The Auburn Tigers extended their winning streak to five games on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t easy. Auburn defeated Jax State, 4-3, on the road in a game that came down to the final inning. With the game tied 3-3, and two outs, Auburn’s Lucas Steele hit a solo home run to give the Tigers the victory. Pitcher Ben Schorr sealed the win when Grayson Ashe was caught looking and struck out for the final out of the game. The win gives the Tigers a 27-10 overall record as they prepare for a big weekend series at Texas.
Christian Chatterton got the start for Auburn on the mound and played well. He pitched six innings giving up two runs off one hit. He also struck out eight of the 20 batters he faced. The Tigers had 14 strikeouts as a team. Schorr stuck out four batters in just a little over one inning of playing time.
Auburn jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. Ike Irish scored the first run when Bub Terrell hit a single to center field to go up 1-0. Eric Guevara hit a single in the next at-bat to score Cooper McMurray for a 2-0 advantage. Finally, a single to center field by Chase Fralick got Terrell to home plate to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. They would not score until the game-winning home run by Steele.
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks only had two hits in the game but made a comeback late. The Gamecocks scored two runs in the seventh to make the score 3-2. Sam Silas got on base due to a fielder’s choice, and Drew Collings scored on an unearned run to make it 3-1. Then, Grayson Ashe scored on a wild pitch by Jett Johnston with two outs to cut the lead down to 3-2. Senior Drew Collings hit a solo home run for Jacksonville State in the eighth inning to tie the game at 3. Schoor entered the game in relief for Abe Chancellor.
In the ninth inning, Cade Belyeu struck out swinging and Fralick walked. However, Fralick was called out at second base trying to steal. Next up was Steele, who hit the home run that gave back the lead to the Tigers 4-3.
Auburn will again be on the road this weekend as they begin a series with the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns. The series will begin on Thursday and finish on Saturday. Both Thursday and Friday games will start at 7 p.m. Central and will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Game three on Saturday will begin at 2 p.m. and will also be broadcast by SEC Network+. The Tigers will look to continue the momentum they started with the weekend sweep of LSU.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions.You can also follow Phillip on Twitter@PJordanSEC
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn baseball tops Jax State behind late Lucas Steele home run