Auburn bursts at the end of the 11-7 win over UNC in Super Regional

CHAPEL HILL (North Carolina) – Auburn has found himself in a familiar situation during the first game of the Super Regional against North Carolina on Saturday. At the end of the game in the NCAA tournament, with three points of arrival, the Tigers scored five points in the eighth inning and four more in the ninth to defeat the Tar Heels 11 to 7 and pass a game of the advance to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time since 1997.

At the end of the game, Auburn had a pair of big hits late with Rankin Woley's three-run double at the start of the eighth inning, putting the Tigers in the lead. In the ninth match, Edouard Julien opened the circuit to give the Tigers a fourth consecutive victory in the NCAA circuit.

The day the Tigers did not have their first shot until the fourth inning, the offense was told. Woley, Julien, Ryan Bliss and Conor Davis all had two hits and Steven Williams added another playoff circuit to his total in the win.

"I thought that offensively we had hit and that it had become contagious in training," said Butch Thompson coach. "Steven Williams continues to be the hottest target for us, so we sort of got closer so we could play a game." I thought Rankin's success was awakening something, and Julien when we needed it. We know that we North Carolina reminded us today because we scored two goals and left the bases to complete the game. "

Auburn will not have lost his fight against Kason Howell who doubled, but was eliminated in third place for the first outing of the round following Judd Ward's ball. With only one Bliss spell selected on the right field, move Ward to the third rank with the heart of the Auburn order at the plate.

Against new reliever Joey Lancelloti, Davis doubled for the second time of the day to score Ward and bring Auburn back to less than two. After a wild throw to score Bliss and move Davis to third place, Will Holland walked to put the runners at the corners. Faced with another new launcher, Julien walked to load the bases and bring Woley to the plate.

On a 2-2 pitch, Woley sent a ball into the left center, which almost failed to clear the wall for a grand slam. The three riders, however, scored during the explosion, Julien slipping in front of the attacker. That gave Auburn a 7-5 advantage, but they could not get Woley home to extend the lead.

"Well, I know that guy is here, his ball is his pitch, and he threw it 1-0, 92% of the time, it beat me a bit," said Woley. "So, I fought a couple and I almost swayed at that high, but I knew it was going to come back, especially with the runners." It was low, it's there I like that, I have a bat, and you know, a pretty fun swing. "

The Tigers would then turn to Cody Greenhill to try to finish. By scoring an eighth scoreless, the sophomore would get some help from his attack before heading back for the ninth.

Continuing his good battles, Howell advanced to open the ninth and, with an absent player, he was moving. Achieving a hit-and-run to perfection, Bliss hits a top chopper in shorts for a field singles. With two runners on the base, Davis walked to load them for Holland. That day, Holland is not-for-profit with a volley of sacrifice to the right field to score Howell and give Auburn a three-point advantage.

The Tigers did not miss, however, because Julien entered the game with two riders on the base and made a long run at home in the right field to bring the score to six. This was the first time that the sophomore had been running at home since April 18th and was pushing her team lead to 51.

North Carolina loaded the bases in the ninth inning off Greenhill. Leading a two-man march and a loaded base, the Tar Heels had the best game on the board with the Ashton McGee, but a flying ball in the center put an end to things with the Tigers in the winning streak.

Second-year Jack Owen made a good start despite a difficult start to the first set when North Carolina scored three points. He finished the day by scoring four runs on eight hits in five innings and gave the Tigers a chance despite his slow start.

The biggest problem for the Tigers was to have Tyler Baum on the other side for North Carolina. Oakland A second-round pick, Baum only allowed two runs on four hits in six? sleeves by hitting seven and walking no.

It took Auburn to reach the top of the fourth inning before winning at Baum, while the second round pick of the second round was dominant. With two outs and no-go in the fourth, Davis broke a center-left double and qualified third on a wild course, but Will Holland took the advantage of not scoring them. Tigers.

In the fifth, the Tigers would finally break through another big shot of Williams' bat. With only one, Woley brought a single goal into the area to put a runner in the lead for the right defensive player who hits hard.

After a massive weekend in Atlanta a week ago, Williams missed three double-throws and on the ninth run of his attack, he shot a fastball in the middle and did not miss it. His missile in the net above the right field fence reduced the UNC lead to 3-2. It was the ninth inning of the season for Williams to tie Holland to the helm of the team.

In cruise control since the first run, Owen had trouble at the end of the run when Sabato continued his season of first-year monsters with a left double with a withdrawal. After an outing for the second outing, Ike Freeman broke ground on the left and when Ward's shot was up, Sabato easily scored to bring North Carolina forward to two.

In the seventh with a withdrawal, Julien crashed a Baum pitch that jumped the wall in the right field for a single. It was the end of the day while reliever Austin Love was looking for Tar Heels. Following a Woley stick outing, he accompanied Williams to bring back catcher Matt Scheffler to the plate. Fighting nine fields, Scheffler's volleyball in the middle of the pitch ended the threat with Auburn still on the ground.

North Carolina would extend the lead at the bottom of the seventh and Sabato would still be the center of things. At the start of the run, Dylan Enwiller, striker number eight, came in second with a sacrifice maneuver for the summit of the Tar Heels. Putting Michael Busch on a ground ball for the second outing, Auburn had a decision to make with Sabato.

With the base open, the Tigers decided to present their choice to the rookie who already had a pair of doubles that day. That turned out to be a bad decision since Sabato drilled a single in the first pitch to score Enwiller to lead 5-2. They would finish things with two big heats for the win.

"I thought the experience had just helped us reach the finish line today," Thompson said. "We have to stay focused on the quality of our opponent here – big crowd – we could feel them – we could even hear our people coming from far away, but a big crowd at home and we have to come here and keep playing good baseball to have a chance. "

The Tigers are expected to send second-year LHP Bailey Horn (4-0, 6: 10) into the starting role on Saturday, but questions remain as to his availability after he stayed at the hotel. Team Saturday. disease. It will be evaluated all night. North Carolina will face Austin Bergner (6-1, 5.21). The match should be broadcast on ESPN with a first launch at 10:30 am, Paris time.

Auburn 11, UNC 7 Box Score