Auburn, Ala. – The Auburn baseball team opened up its fall exhibition schedule with a victory over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
"I think the most exciting thing to me was for five freshmen pitchers to take the mound," head coach Butch Thompson said. "It was their first time ever in an Auburn uniform, and they just shoved the ball in the strike zone. You just never know what they're going to do that first time, but the five freshmen pitchers were exciting."
The freshmen quintet of Richard Fitts, Garrett Wade, Will Morrison, Brooks Fuller and Carson Skipper kept the Catamounts at bay over 6.0 innings of work. They allowed just one unearned run between them while striking out five. Upperclassmen Elliott Anderson and Ryan Watson also contributed to the strong pitching performance with 3.0 scoreless innings of work.
The efforts of the freshmen continued at the plate as they contributed with four of the team's six RBI. Ryan Bliss drove in a pair with a double and later found a hole for a two-strike RBI single. Kason Howell beat out a throw for an infield single to plate another Auburn run. Steven Williams and Edouard Julien picked up where they left off last season at the plate. Williams homered to right-center in the eighth, while Julien drove in a run with a single and later doubled.
Auburn continues its fall schedule with its second and final exhibition against Samford Friday, Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. A Select-A-Seat event allowing fans to pick their seats for the 2019 season will also be held during the game.
Notable Pitching Stats:
Richard Fitts 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K
Elliott Anderson: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Garrett Wade: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB
Will Morrison: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB
Brooks Fuller: 1.0 IP, 1 R (unearned), 1 K
Ryan Watson: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1K
Notable Hitting Stats:
Ryan Bliss: 2 H, 2B, 3 RBI
Steven Williams: 1 H, HR, RBI, BB
Edouard Julien: 2 H, 2B, RBI
Will Holland: 1 H, 2B, BB
Chase Hall: 1 H, 2B, RBI
Kason Howell: 1 H, RBI