Tied at three apiece in the top of the ninth inning, pinch hitter Lucas Steele blasted a solo-home run over the wall in right field, giving No. 8 Auburn a 4-3 edge over Jacksonville State heading into the home half of the inning that it held on to to secure its sixth-consecutive win on Tuesday night at Jim Case Stadium.
“I went up there trying to hit the fastball down the left field line. Hit the off-speed down where he gave it to me and he threw me a changeup. So I guess my plan worked out,” Steele said of his solo-home run.
Steele’s late-inning blast couldn’t have come at a better time as the Tigers struggled following the exit of Christian Chatterton, who highlighted Auburn’s performance in the early goings. Chatterton, who got the nod for the Tigers in his second midweek start of the season, faced the minimum through six innings, recording eight strikeouts along the way. The freshman right-hander threw a total of 73 pitches and ended his night with a 68% strike rate after giving up his first hit on an infield single in the seventh.
“He's back to having his stuff set and really mixing some pitches very well,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said of Chatterton.
After a pitcher's duel throughout the first three innings, the Tigers entered the fourth with their two, three, and four hitters due up. They went on to record six of their nine total hits — all singles — in the inning, putting up three runs.
Despite a sloppy seventh inning from the Tigers in the field that saw the Gamecocks score two of their three runs, Auburn’s pitching staff gave up just two hits on the night. Jacksonville State plated two in the inning by way of an error, two walks and a wild pitch.
The Gamecocks tied things up at three in the eighth inning on a solo-shot from Drew Collins — their second and final hit of the night. Ben Schorr entered on the heels of Abe Chancellor following the home run and closed things out with four strikeouts while giving up no hits in 1.2 innings of work.
“I thought his fastball played up,” Thompson said of Schorr. “If you're watching the game, the fastball had some life to it tonight. It was in that low-to-mid 90’s and I thought that was the pitch that helped him get to the finish line.”
Auburn will hit the road for a three-game series beginning on Thursday against No. 1 Texas. First pitch for Thursday is set for 7 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SECN+.
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