Takeaways from Auburn baseball's series opening walkoff win in extras vs Georgia
Auburn had their home conference opener on Thursday night and beat the Georgia Bulldogs, 7-6, in eleven innings. Here's what you need to know about the contest:
Auburn again gets in an early hole
Starter Tommy Vail was absolutely CRUISING through three innings before Georgia got - what else - a big inning.
After three perfect innings from Vail, with five strikeouts, the leadoff runner walked to open the 4th. True to form, three consecutive singles brought the free runner in to score. Vail minimized the damage - allowing only one more double and collecting another strikeout, but three runs of damage was done.
Auburn chipped away at the lead, with an Ike Irish RBI double (4th) and solo home runs from both Caden Green (5th) and Bryson Ware (6th), but never closed the gap...until the 9th inning
Tommy Vail is a weekend starter
The veteran, now installed as a weekend starter after multiple efficient midweek starts, did enough for Auburn to win. After the big inning of Georgia in the 4th, he rebounded with a scoreless fifth, albeit with a walk and a base hit creating a bit of one-out traffic.
Vail's velocity may not be impressive - sitting around 90 mph - but he effectively mixed in a changeup and a curveball, pounding the strike zone and sequencing well to keep Georgia's hitters off balance. No real hard contact allowed, outside of one of the singles and the double in the 4th.
Vail's final line: 5IP, 7H, 4R, 2BB, 7Ks on 85 pitches (62 strikes)
Bryson Ware continues to mash
Bryson Ware crushed a 372-ft home run, his 10th of the season, to open the 6th inning.
He THEN gets the big hit in the 9th - with two outs and two runners on (Kason Howell double, Cole Foster HBP) in a 6-3 game, Ware ran the count full and sent one down the right field line to score both runners and make it a one-run game.
And when Justin Kirby put the ball in play, hitting a slow roller to short, Ware was off on the crack of the bat. Good thing he was, because the throw was over the first baseman's head and he scored to tie the game.
Having spent the last two seasons as a defensive specialist in the outfield, the (former) junior college shortstop has been installed at 3rd base and has flashed both the leather and cannon, but also has found his stroke at the plate. His batting average (.409) and RBIs (29) lead the team, while he's 2nd in hits with 36 (Irish has 39).
I asked him about this a few weeks ago - it's been a lot of work in the cage, using the program's "Spinball Machines" - advanced pitching machines that can exactly replicate virtually any pitch, or even a specific pitcher's exact arsenal - as well as extra work with Jason Selk, the program's mental coach.
(You can read more about it HERE, under "Statistical Leaders")
Auburn pitching again did...enough
Christian Herberholz relieved Vail to open the 6th, and gave up only two hits and one run in his three innings of work. After a leadoff double in the 9th, Will Cannon entered and Georgia promptly singled that runner home. Two more walks and a sac fly manufactured another run, but a back pick at 1st from catcher Nate LaRue ended the inning thanks to an inadvertent block of the bag by Ike Irish while fielding the low throw from LaRue. Cannon stayed in the game and was on cruise control from that point, getting six consecutive outs (three via strikeout) in the 10th and 11th innings.
He was focused on holding the Bulldogs off the board and giving the offense a chance to work their magic.
"I always say I think we're the best two-out hitting team in America. And that showed tonight. [...] That's the start of something special. I think that showed what we're really about."
Christian Herberholz: 3IP, 2H, 1R on 25 pitches (19 strikes)
Will Cannon: 3IP, 1H, 1R, 2BB, 3Ks on 50 pitches (28 strikes)
Carter Wright did the dang thing
The junior catcher Wright (native of Blairsville, GA), fresh off of a midweek start against South Alabama that saw him pick up his first two hits in an Auburn uniform and his first RBI, was called on to pinch-hit for an offensively slumping Nate LaRue in the 10th. He worked his way on base, and the lineup came back around to him in the 11th with the bases loaded and two outs.
And that absolute legend worked a walk, bringing in Ike Irish from 3rd to win the game for Auburn.
Said Wright after the game, to the Auburn Sports Network's Brad Law:
"I was trying to breathe - Jason Selk (mental coach) talks to us a lot about 'centering breaths', so I took that, and I knew what pitch I was looking for. Didn't get it the first two, so I had the 'take' on all the way. [...] Baseball's one of those games you can't press - you've gotta let your training take over. Right there, I was just letting the game work."
"Last year's team, they did an incredible job coming back. I knew we had it in us, too."
What's next?
Game two of the Georgia series in Friday night at 6PM. Tanner Bauman gets the start for the Tigers, taking on Georgia's Jaden Woods. The game is available for streaming on SEC Network+, and the radio call is available on 93.9FM, AuburnTigers.com, and the Auburn Athletics App.
Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!