armstrong both failed to end the inning, until Carson Swilling came in and struck out the last hitter.
The Tigers, now facing a three-run deficit, responded immediately.
Cole Foster and Blake Rambusch both singled to right, and ended up at second and third after a wild pitch. Sonny DiChiara was given the intentional free pass, much to the dismay of the Auburn fans in attendance.
Brooks Carlson drew a run to get the first run in, Bobby Pierce and Brody Moore knocked in two more, and a Nate LaRue single capped off a four-run inning to take the lead right back. This also knocked South Carolina’s starter past 100 pitches and out of the game.
After grabbing the lead in the seventh, and another insurance run from a Cole Foster home run in the eighth, Thompson went to his usual bullpen rotation to close out the game.
Carson Swilling, Carson Skipper, and Blake Burkhalter combined for 2.1 IP, allowing no hits, no walks and striking out three.
LaRue, who caught today’s game, was impressed at how easily the relievers could pitch several times in the week.
“They knew coming into this morning that they were gonna come out today.” LaRue said. “That’s just a testament to our bullpen and our teamwork.”
The next game will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday, to wrap up the series.
Joseph Gonzalez will be on the mound for Auburn, and the Gamecocks will send their ace, Will Sanders, to the bump to start.
“The last four weekends we’ve had to come down the wire to win the series.” Thompson said. “Game three, it will be nice not to have our back against the wall.”
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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.
