AUBURN, Ala. – Senior third baseman Bryson Ware hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning and No. 13 Auburn defeated Lipscomb 4-3 to complete a sweep of the Bisons Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
"He had a two-run homer last night to tie it and gets another swing off today," Thompson said. "Some of our guys that had been unconscious had a slower day, and I give (Braydon) Tucker a lot of credit. We just saw an SEC pitching staff."
Ware's home run was his third of the weekend and sixth of the season, all of which have come in the last eight games. He also hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth innings of Saturday's comeback win.
Prior to Ware's homer, Lipscomb reliever Noah Thompson retired the first two batters he faced, but a two-out double from Justin Kirby and walk from Ike Irish extended the inning and allowed Ware to get to the plate.
"They brought in their closer that had been effective, and I knew he threw a lot of changeups on the at-bats leading up to mine," Ware said. "I had in the back of my mind that he's probably going to throw a changeup. He left it up and right over the plate, and I just got enough of it to get it out."
John Armstrong (4-0, 3.00) made his team-best sixth appearance of the season, including his second of the weekend, and allowed just one baserunner on an error in his 3.0 innings en route to earning his fourth win.
"I threw quite a bit of pitches Friday, so it was a little different coming back with that many pitches thrown," Armstrong said. "I wanted to come back so badly and was able to do that. (Anthony Sandersen) in the training room helped me out a bit, and I just gave it everything right there at the end."
After Lipscomb (5-6) scored 11 runs on 16 hits Saturday, Auburn's pitching staff consisting of two freshmen and two sophomores held the Bisons to three runs on six hits. Zach Crotchfelt allowed two runs on three hits in 4.0 innings in his first career start, and Hayden Murphy followed him with one run on three hits in 1.2 innings.
Trailing 3-1 with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the sixth, Parker Carlson entered the game and struck out Lipscomb leadoff hitter Caleb Ketchup, who homered earlier in the game, to end the inning. Armstrong relieved Carlson after a leadoff walk in the seventh and recorded the final nine outs without allowing a hit or walk.
"I wanted to play a game like this," Thompson said. "Don't get me wrong, I don't want our offense to slow down, but we desired a game like this where two freshmen could get you almost six innings. They hung in there."
Crotchfelt got through the first two innings having only allowed a pair of baserunners on walks, but Lipscomb got to the freshman lefty with a two-run homer to start the third inning. Crotchfelt ultimately pitched a season-high 4.0 innings and matched a season high with four strikeouts.
The Tigers (9-1-1) cut the deficit to one on a sacrifice fly from Nate LaRue in the bottom of the fifth, but Lipscomb got the run back on three straight two-out singles in the top of the sixth.
With Armstrong dealing, Auburn stayed patient offensively and eventually capitalized on a crippled pitch that led to Ware's dramatic go-ahead homer in the bottom of the eighth. The come-from-behind win was Auburn's second straight and fourth of the season.
Kirby led the way from the plate with his second straight multi-hit game, and Ware matched a season high with there RBI for the second straight day.
Auburn's non-conference schedule continues for one more week, beginning with a midweek game against UAB (3-7) Tuesday at Plainsman Park.
Ware’s late homer leads No. 13 Auburn to sweep of Lipscomb
