'Good step forward': Auburn clinches series at No. 3 South Carolina

Game recap courtesy of Auburn Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Auburn scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back as the Tigers clinched the series at No. 3 South Carolina with a 9-5 win Saturday at Founders Park. 

After handing South Carolina (34-8, 13-6 SEC) just its second home loss of the season Friday, Auburn (25-17-1, 9-11 SEC) is the first team to beat the Gamecocks in a home series this season. It marks the first time the program has won a series against a No. 2 ranked team since 2008. 

“Two days in a row we scored in the first inning and really set a tone,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “It got us into the ballgame, and we did even more today in the first. You knew they’d make a rally, so we had to keep playing.”

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Cooper McMurray led the offensive attack that totaled 12 hits with his third multi-homer game of the season to go along with three runs and three RBI. McMurray now has seven home runs in his last seven games and was one of five players with multiple hits and three with multiple RBI in the game. 

“To open the day with a four-spot in the first is always big,” McMurray said. “Our pitching staff has come out and been really good for us and making it easy on the offense. On that side of the ball, we think we can score however many runs at any given time. It’s just about playing a full game of clean baseball.”

Leading by five in the middle innings, Konner Copeland (3-1) pitched the final 4.0 innings and allowed just one hit with four strikeouts en route to earning his second straight SEC decision. 

“I believe in our team so much,” Copeland said. “I just try to fill it up. That’s all I have to do. Let the hitters hit. I believe in my defense, and our offense shows out pretty much all of the time, so just fill it up and do what you have to do.”

Auburn jumped out of the gate for the second straight day and took an early lead with a four-run first. Chris Stanfield hit a leadoff double, and the Tigers loaded the bases with a walk and hit batter. Cole Foster then got the scoring started with a two-RBI single to left field with two outs and two strikes. After both trail runners advanced as the throw home skipped by the plate, Kason Howell followed with a two-RBI single through the right side. 

The Tigers continued to attack with a pair of solo home runs from captains Nate LaRue and Bobby Peirce to start and finish the top of the second. The home runs were their second and fourth of the season, respectively. Like Friday, five of the team’s first six runs were scored with two outs. 

South Carolina got on the scoreboard with a one-out double to make it a 6-1 game in the bottom of the second. However, with two runners in scoring position, McMurray started a double play by getting the lead runner at the plate and trail runner in a rundown between second and third. 

Auburn starter Christian Herberholz ran into some traffic on the base paths with a pair of walks in the fourth, but the right hander buckled down and struck out back-to-back batters to end the frame unscathed and maintain a five-run lead. He ended his outing having allowed one run on three hits with a season-high six strikeouts in 4.0 innings. 

The Tigers added to their lead in the top of the fifth when Ike Irish started the frame with a single to center and McMurray drove them both in with a homer off the batter’s eye. The long ball was McMurray’s 11th of the season and his team-best eighth of SEC play. 

Chase Isbell entered in relief of Herberholz to start the bottom of the fifth. South Carolina drew a pair of walks and capitalized on the free bases with a two-RBI double to left center to make it an 8-3 ballgame. 

After the Gamecocks started the sixth with a leadoff double, Copeland entered in relief of Isbell and got a flyout to center that resulted in a double play as Howell fired to second to get the runner. Four pitches later, Copeland was out of the inning with a popup to shallow right to preserve the five-run lead. 

The senior left hander retired the first two batters of the seventh, but a hit batter and two-run homer made it a three-run game with two innings to play. However, Copeland retired seven straight batters with a clean eighth and ninth innings to end the game and give Auburn its second straight series win to start the second half of SEC play. 

“We’ve won four out of five to begin this second half, but we have a long second half to go,” Thompson added. “Players are allowed to get better, and this is a good step forward for us this weekend, but we have to keep playing.”

With two outs in the ninth inning, McMurray deposited a 2-0 pitch into the trees beyond the fence in right center field to cap off the scoring in the contest. It marked McMurray’s second multi-homer game in the last three SEC contests. 

Along with McMurray, Peirce, Foster, Howell and LaRue all collected two hits apiece to account for 10 of the team’s 12 in the contest.