FROM BUNTING TO BOMBS: Jax State baseball overwhelms No. 15 Auburn
Jacksonville State’s baseball team earned a signature win Tuesday night at Plainsman Park, defeating 15th-ranked Auburn, 15-4, in eight innings. Jax State head coach Steve Bieser said he wanted to put pressure on the Tigers early, and Jaxon Pate, Caleb Johnson and Cooper Blauser executed his plan flawlessly. Pate led off the game with a bunt single and advanced to second base on a throwing error by Auburn starting pitcher Christian Chatterton.
Johnson followed with another bunt single, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Cooper Blauser, the Gamecocks’ three-hole hitter, laid down a bunt as well, allowing Pate to score the game’s first run. “Those are two guys, with Pate and CJ, that have excellent speed.
They’ve just got to get a solid bunt down and really put some pressure on them,” Bieser said. “And then you get to the point where you want to make sure that you get on the board first, and with Cooper there, it was just a good spot for him to try it as well. ” It may have started with small ball, but Jax State (28-6) quickly showed its power, as cleanup hitter Brady Thomas followed with a two-run home run to right field.
The Gamecocks were just getting started. They added two more runs in the third inning, two in the fifth and three in the sixth to take a commanding 10-0 lead. Three Jax State pitchers combined to keep Auburn (22-10) off the board over the first five innings.
Ryan Geraghty, who was credited with his first win of the season, got the start and was excellent during his two innings on the mound, striking out six while allowing only a walk and a hit by pitch. Relief pitcher Josh Sibley gave up a walk and a single to start the third before settling down, getting a groundout and two strikeouts to escape the jam. Jud Files pitched the fourth and the fifth, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three.