AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn took the first game of a four-game set against Rhode Island, defeating the Rams 7-2 Friday night at Plainsman Park.
The Tigers offense produced 11 hits and was led by three-hit nights from Kason Howell and Bryson Ware and a two-hit night from Sonny DiChiara.
"We did enough things right to win this one," head coach Butch Thompson said. "Kason Howell quietly had another three hits, Bryson Ware stayed hot after that six-RBI performance against UAB, and Sonny (DiChiara) got us going and tied the game back up to kind of settle the ballgame with another home run."
Howell's three-hit effort was his fourth in the last six contests and Ware's was his second straight, both matching career highs in the category. DiChiara launched his fifth home run and collected his sixth multi-hit game.
After falling behind early, Auburn's bullpen duo of Carson Skipper and Blake Burkhalter held Rhode Island scoreless in the final six innings. Skipper (1-0, 0.00) earned his first win while Burkhalter picked up his second save. The duo allowed just four baserunners and struck out a combined eight batters.
Rhode Island (0-7) struck in the first and second innings to start the game. Auburn starter Jordan Armstrong worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning to keep the Rams' lead at two.
After Armstrong escaped the jam, Auburn (8-2) tied the game in the bottom half of the third. Howell got things started with a one-out single, and DiChiara tied the game with a 411-foot home run off the scoreboard in left center. The ball jumped off the senior sluggers' bat at 108 miles per hour.
"The way Sonny is swinging the bat, my and Blake's (Rambusch) job is to just get on base," Howell said. "I'm just trying to stay simple and not do too much, which has been producing better results."
Skipper entered in the fourth inning and worked four scoreless in relief. The senior southpaw sat down the first six batters he faced and 12 of the first 13 before allowing a pair of hits to start the eighth. He recorded four strikeouts and didn't issue a walk.
"I was just trying to come in and settle things down," Skipper said. "It was kind of like a fresh ball game to come into, and I just went out there to compete."
Ware kept the pressure on with a leadoff double down the third base line in the fourth inning. He scored on a passed ball that gave Auburn a 3-2 lead.
Auburn struck again in the sixth on a Ryan Dyal sacrifice fly that scored Brody Moore. Cole Foster followed with a RBI double to deep right-center field that increased the Tigers' lead to three. The RBI was Foster's team-best 14th of the year.
Burkhalter entered the game in the eighth inning with runners on first and second and no one out. A single loaded the bases, but the junior righty kept his composure and recorded three straight strikeouts to get Auburn out of the inning unharmed.
Dyal started the bottom half of the inning with a double to left center. Making his first plate appearance in an Auburn uniform, Brooks Carlson hit a pinch-hit single to left to move Dyal to third. Blake Rambusch plated Dyal on a sacrifice fly, and Howell added another insurance run with a RBI single to center. Howell's 3-for-5 night marked his fourth three-hit game in his last six contests.
Auburn led 7-2 heading into the ninth, and Burkhalter retired the Rams in order to seal the win.
The Tigers are back up against Rhode Island with doubleheader Saturday at Plainsman Park. Game one is set for 2 p.m. C.T and game two, a seven-inning contest, will begin approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Timely hitting, strong pitching leads Auburn past Rhode Island in series opener
