No. 11 Auburn won its fourth conference series of the year as it swept No. 3 LSU at Plainsman Park over the weekend. It was the first series sweep against LSU since 1988.
The Tigers picked up a 8-4 win on Friday, won the series 4-2 on Saturday and capped off the sweep with a 3-2 win on Sunday.
Here’s a recap of the Tigers’ weekend:
Game one
In front of a record breaking crowd at Plainsman Park, Auburn starter Samuel Dutton turned in his second consecutive scoreless outing to vault No. 11 Auburn to an 8-4 win over No. 3 LSU.
“Sam (Dutton) did a nice job. Everybody was flying around, said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “Our freshmen went 7-for-11 in this ballgame. They just continue to play. It’s a great team win. You get a guy that you believe like Dutton getting to his stuff, and you can pull it off.”
Dutton, the former Bayou Bengal, held the LSU offensive — which ranked sixth in the country in batting average entering the weekend — scoreless for six innings, allowing just three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
“It felt awesome. It was a great experience,” Dutton said of his outing. “I tried to keep the main thing the main thing, execute the plan and just really attack the hitters. It was just business as usual.”
Eight hitters in the Auburn lineup recorded a hit, led by a trio of freshmen, Chris Rembert, Bub Terrell and Chase Fralick, who combined for a 7-of-11 mark at the plate with three doubles and three RBIs.
With runners on the corners, the home Tigers got the evening’s scoring efforts started as a two-out double from Fralick scored two in the second inning.
Dutton capped off the top of the fifth with his second clean frame of the night, ending it with a strikeout before the orange and blue Tigers’ offense struck for four runs in the home half. Ike Irish ended LSU starter Kade Anderson’s night with a bases-clearing triple to push Auburn’s lead to five. Cooper McMurray followed with a single through the left side to extend the lead to 6-0.
After Auburn added a run on a single from Rembert in the bottom of the sixth, LSU cut its deficit to four with three runs in the seventh. The first run scored on a groundout to first, and Jared Jones came through with a two-out, two-RBI double to make it 7-3.
Auburn answered on a Terrell double, his second of the game, and Eric Guevara’s RBI single up the middle.
Carson Myers retired the visiting Tigers in order in the eighth, though LSU added a run on a pair of two-out doubles but Myers struck out Jones, the team’s 12 of the game.
Game Two
No. 11 Auburn secured the series with a 4-2 win over No. 3 LSU in front of the second straight record crowd of 7,231 at Plainsman Park Saturday night.
Auburn scored four runs in the fourth and fifth innings combined and held LSU’s offense – top 10 in the nation in every category – to a season-low in runs.
Cade Fisher earned his first winning decision of the season as he turned in a season-high five innings while holding LSU to a run on three hits with one walk and a season-high six strikeouts.
“It was great. It was something I have been working for all year, and I’m glad I got to go and do what I did today,” Fisher said. “It was just something I have been working for, and I’m glad it showed.”
LSU outhit Auburn eight to seven, but the home Tigers scored a pair of runs on three doubles in the fourth inning and a two-out, two-run home run from Eric Snow in the fifth capped off their four-run output.
LSU started the scoring efforts in the second inning with a solo home run from Stevan Milan, but Fisher responded by retiring the six batters he faced, including three strikeouts. The visiting Tigers loaded the bases on two hit batters and a walk in the fourth, but Fisher left them loaded with his fifth strikeout.
“Being able to get out of the bases loaded deal on his own was huge for us,” Thompson added of Fisher. “I just hope he keeps growing. I feel like he is hard to hit if we can get in the strike zone. We’ve let him work through some of this stuff, and we were rewarded for that tonight.”
LSU starter Anthony Eyanson faced the minimum through his first three innings, but Auburn grabbed the lead with two runs on three doubles in the fourth inning. Eric Snow doubled to left center and Ike Irish followed with a game-tying double to left. Cooper McMurray doubled to right center to put the home Tigers in front.
LSU trimmed its deficit to two in the eighth inning with a trio of singles, but Ryan Hetlzer retired the next five batters he faced to close out the game, securing his fourth save in SEC play.
Game Three
No. 11 Auburn struck for three runs in the first two frames and was able to edge No. 3 LSU in a 3-2 ballgame on Sunday at Plainsman Park, securing the season sweep – the first sweep over LSU since 1988.
Freshman starter Andreas Alvarez turned in four scoreless innings for the home Tigers while allowing just two hits against one of the nation’s top offenses. When the book was closed for Alvarez, Griffin Graves entered and went a career-high 3.1 innings to record the win. Dylan Watts turned in a scoreless 1.2 innings to close things out and record his first save of the season. The trio combined to hold LSU to just four hits on the day.
Graves entered in the fifth with no outs as LSU presented him two runners in scoring position, but Graves was able to get out of the inning unscathed as he recorded a flyout and a pair of strikeouts to hold LSU at bay.
“LSU came in with about every statistical category – they’re top 10 in the nation and one of the best offenses and pitching staff showed up,” Thompson said.
Auburn struck for two runs in the home half of the first with a pair of doubles. With Rembert on first after a walk, Irish zipped a backside double to give Auburn two runners in scoring position. McMurray took full advantage with another opposite field double to score both Rembert and Irish.
Derric Fabian grounded into a double play in the second, but Bristol Carter scored from third after previously advancing on a Fralick single up the middle.
LSU had mustered just two hits through the first seven frames, but cut into its deficit, making it a one-run ballgame in the eighth. A double, RBI-groundout and a single through the left side gave the visiting Tigers their first runs, and only, runs of the contest.
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