AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 25 Auburn Tigers defeated the No. 24 Troy Trojans 7-6 on a walk-off single by star junior Ike Irish, giving the Tigers their first ranked win of the season.
Irish drove a 90-mph fastball into the left-center field gap to bring home freshman Bub Terrell, who recorded a big-time hit of his own, for the winning run. Terrell led off the inning with a single to center field, with the ball going through the center fielder Steven Meier’s legs and all the way to the wall, allowing Terrell to advance to third base. The Trojans then decided to intentionally load the bases and pitch to Irish, a decision he did not take too kindly to.
“We’re supposed to make the game personal,” Irish said. “There was no extra needed motivation tonight, you know, for making it personal with who we were playing.”
The game got off to a blazing start, with the Tigers scoring four runs in the bottom of the first, including a three-run home run by senior shortstop Deric Fabian. However, the Trojans answered right back with a punch of their own, scoring five runs in the top of the second. After giving up another run in the third inning, the Tigers’ bullpen went unconscious, throwing six no-hit innings and recording 13 strikeouts.
“Yeah, it was a good moment,” Auburn pitcher Jett Johnston said. “Credit to all of my teammates. I got the ball in the last two innings, but we wouldn’t have been in that situation – I wouldn’t have gotten the ball if all the guys before me hadn’t done their job and set me up right.”
The Tigers will have a quick turnaround from this one, as they take on the North Alabama Lions tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park. The game will be broadcast on SECN+ and the Auburn Sports Network.
