CORVALLIS, Ore. – Masterful relief pitching and opportunistic offense carried No. 14 Auburn to a 7-5 win over No. 3 Oregon State Saturday in the first game of their super regional at Goss Stadium.
John Armstrong, Tommy Sheehan, Carson Skipper and Blake Burkhalter shut down the Beavers for the final 8.1 innings, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out 10.
"Tommy Sheehan and Carson Skipper were the story of tonight," Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. "Our offense and our defense are just competing and interested in every at-bat."
Burkhalter pitched the ninth to record his 14th save, putting him third in single-season history. The junior righty notched a pair of strikeouts against the heart of Oregon State's order while allowing one run on two hits.
Sheehan (2-0) earned the win, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and striking out three.
"I knew it was a big spot. I thought I had good command of all my pitches," Sheehan said. "I wanted to be a big help to this team. To hear your name called is an honor."
Fellow southpaw Carson Skipper took over the in sixth, striking out five in three hitless innings, retiring nine of 10 batters.
"It's really fun to play behind them," said Auburn shortstop Brody Moore, who paced the Tigers with three hits. "They pound the strike zone. They're getting ground balls, fly balls, letting us work and have their back."
After exploding for 51 runs in last week's regional, the Tigers scored in each of the first three innings and four of the first five.
After Cole Foster drew a one-out walk, Sonny DiChiara drilled a two-run home run to right-center, his 21st homer of the season and fifth in six games, for an early 2-0 Auburn lead.
Oregon State answered immediately on Garret Forester's three-run home run. A bases-loaded walk to Oregon State's No. 9 hitter forced in a run that gave Oregon State a 4-2 lead and sent Auburn to the bullpen.
John Armstrong relieved Trace Bright and retired OSU's leadoff hitter on a popup to DiChiara to end the inning, stranding three runners.
Auburn evened the score in the top of the second when Nate LaRue singled to score Moore, and Mike Bello's RBI groundout plated Kason Howell for a 4-4 tie.
"I thought scoring two more runs was huge," Thompson said. "I thought our offense was instrumental."
The Tigers took a 5-4 lead in the third when Moore's sacrifice fly scored Foster, who led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on walks to Bobby Peirce and Brooks Carlson.
Oregon State starter Jake Pfennigs took the 4-1, allowing five earned runs on four hits and four walks.
Peirce extended Auburn's lead to 6-4 with a towering solo homer to left leading off the fifth.
Auburn added an insurance run in the eighth after Bello led off with a single, advancing to third on a throwing error and scoring on a groundout to put the Tigers on top 7-4.
A small but vocal contingent of Auburn fans, including the Tigers' track and field team, made their presence heard among the 4,112 in attendance, the third largest crowd in Goss Stadium history.
With Auburn (41-19) needing one more win to advance to the College World Series, the Tigers and Beavers (47-17) play game two Sunday at 9 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and the Auburn Sports Network.
"I like the position we're in but we're obviously not done yet," Moore said. "We have to show up tomorrow and compete, stick to the same approaches we've been working on all week."
"Amazing ballclub we're competing against," Thompson said. "We know this is one step and it was hard, it's going to be hard and it should be hard. That's the way it's supposed to be."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Bullpen buckles down as No. 14 Auburn wins game one at No. 3 Oregon State
