The Auburn Tigers headed over to Montgomery tonight to take on the South Alabama Jaguars at Riverwalk Stadium. Mason Barnett was the starter for Auburn, and Tyler Lehrman took the mound for South Alabama.
South Alabama got off to a hot start, holding a 5-0 lead going into the fourth inning. The Jaguars tacked another run on in the top of the fourth, but Auburn finally got the bats going in the bottom of that inning scoring seven runs. The fifth inning had a lot of offense as well. South Alabama scored four in the top of the inning to temporarily reclaim the lead. It did not last however, as Auburn poured on five in the bottom of the inning. The bats would cool down after that as the sixth inning was scoreless. South Alabama scored one in the top of the seventh and one in the top of the eighth. Auburn scored one in the bottom of the eighth. That was all the scoring as Auburn was able to pick up the 13-12 win.
Five different pitchers took the mound for South Alabama tonight, but only two lasted a full inning or more. Tyler Lehrman got the start and pitched three and one-third innings, giving up four runs, six hits, and three walks. He also had four strikeouts. Eric Lin pitched the remaining three and two-thirds innings, allowing one run, one hit, and one walk.
Nine different Tigers toed the rubber tonight, Mason Barnett got things started for Auburn on the mound tonight, pitching one inning, giving up three runs, four hits, and a walk. Blake Burkhalter pitched the last two and two-thirds innings and picked up the win. He gave up no earned runs, one hit, one walk, and had three strikeouts.
The top three Jaguars at the plate tonight were Miles Simington, Hunter Donaldson, and Erick Orbeta. Simington went three for five, scoring twice, and driving in two. Donaldson went two for three with two doubles, drove in one run, and was walked once. Orbeta went three for four, driving in a run and being walked twice.
Auburn’s best performers at the plate were Brooks Carlson, Brody Moore, and Garett Farquhar. Carlson went three for five with two runs batted in. Moore went two for four and drove in three runs. Farquhar went two for four with two runs batted in and hit the games only homerun.
Blake Burkhalter was asked about his performance tonight on the mound. He said, "We started out kind of sluggish, and I was just looking for my time to come in,". He added, "I really wanted to go out there and compete with my team.”
Auburn will be back in action this weekend as they head up to College Station, Texas to play a three-game set with the Texas A&M Aggies. The games will be at 6:30 on Friday, 2:00 on Saturday, and 1:00 on Sunday.
