The Auburn Tigers traveled up to Birmingham, AL yesterday to take on the UAB Blazers at Regions Field for a one-game contest. Mason Barnett was the starting pitcher for Auburn and Thomas Ballard was the starting pitcher for UAB.
Auburn got things going in the bottom of the first inning as Blake Rambusch scored off a sac-fly from Brodie Moore. UAB answered right back as Josh Sears scored off a single from Caleb Floyd. Auburn tacked on two more in the top of the fourth inning as Brooks Carlson scored off Bobby Pierce reaching base on a fielder’s choice. Bobby Pierce also scored off a single by Nathan LaRue. To give Auburn a 3-1 lead. UAB made things closer in the bottom of the fifth inning when Christian Hall hit a home run. Auburn extended their lead in the top of the seventh inning when Sonny DiChiara hit a double that scored Blake Rambusch and Bryson Ware to take a 5-2 lead. That was about it for game-changing scoring as Auburn tacked on one more run in the top of the eighth inning, and UAB scored one in the bottom of the seventh and one in the bottom of the ninth. Auburn won the game 6-4.
When asked about his thoughts on the game, head coach Butch Thompson said, “We played hard. We did enough,”. He added, “It's good to learn some stuff as we go into another weekend.” When asked his thoughts, Nathan LaRue said, “It comes down to knowing your pitchers, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they have in any given day.”
Auburn will be back in action this weekend as they host the No. 12 Vanderbilt Commodores at Plainsman Park. The games will be on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
