Maners walks it off
AUBURN | Tyler Hampu hung a slider and Mason Maners did the rest.
Maners drove Hampu’s 2-2 pitch over the right field wall in the bottom of the ninth to give No. 13 Auburn a 7-6 walk-off win over Austin Peay Friday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
“I didn’t know it was gone off the bat,” said Maners, who transferred from Jacksonville State win the offseason.. “I was staring at the flagpole as soon as I hit it saying ‘please get out.’ Praise the Lord it did.
“I don’t know if anything can top that. It’s my first walk-off ever, at least walk-off home run. Doing it in an Auburn uniform around these guys and coaching staff, I’m pretty sure it can’t get better than that.”
Trailing 6-5 with two outs in the eighth, Christian Hall hit a solo home run over the right field wall in the eighth to tie the game and set up Maners’ game-winner.
“I kind of knew I was going to get a fastball based off the intel we had off (Hampu),” said Hall. “I just told myself I wasn’t going to miss it and I kept it as short as possible.”
Maners fouled off two pitches before driving the home run off the top of the Josh Donaldson hitting lab in right. Mason threw his helmet in the air after rounding third base and was mobbed by his teammates at home.
“You got to have a knack for the moment,” said AU coach Butch Thompson. “It’s one thing to hit a home run and it’s another thing to hit one when it matters the most. And that was a heck of an at-bat today.”
Tanner Bauman (2-0) earned the win holding Austin Peay without a hit over the final 1.1 innings.
“Bauman did a great job because he’s coming off less than 48 hours coming in a ballgame. Got us out of the eighth and gave us a clean ninth,” said Thompson.
The game looked like it was headed in different direction as Austin Peay battled back from a 5-0 deficit to tie the game in the seventh and take a 6-5 lead in the eighth.
The Tigers had just one single from the third through the seventh before Hall’s shot in the eighth.
AU starter Chase Allsup allowed four runs on four hits in 4.2 innings. He struck out seven and walked one on 97 pitches.
The AU bullpen struggled to slow down the Governors. Zach Crotchfelt allowed two inherited runners to score before getting the final out in the fifth and John Armstrong allowed two runs on four hits in 2.2 innings.
Cooper McMurray drove in a run on a two-out single in the first inning to get the offense started. Auburn added four in the second on a bases-loaded walk by Ike Irish followed by a Bobby Peirce hit-by-pitch and a two-RBI single by McMurray.
Maners was 2 of 3 with two runs scored and one RBI and McMurray 2 of 3 with three RBI.
Auburn, which improved to 11-2 on the season, will play game two of the series against Austin Peay Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
