AUBURN – Three hits from Bobby Peirce and a dominant performance on the mound by Conner McBride led Auburn to victory in its second midweek game of the season Tuesday night at Plainsman Park.
The No. 14 Auburn Tigers beat the Samford Bulldogs 12-3.
"We just have to continue to grow and learn, but it was good," said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. "We got a couple of guys in the ballgame. It was good to see Parker Carlson and Cameron Keshock get into the baseball game for us tonight. Also, Cole Edwards getting a hit in his first at-bat for us and the first of many to come I hope."
Auburn scored early and often. Peirce hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the first inning, and Auburn went on to score in all but two innings.
Peirce went 3-4 with two runs and one RBI. Cooper McMurray went 2-2 with a home run and three RBI.
Cooper Weiss continued his dominance on the base paths, adding four more stolen bases in this game.
"You have to have that confidence in yourself," Weiss said. "I was kind of nicked up last year, I think this year I made sure to put that (stealing bases) in my game. Using a stolen base to my advantage and creating chaos for the defense."
The plate is not the only place where the Tigers dominated, but on the mound as well. McBride made his second start of the season and earned the win in an outing that saw one run off of two hits and five strikeouts in five innings of work.
"I just felt like I got the rust off and was able to get the first one out of the way and be able to lock in and be on a weekly routine," McBride said on how pitching against UAB last week helped him settle in for this game. "Just to be able to feel like myself and attack the strike zone after not being able to compete for so long."
Griffin Graves gave up the other run, but Dylan Watts, Carlson and Keshock held the Bulldogs off the board for the rest of the way.
Auburn is now 7-1 on the season.
The Tigers will be back in action this weekend for a three-game series against the UConn Huskies at Plainsman Park. First pitch time for Friday is to be announced, but on Saturday and Sunday, it is at 1 p.m. CT. Friday and Sunday's games will be live-streamed on SEC Network+, and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be heard 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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