AUBURN | Auburn hit four home runs Tuesday including two more by the red hot Tyler Miller to power past Lipscomb 9-7 at Dugan Field.
The Tigers, which improve to 11-5 in the season, now have 25 home runs in 16 games and remain on pace to break the school record of 131 set in 2010.
“I know our offense got off the bus ready to hit and Tyler Miller’s first two at-bats were huge for us. We needed every one of them,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson told the Auburn Network.
Richard Fitts made his first appearance since suffering a toe injury March 5. The junior, who began the season as a weekend starter, threw 2.0 scoreless innings to earn AU’s first save of the season.
After throwing a 1-2-3 eighth, Fitts walked the leadoff hitter in the ninth, nearly gave up a game-tying homer that was just foul, was visited by the trainers to check on his toe, walked another, but struck out Maddux Houghton to end the game.
“You can see the challenges we continue to face on the mound,” Thompson said. “We got Richard Fitts back out there and probably at the end of the day, that’s what saves us. They almost hit a home run to tie it. We got a pop up that we can catch that ball with the first batter of the inning. We got a double-play ball, just a little unsure handling. We needed this.”
Miller led off the scoring with a solo home run over the left field wall in the second inning.
Trailing 4-1 in the third, Auburn jumped back on top with four runs as Kason Howell led off with his first-career home run and Miller crushed a 3-run blast well over the right field wall.
The Tigers stretched the lead to 9-4 in the fifth with four more runs. Ryan Bliss led off with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, Bryson Ware added an RBI single and Brody Moore followed with a 2-RBI single.
The Bison cut AU’s lead to 9-7 with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
Carson Swilling (1-0) earned the win allowing one runs on three hits in 3.2 innings out of the bullpen. He struck out two and didn’t issue a walk.
“He gave up a home run but he came right back to the very next hitter, drove a couple of fastballs, never walked a batter. Continued growth for Carson Swilling and it’s been a steady climb for him and he did a great job for us today,” Thompson said.
Peyton Glavine started and allowed four runs in 1.1 innings, Blake Burkhalter allowed two runs, one earned, in 0.2 innings and Joseph Gonzalez allowed just one hit in 1.1 innings to set up Fitts for the save.
Miller finished 2 of 5 with two runs scored and four RBI. Ware was 2 of 4 with a run scored and one RBI, Bliss 2 of 5 with one run scored and one RBI, and Howell 2 of 4 with one run scored and one RBI. Moore was 1 of 4 with two RBI.
The game was originally scheduled for Auburn but was moved to Nashville, Tenn., due to inclement weather.
“We came out here, business trip,” Miller told the Auburn Network. “Faced with this adversity. Rained at our place. Had to come over here, make the five hour bus trip. We just knew if we’re going to come all this way, why not go ahead and it eat.”
Auburn opens SEC play this weekend with a three-game series at No. 4 Ole Miss. Game times are 6:30 p.m. CT Friday, and 1:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. All three games will be available on SECN+/ESPN+.
