AUBURN, Ala. – No. 8 Auburn put together a pair of all-around efforts in a sweep of Illinois-Chicago during Saturday's doubleheader. The Tigers defeated the Flames 18-1 in the first game before winning game two 7-3.
Judd Ward became the first Auburn player to hit for the cycle since Clete Thomas in 2005 with an eighth inning double down the right-field line. The sophomore outfielder tripled in the first, singled in the fourth and homered in the sixth before etching his name in the Auburn record books.
"I was just seeing the ball well," Ward said. "Just tried to have a calm approach, and turned out that I put good swings on them. It was definitely something special looking around and seeing the whole crowd get up. When I hit it down the line, I knew that I was stopping at second no matter what."
Ward's four hits and four runs scored marked a new career high in both categories. He went 5-for-10 with five runs, two doubles and two RBI in the two games.
Woley set a career high and matched Ward with four hits in game one. He went 6-for-8 with three doubles, two runs and two RBI on the day. Bliss turned in multiple hits in both games and drove in a team-high five runs in the doubleheader.
"I asked our older guys just to lead us today," head coach Butch Thompson said. "I just thought we did an amazing job. That top (of the lineup) for two days, Judd Ward and Ryan Bliss, they've been fun to watch. That doesn't mean that Rankin (Woley) and Steven Williams and them haven't been doing much. Those guys just had exceptional at-bats. Top to bottom, I thought everybody linked up even with basically a whole new ball club in there. They just kept fighting for their at-bats. I think we focused at a high level for the vast majority of the day."
Eleven Tigers recorded a hit on the day, with 10 players combining for 17 hits in the day game. Eleven players also made their Auburn debuts Saturday with seven newcomers recording a hit or RBI and five pitchers seeing their first action on the mound.
GAME ONE
Ward started the game with a triple and set the tone for the contest, scoring the first of three runs in the opening frame on Bliss' RBI single. Tyler Miller drove in one of his two runs on a ground ball to short before Woley singled to left-center to score another.
UIC cut the lead to two on a solo home run in the top of the fourth, but Auburn answered with four runs in the home half. Ward singled back to the pitcher to score Woley before Bliss stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and cleared them with a double to center.
The Tigers put up another crooked number two innings later with Ward getting the scoring started on a solo home run into the visitor's bullpen. Miller followed with a RBI single through the right side before both Johnny Ceccoli and Garrett Farquhar drove in a pair of runs apiece to extend the lead to 13-1.
Brody Moore battled with two strikes and hit a two-RBI single through the right side in the seventh. Brayton Brown then smoked a RBI double off the wall in left-center in his first career at-bat to plate three more in the frame.
The Tigers capped off the scoring in the contest with two more runs coming on a RBI groundout from Mason Greer and sacrifice fly from Steven Williams in the eighth.
The team's 18 runs scored were the most in a contest since scoring 20 runs in the series finale at Alabama in 2018. The 17-run margin of victory was also the most since beating BYU 21-4 that same season.
Jack Owen (1-0, 1.80) picked up the win after throwing 5.0 innings and allowing the lone run on three hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Freshman right-hander Seb Thomas and junior college transfer Jackson Reynolds each made their Auburn debuts and turned in a scoreless inning in relief of Owen.
Senior Ryan Watson picked up where he left off a season ago as he threw 2.0 scoreless frames and struck out a pair. The Auburn native hasn't allowed a run in a career high 6.2 innings dating back to the end of 2019.
GAME TWO
Auburn put up four runs in the first inning, marking the third straight game with two or more first-inning runs this weekend. Williams got things going with a two-strike, two-RBI double to left field. John Samuel Shenker made his first career start and hit a RBI double of his own later in the inning, marking his first career hit.
With Richard Fitts holding the Flames in check at the plate, the Auburn offense extended the lead to 5-0 on Bliss' sacrifice fly in the fourth, marking his sixth RBI of the weekend.
Woley's RBI double in the fifth and Davis' sacrifice fly in the seventh capped off the Tigers' scoring for the day.
Fitts (1-0, 0.00) also earned the win in his debut, throwing 5.0 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Blake Burkhalter, Drew Baker and Mason Barnett made their Auburn debuts, each throwing an inning in relief. Burkhalter allowed one hit with one walk and one strikeout, while Baker allowed a hit with two strikeouts and Barnett struck out a pair.
Sophomore southpaw Carson Skipper made his season debut and worked a perfect frame with a pair of strikeouts.
The series finale in the four-game set between the Tigers and Flames is scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.