Auburn takes two of three in State Farm College Baseball Classic

Six teams traveled to Arlington, Texas, to take part in the State Farm College Baseball Classic. The Auburn Tigers were joined by the Michigan Wolverines, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Kansas State Wildcats, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Arizona Wildcats.

On Friday in game one, Auburn drew Oklahoma from the Big 12 Conference. In fact, they would face off against all three members of the conference on the three-game series. It didn’t start off in the way they would hope.

Game 1: Oklahoma Sooners

Winning Pitcher: Colton Sundloff (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Hayden Mullins (0-1)

The bats would be kept at bay as the Tigers were unable to bring anyone home against the Sooners. They fell 3-0 on just three hits in the game. The game remained scoreless until the seventh when Peyton Graham hit a two-run shot. Oklahoma added an insurance run in the eighth on a double play that scored Tanner Tredaway.

Game 2: No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Winning Pitcher: Joseph Gonzalez (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Brandon Birdsell (0-1)

Save: Blake Burkhalter (1)

Second-baseman Cole Foster got the Tigers on the board for the first time in 2022 in the bottom of the second. He drove in Bryson Ware on an RBI single for the 1-0 lead. Birdsell did a good job of limiting damage. Kason Howell went 0-2 on the day but in the fourth inning, he drove Sonny DiChiara home on a sacrifice fly. Tech added a sac fly in the sixth but that would be all the scoring. Auburn secured their first win against a ranked opponent on the young season.

Game 3: Kansas State Wildcats

Winning Pitcher: Trace Bright (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Christian Ruebeck (0-1)

After scoring just two runs over the first two games of the series, the bats came alive for Auburn. After two innings, the teams were tied at one apiece. Ruebeck came in for starting pitcher Colin Rothermel, who lasted just 1.2 innings. Auburn was able to score 10 earned runs over his three innings of work.

The offense was led by Ryan Dyal with three RBIs. He was matched by teammate Brayton Brown. Howell and Nate LaRue each added a pair of RBIs. The final three runs were scored on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings. Bright threw five innings giving up a run on two hits with five strikeouts.

Auburn will be open their home schedule on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Tigers welcome Troy to Plainsman Park for a one-game set.