Takeaways: Auburn baseball obliterates Wichita State 19-8 to remain undefeated on 2024 season
The Auburn Tigers went into game two of the Jacksonville College Classic, seemingly, at a disadvantage to opponent Wichita State - the Tigers' Friday night game was delayed due to rain (and extra innings innings in the tournament opening contest), meaning they didn't get started until after 9:30 and finished after midnight local time.
Turns out, that didn't matter.
Auburn's bats came to play early, with the Tigers putting up 19 runs in an absolute shellacking of Wright State, a game which was ended after only seven innings due to the run rule. Here's what you need to know from the contest:
Auburn's offense continues to make things difficult for opposing pitching staffs
The Tigers had a first inning that you only dream of, scoring five runs before opposing starter Tommy LaPour was able to record a single out. Auburn did it multiple ways, as well, running deep into the at-bat with the first three batters before then seeing 1B Cooper McMurray drop a first pitch grand slam that not only cleared the minor-league length right field (317 feet down the line, with a 20+ foot wall) but ended up down the street after a great bounce off the concrete.
Auburn's bats didn't let up, with Peirce dropping a homer of his own (his team-leading 3rd) and the Tigers chasing LaPour early in the 2nd after six runs on five hits.
The offense continued for Auburn, with double digits in walks (13) and RBIs (13) prior to both teams starting to sub in backups in the 5th inning.
Joseph Gonzalez looked...fine?
Not the cleanest outing for Gonzalez, making only his third start since the 2022 season. Gonzo went four full innings with only two hits allowed, but three runs (all earned) thanks to two walks and two HBPs giving the Shockers four free runners.
The damage against Gonzalez came on a homer in the bottom of the 2nd - after a leadoff fly ball, a walk and single gave Wichita State two on for first baseman Dayvin Johnson.
Unfortunately, after getting behind Johnson 3-1, Gonzo tried to execute a sinker on the corner and "dead-zoned" it - the movement of the pitch brought it into the dead center of the plate and it was launched for an easy homer.
But Gonzo recovered for a clean sheet in the 3rd inning and worked through minimal traffic in the fourth, with a HBP and a walk putting the Shockers in a position to threaten but a strikeout and a groundout to first taking care of the threat.
As Gonzo works to shake off the rust, his practice at escaping these situations will be useful experience as conference play approaches.
Auburn, once again, takes advantage of subpar pitching
Auburn scored their 19 runs in ten hits and a stunning 16 walks. While the long ball was part of the offense - two homers in the first two innings - Auburn also played some station to station, with three doubles and five singles resulting in 17 RBIs.
We saw on Friday night that Auburn can hang around against elite pitchers and then take advantage of the bullpen to come back and win, surviving against projected 1st round pick Brody Brecht and then unloading for multiple runs in the 7th inning to secure the comeback victory.
This game was a much smoother slate for the Auburn offense, with Auburn never really being threatened outside of that initial home run by Wichita State making it a 7-3 game.
Wichita State's eight pitchers combined for 19 runs (18 earned) on ten hits and sixteen walks, striking out only two and having a team era of 24.71.
What's next for the Tigers?
Auburn's looking to sweep the tournament with a Sunday afternoon matchup against #10 Virginia, who won on Friday night against Wichita State in extras. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM, with junior lefthander Carson Myers getting his second straight weekend start. The broadcast is available for streaming on D1Baseball.com, with the radio call available on the Auburn Tigers Radio Network.