In back-to-back weekends, Auburn baseball pulled off a significant upset in SEC play.
After taking down No. 2 South Carolina in Columbia, the Tigers returned to the Plains and took down No. 1 LSU. The Bayou Bengals scored the first win in the series opener on Friday with a 3-0 shutout before Auburn rallied back to take game two 8-6. With the series tied and Christian Herberholz on the mound, Auburn run-ruled the No. 1 team in the nation 12-2 on Sunday and took the series.
Game one was defensive domination for the Tigers of LSU, led by pitcher Paul Skenes (9-1). Auburn outhit the Bayou Bengals 7-5, but Skenes racked up a career-high 15 strikeouts in 7.1 innings and earned the win. Auburn's four pitchers from the contest combined for seven strikeouts.
“All the way through, just a nice job all around,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “They just shoved it on us on the mound. That was the difference in the ballgame.”
All of LSU's game-one offense came from Tre' Morgan, who kicked the game off with a two-run homer in the first inning before rounding out the game with an RBI single in the seventh to give LSU its 3-0 victory.
Game two was a different story, but it did not look like that in the early going as LSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth. Then, the Bayou Bengals' pitching staff fell apart and allowed three runs on one hit and five walks. Tommy Vail got the start for Auburn and limited LSU to just one earned run and forced eight strikeouts, but he gave up six hits in just four innings.
Following the fourth, both teams turned to their bullpens, and between both squads, 11 pitchers saw the mound in the SEC Saturday night contest. Despite the changes and the teams combining for 12 walks, the pitching staffs kept the plate in check and combined for 27 strikeouts.
After Auburn jumped ahead with four runs in the sixth, led by three RBI singles and a sac fly, head coach Butch Thompson turned to Will Cannon to close the game. Cannon gave up two earned runs, but he provided three solid innings, held LSU to three hits and secured the winning strikeout to even the series with an 8-6 victory.
“The adrenaline was kicking,” Cannon said. “Facing the No. 1 team in the country, I definitely wanted it. Coach Thompson’s belief in me and the entire team is unreal. I thank him every day for that.”
It was Cannon's fifth save of the year.
In the rubber match on Sunday, Auburn put it all together in its most complete game of the weekend and dominated LSU with a 12-2 win in eight innings.
“I thought all three games, even our loss, our processes were good,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We absolutely showed up in a big way today.”
LSU took the lead again with a Gavin Dugas home run in the top of the first, but it was all Auburn from that point as the Tigers of the Plains took complete control in the bottom of the first.
After three straight walks were given up by Christian Little to lead off the inning, Ike Irish kickstarted the scoring with an RBI single and Little was pulled after giving up his fourth walk, which sent Cole Foster to home plate and made it 2-1.
Griffin Herring stepped in and was not much better, giving up three straight runs on three straight at-bats, courtesy of two walks and a single from Caden Green. LSU went with Gavin Guidry to close out the inning, but by that point, the rout was on.
Kason Howell logged a pair of two RBI triples, one in the fourth and the other in the sixth, before Cooper McMurray ended the game with an RBI single.
“This team has always fought,” Howell added. “That’s been a staple of our program ever since Coach Thompson took over. We’re fighters. Now we’re just doing it with a little bit of precision and skill that we’ve acquired. We’re just continuing to fight and give everything we have.”
Herberholz was steady for Auburn, earning the win with five innings of action on the mound and giving up one earned run on five hits. He also landed three strikeouts.
“Just trust your stuff and let your defense work behind you,” Herberholz added. “It was a good feeling, being able to trust every pitch you have and trust your defense behind you. I just try to give it my all and give our team the best chance to win.”
The Tigers go back on the road for the next four games, and they kick off the trip with a midweek matchup against Samford at the Hoover Met. First pitch is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.
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