Irish Walks It Off for Auburn in Seesaw Game Against No. 24 Troy

The Auburn Tigers walked it off to take down No. 24 Troy Trojans Tuesday night, 7-6. Auburn picks up their first win against a ranked opponent this season.

After picking up a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Auburn watched their lead slip. By the end of the third, they trailed 6-4. Auburn slowly clawed their way back.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, catcher Ike Irish crushed a 2-1 pitch into the gap to plate Bub Terrell to win it. The Tigers got their third win of the year, and both teams moved to 3-1 on the year.

“Big credit to Bub. If he doesn’t leg it out, then we’re not in that situation,” Irish said. “We’re supposed to make the game persona, so no needed extra motivation tonight for making it personal with who we were playing. It’s been a long time coming. I was finally able to get a ball elevated and drive it the other way, because that’s where I’m best at.”

.@ikeirish18 called game‼️#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/ZvfpfOfWWR
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) February 19, 2025

“Tonight was one of those where I thought they competed their hearts out,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “If they would have come up short tonight, I think I’d have been OK with that. Better than the other two wins that we had, and they have to understand that.”

Heroes of the Game

Another game and another part of the Tigers flourished. The Tigers’ bullpen came to life. After a rather dismal performance from the starting pitcher Carson Myers who was pulled after only 1 2/3 innings, the combination of left-handed pitcher Jackson Sanders, right-handed pitcher Cam Tilly and right-handed pitcher Jett Johnston fanned 13 Troy batters, allowing only two hits and one more run in the remaining 7 1/3 innings.

“It’s kind of like a flow state,” Tilly said of being in the zone on the mound. “You kind of just lose track of time, lose track of everything. You’re just focused on the batter. I didn’t realize how many strikeouts I had or anything like that. I was just trying to get our offense back to the plate. We did exactly that and Jett came in after me and did the exact same thing.”

But it wasn’t just the bullpen that had their best day yet. Terrell and shortstop Deric Fabian had some of their best days yet. Fabian finished the game going 3-for-3, with a three-run homer in the first and a pair of singles to go along with it. For Terrell, he wasn’t even scheduled to start the game. However, with third-baseman Eric Guevara still recovering from a hamstring injury from the weekend slate of games, Terrell was inserted. Terrell made the most of his opportunity. He went 2-for-3 with a triple in the ninth and a single.

The Tigers will face the North Alabama Lions tomorrow at 4 p.m. CST. Making his debut will be starting right-handed pitcher Andreas Alvarez. The Lions are 2-1 after winning their opening series against Army over the weekend.