In a venue they will see more of next week in the SEC Tournament, Auburn took down Samford 8-4 in the Hoover Met to remain perfect in midweek non-conference games.
The entire batting order recorded a hit, totaling 11 on the night but with 10 runners stranded. The Auburn pitching staff struck out twelve and gave up the four runs across 11 hits.
“There’s been enough maturity with this ball club to just take every day,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “I absolutely appreciate it. I call it out when I talk about the things they’ve done well. That’s the mark of a good ball club: they can be in the moment.”
Senior Jordan Armstrong got the start on the bump but did not last the inning. He gave up two hits, hit two batters and walked one to allow Samford its first two runs of the game.
Armstrong’s replacement was lefty Carson Skipper in his 20th appearance of the season, who struck out his first batter to strand three and get Auburn out of the inning. Of the seven pitchers Auburn used, Skipper took the win for his fifth of the season.
“Really good for him. Still didn’t throw a ton of pitches but man, that was huge for us,” Thompson said. “This could have been a completely different ballgame.”
In the top of the second, Nate LaRue got a hit with the bases loaded, his first of the season in that situation. He scored Auburn its first run of the day and brought up the top of the order to score a few more.
“With two strikes, you’re just trying to foul something off, put something in play, do what you can,” LaRue said. “Certainly not trying to strike out.”
A soaring hit from Garrett Farquhar just missed the left fielder’s glove, scoring two runs and giving Auburn the lead. A pair of singles from Brody Moore and Sonny DiChiara scored runs four and five. Auburn finished the second inning having gone through the entire batting order and scoring five runs on five hits.
Skipper came in clutch defensively in the third, locating a ball LaRue struggled to find and tagging home to record the out. LaRue tracked down the ball and made an underhanded toss across the runner, just in time to his pitcher.
“I couldn’t find it. I heard [Skipper] yelling ‘Three,’” LaRue said. “That told me where it was and it was just reaction at that point, from all the drills we do at practice.”
Carson Swilling entered in the fourth to relieve Skipper, pitching a scoreless inning before his replacement took the mound. Samford transfer Chase Isbell entered the game in the fifth but loaded the bases and was quickly replaced.
Freshman John Armstrong, coming off a strong return against Alabama, struck out his first batter to strand three and get out of the fifth unscathed. In the next two innings, he faced six batters, allowing one hit and striking out an additional pair.
“I thought Swilling and Isbell were a little bit underwater,” Thompson said. “Not as sharp, and that’s what teammates are supposed to do: pick you up. Skipper did that. Armstrong did that.”
In the seventh, with a pair of runners on the corners, Kason Howell singled to score one run and LaRue, one away in the order, doubled to score Howell and Brooks Carlson.
“He didn’t throw all that hard, so I was really just trying not to get out in front of myself,” LaRue said. “One showed up kind of low and middle and I just got my hands on it.”
Carlson logged just one hit on the day, but it was enough to extend his 11-game hitting streak that has lasted through the end stretch of SEC play.
Chase Allsup came in and worked a scoreless eighth before closer Blake Burkhalter took up his usual ninth-inning role. The bullpen’s long streak of over 22 shutout innings was lost on a pinch hitter.
Kaden Dreier homered with two strikes and two outs, bookending the Bulldogs’ pair of runs in the first with another two in the ninth. Burkhalter struck out his last batter of the day to close the game.
Up next, the Tigers travel to Lexington to take on Kentucky in their final SEC series of the season. Their performance through three games will determine if they receive a bye on day one of next week’s SEC Tournament.
The first game of the three will be Thursday night at 5:30 p.m., airing on the SEC Network. Game two will be the same on Friday night, and then the third will be Saturday at 1 p.m. on the same channel.
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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
