AUBURN, Ala. – Nate LaRue delivered a walk-off single with two outs in the 10th to lead No. 19 Auburn past Alabama State, 6-5, Tuesday night at Plainsman Park.
The win marked the Tigers' 14th comeback win this season.
"We hung around and found a way to get it done," head coach Butch Thompson. "I'm glad to get the win and thankful to move along. We knew this was going to be a big week at home. Tonight was one step, but it was a hard step. I look for it to be like that the rest of the week. We have to keep our heads down, take whatever comes, and play as hard as we possibly can."
To get the game to extra innings, Blake Rambusch beat out an infield single with two outs, two strikes and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Bobby Peirce and tying the game, 5-5. An inning later, LaRue stepped to the plate in a similar situation – two outs and two on – and hit a walk-off single to score Brooks Carlson from second.
"As a team, we came together and said that we weren't going to lose this game no matter what we had to do. We were going to figure out a way to get the win," Rambusch said. "In my at-bat, I was just trying to stay calm and do something good for my team. I was able to get lucky and get a little tip off the pitcher's glove on the hit."
Setting the stage for the comeback, relievers Carson Skipper and Blake Burkhalter (4-1, 3.25) held Alabama State scoreless on just two hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in the final four frames.
"I'm just glad I got to go in there and do my job," Burkhalter said. "I didn't want to give up any runs, obviously, and just wanted to give the team the best chance to win."
Junior Mason Barnett started on the mound for the Tigers and allowed one run on three hits with no walks while matching a season high with eight strikeouts. Barnett struck out the first four batters he faced and retired the first nine.
"Mason Barnett was spot on right out of the gate," Thompson said. "He was making really good pitches and was kind of set. That was great from to see that from last week."
Sonny DiChiara started the scoring for the Tigers (25-12) with an RBI double in the bottom of the first, scoring Kason Howell.
After back-to-back singles placed runners on first and third for Alabama State (20-15), a ground ball double play scored a run and tied the game in the fourth inning.
Auburn took the lead in the fifth inning off an RBI triple off the right-center wall by Peirce that brought in Carlson from first. Later that inning, the Tigers loaded the bases and Rambusch was able to bring in two more runs on a single through the left side to extend the lead to three.
Alabama State battled back in the sixth inning, ultimately taking the lead, 5-4, on an error and six walks.
With Skipper and Burkhalter going on the mound, the Tigers were able to tie up the ballgame in the bottom of the ninth after a combination of three singles from Peirce, Cam Hill and Rambusch to send the game to extras.
Setting the stage for LaRue in the bottom of the 10th, Carlson advanced to second base on a ground ball before the junior catcher delivered a pinch-hit, walk-off single. The walk-off win was Auburn's second this season.
Rambusch, DiChiara, Carlson and Peirce led the way from the plate with two hits apiece and combined for five of the team's six RBIs. Rambusch and DiChiara continue to lead the way with 19 and 14 multi-hit games, respectively.
Barnett, Skipper and Burkhalter struck out 16 batters and didn't issue a walk in the contest.
Auburn will return to Plainsman Park tomorrow for the second mid-week game against Kennesaw State at 6 p.m. CT.
LaRue’s walk-off lifts No. 19 Auburn past Alabama State
