AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn Tigers (18-11, 2-8)) beat the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers (24-6, 5-5) 9-5 Friday night at Plainsman Park.
Both starting pitchers struggled, each just going an inning and a third. Auburn’s Dylan Watts gave up five earned runs, and Tennessee’s strikeout machine AJ Causey gave up eight. Carson Myers came in to relieve Watts, going three and two thirds and giving up zero earned runs and recording four strikeouts. John Armstrong continued the good pitching for the Tigers, throwing four innings and allowing just one hit. The Vols’ trio of relivers performed well, also, but it was too little too late after the rough start.
The Tigers’ offense looked shaky through two batters, but Ike Irish’s first inning solo homer flipped a switch in the boys. Cooper McMurray and Bobby Peirce both reached before Christian Hall got a hit to score McMurray. Then center fielder Cade Belyeu smashed a 460-foot home run to make it 5-3 Auburn.
Tennessee came right back with two runs in the top of the second, and Dylan Watts left the game early. Myers got out of the inning and the Tigers’ pitching cruised the rest of the night.
“It was about attacking the zone,” Myers said after the game. He got out of a bases loaded jam in the second by doing just that, and he and Armstrong kept it up. They made the Volunteers swing, forcing strikeouts and soft contact all evening.
Irish and Hall added to their RBI totals in the bottom of the second, as did Bobby Peirce, whose fielder’s choice scored Cooper Weiss. McMurray added another run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly to score Maners.
“The guys have been ready to play,” said Coach Butch Thompson. “It’s nice to be home.” Thompson spoke highly of freshman Cade Belyeu’s play, especially his home run, in what he described as an “old league.”
There were doubts for Auburn’s pitching staff coming in, but Myers and Armstrong proved to be up to the task out of the bullpen. Thompson said he thought at times early that he would have to use “ten, twelve arms tonight,” but the staff settled in well after the tough start.
The Tigers got a much-needed win, and will look to secure their first series win in conference play on Saturday. It will not be an easy task, as the Volunteers still have some of the hottest bats in the country.
Game two is Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and game three is Sunday at 1 p.m. Watch on SEC Network + or listen on the Auburn Sports Network.
