AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 4 national seed Auburn Tigers moved into the winner’s bracket of the Auburn regional Friday night, as they defeated the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils 9-5. The win is the Tigers’ first NCAA tournament victory since they went to the College World Series in 2022.
After Auburn starter Cam Tilly worked out of a big jam in the top of the first, the Tigers jumped on their Northeast Conference opponents with a four-run bottom of the first. The runs came to the tune of an Ike Irish double followed by three-straight RBI singles from Lucas Steele, Eric Snow and Bub Terrell.
Coming into the contest, most of the talk about Central Connecticut was about their bats. The Blue Devil starting lineup featured five hitters with a batting average over .330 and Aidan Redahan with a monster average of .458.
That offense responded immediately to the Tigers’ big first frame, scoring three in the top of the second and one in the top of the third to knot the game back at four apiece. The Blue Devils proved not to be fazed by the initial punch from Auburn.
“They absolutely came out swinging the bats,” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson of Central Connecticut. “I think the first time through the lineup, they were 5-7 with two walks.”
The Tigers got right back to work, restoring their four-run lead with a four spot in the bottom of the third. The frame started with a Lucas Steele home run that cleared everything in right field. Steele admitted postgame that the 432-foot shot with an exit velocity of 110 mph wasn’t the hardest ball he’s ever hit, but it was "definitely the furthest.”
The long ball ignited an inning where the Tigers went on to score three more runs on three more hits. The lead was back on the side of Auburn, and from there, reliever Carson Myers cruised through 6.0 crucial innings of work.
In his first-career regional appearance, the senior left-hander was forced into action after Tilly could only get through an inning and change. After giving up the run that tied the game at four, it was nothing but outs for Myers. He retired 10 of his final 13 batters, struck out nine and threw 104 pitches to quiet the red-hot Blue Devil offense.
“When Carson got in the game, he just got better and better,” said Thompson. “He was a huge difference in the ball game tonight. Just to steady us, let us reset and settle into the tempo of the game.”
Myers’ pitch count had never gone over the century mark in his career until Friday night. When asked if he felt like it was an outing where he could throw 100 pitches, his answer was simple.
“Absolutely.”
The big outing on the mound as well as the balanced offensive performance saw the Tigers redeem the 2023 team that hosted a regional at Plainsman Park and went 0-2. The win is step one in Auburn’s operation, and a tough opponent awaits them Saturday night for step two. The Tigers will take on the Stetson Hatters in the winner’s bracket game with a chance to move into the regional championship on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT with radio coverage on the Auburn Sports Network.
