Auburn pitching shines with series sweep over LSU

(Photo: @AuburnBaseball)

By Caleb Connelley

The #11 Auburn Tigers hosted another Top 10 opponent for the second weekend in a row, welcoming #3 LSU to the Plains. In a weekend that could shake up the SEC standings and national rankings, Auburn delivered a dominant performance, sweeping their fellow Tigers in a three-game series at Plainsman Park. The 3-0 outcome marked a defining moment in Auburn's season, as they outplayed one of the nation's top teams across all three games, giving Auburn their first sweep over LSU in 37 seasons.

GAME ONE: Auburn 8, LSU 4

The series opener saw Auburn jump on LSU early and never look back. Despite LSU entering the game with momentum and a powerful lineup, Auburn's offense stayed patient and productive. The home Tigers plated eight runs on a combination of timely hitting and LSU miscues. LSU starter Kade Anderson took the loss, dropping his first game of the season. Anderson pitched 4.1 innings, allowing 6 runs on 6 hits. Samuel Dutton got the job done on the mound for Auburn, pitching 6 complete innings without allowing a run, on 3 hits, striking out seven, and only walking two. Auburn's crowd of 6,756 brought energy to the ballpark on Friday night and helped set the tone for the weekend.

GAME TWO: Auburn 4, LSU 2

Auburn kept it rolling on Saturday, using strong pitching and just enough offense to secure the series win. Auburn's bullpen shut down LSU's offense late in the game, with closer Hetzler locking down his fourth save of the season. LSU starter Anthony Eyanson suffered his first loss of the year, falling to 5-1. Eric Snow, Chris Rembert, and Cooper McMurray led the Tigers offense with two hits for each of them. Cade Fisher got the start on the mound and finished with the win. Fisher pitched 5 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits, striking out six, and only walking one. With 7,231 fans in attendance, Auburn showed poise and control against one of the SEC's most dangerous teams.

GAME THREE: Auburn 3, LSU 2

Sunday's finale was the tightest game of the series, but the result was the same, another Auburn win. The orange and blue Tigers jumped ahead again in this game, getting off to an early 3-0 lead. LSU clawed their way back into the game late but came up a run short. Auburn's pitching held LSU to its lowest hit total of the season, four. With the series sweep, it marked Auburn's first sweep against a Top 5 team since 2017. Dylan Watts made his second appearance of the week and earned his first save of the season, recording the last five outs. It marked the second game this week the junior righty finished, having also earned the win in the midweek game at Georgia Tech. Offensively, Irish, Bristol Carter, and Chase Fralick collected multiple hits, with McMurray driving in his seventh and eighth runs of the week.

Auburn turned in its first 4-0 week in the middle of conference play since 2022 and swept LSU for the first time since 1988. The Tigers also wrapped up a stretch of 16 of the last 19 games coming against ranked opponents with a 10-6 record. The Tigers now have 12 wins against ranked opponents this season. The single-game attendance record was set on back-to-back nights, Friday (6,756) and Saturday (7,231), and the series attendance of 19,119 also surpassed last weekend's total of 17,935 for the highest in program history.

Auburn will head on the road this week for four road games, on Tuesday night against Jacksonville State, and this weekend against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns. This weekend's series will mark the sixth straight series against a ranked opponent, including its fourth straight against a Top 10 team.

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