Takeaways from Auburn's game one win vs Alabama
Auburn baseball opened their three game series with rival Alabama in Tuscaloosa with a 8-4 victory. Here's what you need to know about the contest:
Tommy Vail had himself a NIGHT
Vail, a transfer from TCU who played at Notre Dame with Tigers lefty Tommy Sheehan, has been one of the only constants for Auburn's rotation through conference play. He's taken the ball in every SEC series so far, and showed tonight why Butch Thompson has trusted him with that responsibility.
Vail sequenced well, mixing in his changeup and breaking stuff with the fastball and absolutely hit every single location that catcher Nate Larue called. He had only two walks until the seventh inning, where he walked the leadoff hitter and was then pulled after the two-out walk of catcher Dominic Tamez.
Vail final line was 6.2 innings with two hits, no runs, four walks, and four strikeouts on 97 pitches (62 strikes)
It's Auburn's first quality start of SEC play and the deepest outing for any Auburn starter on the season, at a time and to open a series where it was NEEDED.
"We really needed somebody to step up," said Thompson after the game. "It was clean, it was efficient. It was great baseball."
The power bats showed up at the right time
Auburn only had seven hits on the night, facing projected 2024 MLB Draft pick Luke Holman on the mound.
But when they came, they came in bunches. Chris Stanfield hit a homerun in the 2nd inning after Bryson Ware singled to open the inning that staked Vail to an early lead.
Caden Green singled up the middle after Cooper McMurray walked and Kason Howell doubled to centerfield (his NCAA-leading 65th of his career), scoring two more runs in the 7th. Cole Foster homered in the 9th, cleaning up after Auburn manufactured a run on a Chris Stanfield leadoff walk.
Of Auburn's seven hits on the night, four were for extra bases and the first five of the eight runs scored with two outs.
But Auburn made it dramatic late
Tanner Bauman took over for Vail in the 7th, escaping a jam by inducing a flyout and working a clean 8th. Auburn had John Armstrong warming up to take the 9th until the last four runs for the Tigers went on the board late.
Tanner Bauman came back out for the 9th, but as has happened so many times this season, things didn't go according to plan.
Alabama scored four runs in the ninth, off of only two hits, thanks to two walks and three hit-by-pitch. After the first run crossed the plate for Alabama, Auburn went to closer Will Cannon with one out to try and end this one, and three more runs (all charged to Bauman) ended up coming in before a pop fly to Cole Foster ended it.
To go from an 8-0 lead entering the bottom of the 9th to seeing the tying run come to the plate is quite a shock, but that's been par for the course this season for the Tigers.
Entering this game, Auburn sat at last in the conference in ERA (6.61), opponent batting average (.288), and doubles (70) and was 13th in walks (169).
The only reason this game was even close is because, despite the five hits, Alabama got eleven free baserunners - eight walks, three HBP (all three in the 9th), with three of the four runs in the 9th being scored by those free baserunners.
But a win's a win
There aren't style points in baseball. Yes, run differential and all of that matters, but this was a win, and one on the road at that (which is weighted heavier in RPI).
Auburn's trying to keep pace in the conference standings to have a shot at decent seeding in the SEC Tournament, and a victory over Alabama helps the case, especially when they were tied in the the SEC West entering the weekend (and the other team there with Auburn in the standings, Texas A&M, holds the tiebreaker over the Tigers).
What's next?
Tomorrow is freshman LHP Drew Nelson for Auburn versus Alabama LHP Grayson Hitt. The junior Hitt is projected to be a 2nd round pick in recent MLB Draft mocks for this summer, with a power fastball that can touch 97, a slider and a curveball that have promising upside, and a "bulldog" mentality. A point of emphasis in his development has been being able to land these pitches for strikes, so a patient approach by Auburn could pay dividends.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:00PM, and the game is available for streaming on SEC Network+. The radio call, with Brad Law and Andy Burcham, is available locally on 93.9FM, online at AuburnTigers.com, and via the Auburn Athletics app.
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