Trailing 7-6 in at the start of the eighth inning after the Yellow Jackets put up a five-spot in the sixth inning to take control, No. 11 Auburn struck for three runs to regain its early lead and take down No. 18 Georgia Tech 9-8 on Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.
“We just didn't blink and we were able to hang in there and get some big swings off. But I think we were able to get guys on base, which helped the big swings,” said Auburn right fielder Ike Irish.
Georgia Tech got a run back in the bottom half of the inning on a double from Drew Burress, who was 2-for-4 with three RBIs on the night, but Auburn reliever Dylan Watts worked out of further trouble, holding the Yellow Jackets scoreless for the rest of his outing and recording a game-ending double play.
“Meant a lot to me,” Watts said of finishing it off. “Feel like I've been throwing it a lot better, helping the team win lately. I thought the guys were resilient and there was no doubt in my mind they were going to come back and put up some runs there at the end.”
The Tigers got out to the start they wanted with a first-inning grand slam from Cooper McMurray that flew off the bat at 103 MPH.
“We came out sharp,” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “Three of the last four games we have come out and played offense, and we needed those late. Even if we didn’t get a lot done in the middle innings, when they got the lead we were still close enough to strike back, and we did,”
Auburn continued to work runners on base – four out of the first five innings, the Tigers saw their leadoff man reach base – but only plated one run during the stretch on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Georgia Tech scored one in the second on an RBI-single, giving the Tigers a 5-1 cushion through five.
The Tigers saw their early lead fade as the Yellow Jackets rallied for a five-spot in the sixth inning. It was Georgia Tech’s 16th five-plus run inning of the year and their fourth in the last week.
To go along with the Tigers’ three-run eighth inning, they scratched one in the seventh on an RBI single to make it a one-run ballgame.
Auburn’s pitching staff, which went six deep and entered the night coming off a weekend in which it recorded a 3.96 ERA vs. Alabama – the best in a SEC series in the last 12 series – gave up 13 hits and walked four. However, it came against a Georgia Tech squad that is nearly in the top five in every offensive category.
Watts recorded the win, closing it out over the last 3.1 innings while giving up four hits and a run.
“We’re going to play the best of the best,” Thompson said. “This is an every-night deal, and I feel like our guys are just settling in and trying to play good baseball against the best competition in the country.”
Auburn will return to action as it hosts a weekend series against No. 3 LSU beginning on Friday with first pitch set for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on SECN+.
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