Auburn Downs Hofstra, 18-5, In Tom Slater Debut
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February 4, 2005
Philip Stringer |
AUBURN -- The Auburn baseball team opened the 2005 season with an 18-5 win over Hofstra Friday at Plainsman Park in the debut of Tigers' first-year head coach Tom Slater. The two teams will play the second game of the three-game series Saturday at 4 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.
"Our players went about their business the right way tonight," Slater said. "They had a great approach in pre-game and it carried over to the game. It was a great effort."
Junior second baseman Tyler Johnstone and senior first baseman Karl Amonite, who were both sidelined in 2004 with arm injuries, led the Tigers' offensive attack. Johnstone, went 4-for-5 with four runs and two stolen bases in his Auburn debut, while Amonite had two hits and a career-high five runs batted in, including a three-run home run in the first inning.
Auburn wasted little time, scoring five runs in the first inning, highlighted by Amonite's homer down the right-field line off Hofstra starter Charlie Frago. Freshman Russell Dixon added an RBI triple scoring Jeff Boutwell and scored the final run of the inning on a single by junior transfer Adam Stacey.
"Tyler was really a spark plug tonight," Slater said. "I really liked the way he was aggressive on the base paths and that set the table for our offense. Karl had a big blow in the first inning. I was really proud of our entire lineup. Top to bottom we had great at-bats all night.
Tigers' senior lefty Arnold Hughey (1-0) picked up the win after allowing four unearned runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. Sophomore Jared Shore notched his first career save in 3 1/3 innings of relief. Shore gave up one unearned run on four hits with three strikeouts.
"Arnold Hughey did what a senior is supposed to do," said Slater. "He went out and commanded the mound. It was a great performance, I was really proud of Arnold."
Auburn sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run fourth inning as Stacy had a two-run single. The Tigers added three more runs in the fifth to jump to a 13-0 advantage before the Pride scored four unearned runs in the sixth. Ricky Caputo had a bases loaded triple in the inning for Hofstra.
Charlile Frago (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing nine runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. John Furman worked 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen allowing five runs (three earned), while Mike Xydias allowed four runs in two innings.
Stacey, a junior college transfer, went 3-for-5 with three RBI in his Auburn debut, while catcher Josh Bell added three hits and three RBI. Clete Thomas rounded out the Tigers' offense with two hits and three RBI.
Pride first baseman Mike Walsh extended his career-high hitting streak to 14 games dating back to last season with a 2-for-4 effort.
Auburn 18, Hofstra 5 (Feb 04, 2005 at Auburn, Ala.)
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Hofstra............. 000 004 001 - 5 7 2 (0-1)
Auburn.............. 500 531 04X - 18 18 3 (1-0)
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