With the opportunity to sweep the Jax College Baseball Classic, the No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers (7-0) shut down No. 14 Auburn’s hopes, defeating the Tigers 6-4 and ending their six-game win streak on Sunday, Feb. 25.
“I thought the difference was their two-strike, two-out hitting,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “They were a little more timely, and that was the huge difference in the game. Good effort by our guys. I thought we locked in and stayed in there, but we were not given as much, and our at-bats were just not quite as good and as timely as Virginia tonight.”
After defeating No. 18 Iowa 7-5 on Friday and Wichita State 19-8 on Saturday, Auburn (6-1) was confident headed into Sunday’s matchup against Virginia’s dynamic lineup. The Tigers maintained a 2-1 lead over the Cavaliers through the fourth, until Virginia found its momentum, scoring five runs in four innings.
The Tigers kept up with the Cavaliers’ electric offense, keeping them to three scoreless frames, and had the game tied until the sixth inning. Virginia’s endurance kept it in the game until its offense was strong enough to steal the lead.
Facing 40 total batters, Virginia’s pitching staff recorded six strikeouts and five walks and allowed only four runs and seven hits, compared to Auburn’s eight strikeouts, three walks, 11 hits and six runs – facing 43 batters.
Carson Myers started on the mound for the Tigers, keeping Virginia scoreless for the first two innings. Facing 21 total batters, Myers recorded two strikeouts, two walks and two hit-by-pitches and allowed three hits and two runs in 4.1 innings pitched.
Relieving Myers in the fifth, John Armstrong pitched 0.2 innings, collecting one strikeout and a groundout with runners on first and second.
Christian Herberholz took over in the seventh and pitched two innings, adding four strikeouts on the board. The veteran earned his first loss of the season with his allowance of two runs and four hits.
Jacksonville native Tanner Bauman took on the closer role tonight, pitching two innings. Bauman collected one strikeout alongside four hits and two runs.
On the offensive end, the Tigers put four runs, seven hits – one home run – and four RBIs on the board alongside the Cavaliers’ six runs, 11 hits – three doubles – and six RBIs.
Florida transfer Deric Fabian led Auburn’s offense with one run, three hits, one home run and one RBI. Ike Irish and Mason Maners followed Fabian’s lead with one RBI each. Three other Tigers also got on the board with one run each: Caden Green, Cooper Weiss and Cooper McMurray.
Bobby Peirce, Fabian, McMurray and Irish were all named to the Jax College Baseball Classic team, with veteran Peirce securing MVP honors.
Auburn returns to Plainsman Park for a midweek matchup against the Samford Bulldogs (4-3) on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
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Caitlyn Griffin is a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @caitlyngrif99
