AUBURN, Ala. – No. 20 Auburn scored in four of the five middle innings and the backend of the bullpen held Old Dominion scoreless in a 10-4 win in the series opener Friday night at Plainsman Park.
Deric Fabian and Chase Fralick combined for five of the team’s 12 hits and drove in seven of the 10 runs, while the bullpen duo of John Armstrong and Ryan Hetzler allowed just one baserunner in the last 3.2 innings pitched.
“John Armstrong has his sinker going. He hadn’t pitch in or week or so and was phenomenal,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “Ryan Hetzler has been great every time we’ve called on him early this season. We got three goose eggs in the seventh, eighth and ninth.
“We did a great job of playing offense when we took what they gave us,” Thompson added. “We had a bunch of baserunners, we set the table, and we waited for the big swing. Chase Fralick got it.”
Leading 7-4 with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Fralick hit a backside double to clear the bases and push Auburn’s lead to six. The game marked Fralick’s sixth multi-hit effort in the last eight contests, and he drove in a season-high four runs.
“It was a long at-bat,” Fralick said of his bases-clearing double. “My at-bat before wasn’t so successful, but I fought off some good pitches there and got a pitch I could handle and put a good swing on it. It was kind of the dagger late in the game, so it felt really good to get that to shut everything down.”
Armstrong (1-0) entered the game with one out and the tying run in scoring position in the sixth inning and retired eight of the nine batters he faced en route to earning his first win of the season.
“It was a big confidence boost for sure, but that could’ve been anybody out of the bullpen tonight,” Armstrong said. “It was good to feel a lot better physically, so just getting back out there was really exciting.”
After Old Dominion (3-8) took the lead on a solo homer from the second batter of the game, the Tigers (12-2) threatened to tie the game as they loaded the bases with a pair of two-out walks and a hit-by-pitch. However, Monarchs starter Ben Moore escaped the jam with a groundout to second base.
The Monarchs answered by loading the bases with one out on back-to-back singles and a walk, but Samuel Dutton returned the favor and got out of the inning with a strikeout and popout.
The second time through the order, Auburn started the top of the third with back-to-back singles and tied the game on a groundball from Ike Irish. Fabian gave the Tigers the lead with a single back up the middle and Fralick extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a line drive to center field.
Dutton faced the minimum in the third and fourth innings thanks to a pair of double plays, and Auburn added to its lead with two more runs in the home half. Eric Snow sent a RBI double into the gap in right center, and Chris Rembert drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to make it 5-1.
Old Dominion cut into its deficit with a two-out double in the fifth and made it a one-run game with a two-run single in the sixth. That when Armstrong entered with the tying run in scoring position and got out of the inning without further damage, needing just five pitches to do so.
Fabian extended Auburn’s lead back to two with a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, marking his third long ball of the season. The Tigers threatened for more in the frame but left the bases loaded for the second time in the game.
Fabian came back around in the bottom of the seventh and drove in his third run on his third hit of the game, lacing a single the left field to score Snow from second. A single from Cade Belyeu and walk to Rembert loaded the bases before Fralick put the finishes touches on the offensive production with his aforementioned bases-clearing double.
Armstrong gave way to Ryan Hetzler in the ninth, and the sophomore struck out the first two batters he faced in a clean ninth inning, marking the fourth game he has finished this season.
The Tigers and Monarch are back at Plainsman Park for game two Saturday at 5 p.m. CT.