AUBURN | Kason Howell didn’t have to swing a bat to deliver Auburn’s most important at-bat of the season.
The freshman took four-straight pitches to walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning and drive in a run to give the 17th-ranked Tigers a 4-3 win over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
"I knew he was struggling with the curveball and the infield was in so I was looking for a fastball a little up to try to get something over. He wasn’t giving it to me," Howell said. "Just having a simple plan and staying within myself really helped. It was a little nerve-wracking, I’m not going to lie, but it turned out good."
Auburn takes the opening series of the season with an 11-2 win Friday and a 7-5 loss in 13 innings Saturday.
Rankin Woley led off the 13th with a single and moved to second base on a walk by Edouard Julien. Conor Davis couldn’t advance the runners on a bunt attempt but Ryan Bliss walked to load the bases with one out and bring up Howell.
"Kason wound up just trying to not do too much in that last at-bat," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "Sometimes you can tell, just the ability to take a walk tells you how locked in somebody is. I just thought his ability to see and recognize a ball was really good.
"Whereas some of these guys were swinging wildly, trying to be a hero. And they’re some of our best players too. But Howell and Bliss were locked in for an opening weekend. That was pretty impressive."
Sophomore Jack Owen (1-0) earned the win throwing 4.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He struck out four, walked two and gave up four hits on 67 pitches.
"For me that was a huge confidence builder and even before that I felt really confident going into it. They wanted to give me the ball and I felt really good about it," said Owen, who was scheduled to start on Tuesday.
Auburn made two key defensive plays in extra innings to keep the game tied. Steven Williams made a diving catch in right field with a runner on second base and two outs in the 12th, and Will Holland went to his knees to start a 6-4-3 double play and Woley made a long stretch at first to end the top of the 13th.
Georgia Southern led much of the game after scoring two unearned runs in the second inning on a walk, two sacrifices and fielding errors by Julien at third base and Holland at shortstop.
Auburn scored a run in the second on an RBI double by Holland down the left field line to score Judd Ward. Julien tied it up in the seventh on an inside-the-park home run that hit the left field wall and then bounced off the head of GSU left fielder Noah Searcy into foul territory.
The Tigers took a brief lead in the eighth on an RBI single by Woley before the Eagles tied it back up in the ninth when a runner scored from third on a strikeout and throw to first.
Julien’s home run, Auburn’s first of the season, is the first inside-the-park home run since Ryan Tella against College of Charleston in 2013.
Ward, Holland and Julien had two hits apiece.
Auburn starter Kyle Gray allowed two unearned runs on two hits in 3.0 innings. He struck out three and issued two walks. Bailey Horn threw the next 3.0 innings holding GSU to two hits and a walk and Richard Fitts allowed one run in 2.1 innings.
Georgia Southern left 16 runners on base.
"I thought we played slightly tight and had tension in our game for two days," Thompson said. "Thankful to win a series, always. I know they have a veteran ball club that played the game so well. We’re very fortunate to win. I like our club seeing our first weekend. It’s just a starting point."
Auburn hosts Alabama A&M Tuesday and Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT. Tuesday’s game will be available on SECN+.
