The Auburn baseball team picked up three straight wins in the Amegy Bank College Baseball series at Globe Life Field to improve to 11-1 overall.
The Tigers picked up a 13-0 run-rule victory over Ohio State on Friday, won an 8-7 showdown against No. 9 Oregon State on Saturday and capped the weekend off with a 7-4 win over Baylor on Sunday
Here is a recap of the Tigers’ weekend:
Game one
Propelled by a big second inning and a career-high nine strikeouts from starting pitcher Samuel Dutton, Auburn secured a 13-0 run-rule victory over Ohio State on Friday at Globe Life Field.
It was the Tigers’ third run-rule victory in the last five contests, outscoring opponents 59-13 during the span.
“It was just a clean game,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “I’m not going to stop, and I don’t think the players are going to stop. Can we shove (the ball) in the zone, take the sting out of the swing and try to figure out different things? Samuel Dutton executed a masterful plan today. The offense, it just feels like they’re almost competing amongst themselves for who can have the most competitive at-bats.”
In his third start in orange and blue, Dutton struck out multiple batters in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings and retired the last 10 batters he faced. He went for six innings only giving up two hits along the way.
Auburn took command of the game in the second inning as the Tigers struck for eight runs on four hits and five walks – six of the eight runs came with two outs.
The Tigers continued their scoring efforts in the fourth inning with two more runs, added one in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Cooper McMurray collected multiple hits for the fifth straight game and drove in three or more runs for the third time this season. He was one of four players with multiple hits in the game.
Ryan Hetzler entered in relief of Dutton in the seventh and retired all three batters he faced, ending the game with a strikeout.
Game two
Auburn built a five-run lead in the middle innings and held on to upset No. 9 Oregon State 8-7 on Saturday at Globe Life Field.
“This was a grind, but that’s what you’re going to get when you play an amazing, storied program like Oregon State,” Thompson said. “The ball didn’t always go our way tonight, but we found a way to get out of here with a win. You’re playing a top-10 college baseball team. It’s nice to play this game tonight. As long as we ended up winning, we can learn from it. To come out and still find a way to win, that’s positive for us.”
Auburn scored in five consecutive innings from the second through the sixth to build an 8-3 lead, but Oregon State responded with two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to make it a one-run game. The Beavers put the tying run on with one out in the ninth, but Jett Johnston retired two-straight – a strikeout and a flyout – to earn his first career save.
Freshman Chris Rembert led the way at the plate for the Tigers, recording his second multi-hit game and four-RBI game in the last three games. His two-run blast in the fifth extended the Tigers’ lead to three.
Oregon State got on the scoreboard with a solo homer to left field in the second inning. The Beavers loaded the bases with two outs, forcing Auburn starting pitcher Cade Fisher from the game. Cam Tilly entered in relief and allowed a run on a wild pitch but got out of the inning with a strikeout.
Auburn’s first lead of the game came in the fourth with two outs when Chase Fralick scored on a HBP. It later extended its lead to 8-3 in the fifth and sixth innings after Remberts’ home run, an Ike Irish RBI single and executed a double steal with Irish at first and Cade Bleyeu at third to make it a five-run game.
In relief of Carson Myers, who recorded two strikeouts in two innings of work, Parker Carlson retired the Oregon State lineup in order in the seventh, but the Beavers recorded just their second hit since the third inning to start the eighth and cut Auburn’s lead to three with a two-run homer two pitches later.
The Beavers scored a pair of runs on a passed ball and an RBI single to make it a one-run game with one out in the ninth, but that’s when Johnston entered in relief and closed it out.
Game three
Two runs in the second and third innings and another strong outing from freshman pitcher Christian Chatterton powered Auburn to a 7-4 win on the final day of the Amegy College Baseball series at Globe Life Field.
Chatterton picked up his first win of the season with nine strikeouts in five innings of work. He gave up one run on two hits.
Baylor struck first in the bottom of the first with a leadoff home run to left field off the bat of Jack Little, and Chatterton responded with three strikeouts to end the inning.
Auburn got on the board in the second with a Chase Fralick RBI-single to score Cooper McMurray and Bristol Carter followed with another RBI-single, scoring Bub Terell. Derric Fabian singled through the left side an inning later to score Cade Belyeu in a bases-loaded situation, and McMurray touched the plate as Chris Rembert was hit by a pitch.
The Tigers added one more run in the fifth on a Fralick RBI-single and two more in the eighth on a Belyeu longball to extend their lead to five. However, Baylor answered with two runs of its own in the home half of the inning, but was unable to complete the comeback in the ninth as it only scratched off one run.
Auburn tallied 11 hits on the day, led by Fralick with three hits in four plate appearances. Carter and Terrell each recorded two apiece.
In relief of Chatterton, Jackson Sanders threw three innings without giving up a run. Dylan Watts entered on his heels and gave up two runs on three hits while Ryan Hetzler finished it out with a run given up on one hit.
Auburn is back in action on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. against UAB at Regions Field.
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