Gonzalez pitches complete game in series-clinching win

For the first time since 2017, Auburn has won three consecutive SEC series. 

Behind a masterpiece pitched by Joseph Gonzalez, the No. 25 Tigers (22-10, 7-5 SEC) earned an 8-2 victory to clinch their series against No. 12 Vanderbilt (22-9, 5-7 SEC) on Sunday.

"Every series is important, but to grab one like this is meaningful," said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson.

Gonzalez, who missed two weeks in March due to injury, threw a 104-pitch complete game. It was Auburn’s first complete game in SEC play since 2018, when Casey Mize went the distance. 

"I knew this game was mine around the sixth inning,” Gonzalez said. “My arm felt good. I think Sunday starts are exciting especially when the series is 1-1. I like the pressure."

Mize, who later became the first overall pick in the MLB Draft, also had his last complete game against the Commodores.

Of the 104 pitches Gonzalez threw, 81 were strikes. Gonzalez had eight strikeouts and did not issue a walk over his nine-inning outing. The Commodores scored two runs, but only one was earned.

"We needed somebody to step up, and it was done by one guy who only got stronger at the end,” Thompson said.

The Commodores were only able to get eight hits, and only two for extra bases, off of Gonzalez. In the previous game, Auburn had given up 23 hits to the exact same Vanderbilt lineup.

Through 26 outs, the most runners Vanderbilt had on-base simultaneously was one. Gonzalez had to finally pitch with multiple runners on base while facing his final batter.

Offensively, the Tigers were once again led by Sonny DiChiara. 

Had it not been for Gonzalez’s gem, DiChiara’s day at the plate would have been the game’s main storyline. After hitting his 50th career home run on Saturday, DiChiara added two more on Sunday. 

​DiChiara, whose batting average is currently an astounding .452, now h hit a team-best 11 homers this season. Additionally, DiChiara added 5 RBIs to his team-leading total, which currently stands at 32.

Just as it did in the first two games of the series, Auburn struck first. 

In the first inning, DiChiara earned his first RBI of the day by doubling home Kason Howell. Soon after, Brody Moore singled home DiChiara. Auburn was up 2-0 after one inning of play.

In the second inning, Vanderbilt got on the board after a three-base error with a sacrifice fly, but Auburn responded.

DiChiara hit a three-run home run to center field, his first homer of the game and brought his total to four RBIs. Auburn was up 5-1.

​​"The first homer I hit, he just left a fastball over the middle, and I was able to hit it out to center," DiChiara said.

Again, Vanderbilt answered in the third, when Gonzalez allowed a single followed by an RBI double, the only earned run he gave up.

Each time Vanderbilt tried to claw its way back into the game, Auburn had an answer.

The Tigers got a run back on an error, and then Blake Rambusch doubled home Nate LaRue. It was a 7-2 Auburn lead after three.

"[Gonzalez] showed us he was going to be dominant, and we were going to have to be there for him," DiChiara said. 

Some may have feared a big inning was coming, much like the nine-run inning Vanderbilt had in Saturday’s game. 

The big inning, however, never came for the Commodores, who were held scoreless in the game’s final six innings by Gonzalez, who allowed just four singles after the third inning.

"We showed up for [Gonzalez] and he showed up for us, throwing a complete game. It was awesome," DiChiara said.

For good measure, DiChiara hit his second homer of the day in the sixth, a solo shot over the green monster in left field that extended Auburn’s lead to 8-2, a score that held up for the Tigers.

“I got a cutter and was able to get it over the green monster," DiChiara said.

In the days ahead, Auburn will attempt to build off its momentum as it challenges for the top spot in the SEC West.

The Tigers have proven they can compete with the nation’s best, going 6-4 in games against ranked teams, and winning back-to-back series against top-15 teams in LSU and Vanderbilt.

Next, as the Tigers continue to build momentum, they will get a chance to battle the defending national champions, the Mississippi State Bulldogs. After a midweek contest against Samford, Auburn will travel to Starkville for a three-game series that will begin on Thursday and go through Saturday.