No. 17 Auburn run rules Alabama A&M, 18-2

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 17 Auburn scored 10 runs in the first inning and never looked back as the Tigers run ruled Alabama A&M, 18-2, in seven innings Tuesday at Plainsman Park.
 
Fifteen players saw action in the field and at the plate, and different player recorded a hit and drove in a run in the game.
 
After making his debut on the mound and earning the win in extra innings Sunday, Cam Hill made his first start as the designated hitter and went 3-for-3 with a walk and three RBI. Josh Hall matched Hill with three hits and three RBI to go along with scoring three runs. The Homewood, Alabama, native finished a home run shy of the cycle.
 
"Coach Gross really just talked about staying within yourself and staying true to your identity," Hall said. "That's something we really worked on in the fall. I was feeling good about the game before we came in. I just tried not to get too big and pop balls up and stay within myself and drive balls the other way and do the best I can to help our team win."
 
Alabama A&M scored two in the first as two of the first three Bulldogs reached, but starting pitcher Trace Bright (1-0, 1.80) settled down to retire the last 10 batters he faced.
 
"After that he really laid good tracks," Thompson said of Bright. "He got his fastball going and really started pitching. He's pitched enough in our program now, we're expecting him to help us and put us in a good spot and be able to command that fastball to the glove."
 
Bright earned the win in four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
 
"They jumped on me quick and it put me in a spot where I got to shut them down pretty quick, but we have an offense that can score runs and they came in and gave me a good enough cushion to come back out and compete," Bright added.
 
Auburn's 10 runs in the first inning tied last year's fourth-inning output against Wright State as the most runs in an inning since scoring 11 in the decisive game three of the 2019 Chapel Hill Super Regional.
 
Judd Ward led off the frame with a solo home run to left field - his second of the season - and Bryson Ware matched Ward with his second homer, a two-run shot, two batters later.
Sixteen Tigers came to the plate in the frame and six recorded hits, including a pair in the inning from Brody Moore.
 
"We just didn't get ourselves out, and we wind up having a couple of balls fall," Thompson said. "Nobody was getting big. Everyone took balls and swung at strikes. It was really nice to pass it around a little bit.
 
"Judd got us going, which is a proper response after someone scores on us," Thompson added. "Josh Hall continues to play good. I think you at least get a glimpse of watching the last inning that Cam Hill threw the other day and just watching his at bats, how he stays on balance and his swings to begin his career you can see our excitement about Cam Hill."
 
Auburn extended the lead with three runs in the second as Hall hit a two-RBI double and Steven Williams drove in another. Hill singled home two and Tyler Miller added a sacrifice fly in a three-run fourth, and the Tigers capped it off with a run in the fifth and sixth on a solo home run from Brayton Brown and Cole Foster's first career hit and RBI.  
 
The Tigers' bullpen continued to hold its opponents in check as Peyton Glavine and Carson Swilling combined to throw 3.0 scoreless.
 
Glavine relieved Bright to start the fifth, making his first appearance since 2019, and faced the minimum with a strikeout in 2.0 innings. Swilling made his second appearance of the season and struck out a pair to end the game in the seventh. Auburn's pitchers faced just one batter over the minimum after the first inning.
 
Auburn and Alabama A&M will turn around to play again tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.