AUBURN – The No. 13 Auburn Tigers won two out of three games against the Austin Peay Governors at Plainsman Park this weekend to earn a victory in their final non-conference series of the weekend.
Auburn picked up a 7-6 win on Friday, lost 15-6 on Saturday and earned a 24-5 run-rule victory to close out the series this afternoon.
“Just up and down the lineup, we kept churning it out,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “This is all about around home plate and inside those lines and your ability to win some of those wars. There’s a game within a game, that’s what’s so amazing about baseball.”
A four-run rally in the bottom of the second inning allowed Auburn to take control on Friday. Tanner Bauman held off a late comeback by the Governors with a 1.1-inning appearance in which he earned his second win of the season.
Christian Hall and Mason Maners each hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings; Maners' walked off the game.
"Every bit of this game looked like what we're going to see for the next 10 weekends," Thompson said. "That's what we advertised and that's absolutely what we saw. These are the kinds of games, that good, tight game, that you learn more and grow more by being a part of. Any time you find a way to get that last big swing and win one like this, hopefully that's great for development."
Saturday was a different story for the Tigers. The 15-6 loss was one of Auburn's worst of the season.
"It's a quick flush and you have to get right back out here and try to win a series tomorrow," Thompson said. "We need to be interested in getting back out here and competing tomorrow."
The Tigers had a six-inning scoring drought, and things did not go much better on the mound. Carson Myers got the start but ended up with the loss after allowing four runs off of seven hits in three innings of work.
Auburn bounced back with a dominant 24-5 run-rule win to close out the series on Sunday.
“There wasn’t much to be said with this group, but I was really interested in today,” Thompson added. “I wanted today to get here and just see how this team would respond with so many new pieces. At least for a day, that was a good bounce back.”
Christian Herberholz got the start, but Cam Tilly earned the win after limiting the Governors to one run in 2.1 innings which gave Auburn's bats a chance to come to life.
The Tigers had 15 hits. Cooper McMurray led the way at the plate, he went 4-4 with three runs, four RBI and one home run.
“I think everyone knows that yesterday didn’t go as planned at all for us, but we were able to flush it and come back today with a fresh, new mindset,” McMurray said. “We were seeing the ball well and our pitching staff put the ball in the zone and got out. It was a good win for our team.”
Auburn is now 12-3 on the season.
The Tigers return to action on Tuesday when they take on the Troy Trojans in Huntsville at 6 p.m. CT. The livestream of the game can be found on YouTube, and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be streamed anywhere on the Auburn Athletics app.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.locke@1819news.com.
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