Auburn Baseball: Tigers Take Game One from BYU on Julien’s Big Day
By Taylor Jones
Auburn Baseball defeats BYU on Friday, 4-3, behind Eduoard Julien’s four RBI day. The Tigers move to 10-0 on the season.
So far this season… Brenden Venter, Steven Williams, Tanner Burns, and Brett Wright have each had “breakout games”. On Friday, it was Edouard Julien’s turn.
The freshman from Quebec City, Quebec recorded a career-best 4 RBI in Auburn’s win over BYU to open the third series of the season. Julien’s big day began in the 2nd inning. Josh Anthony opened the inning by singling up the middle. Brett Wright followed that up by reaching base on a walk. After Jay Estes popped out in foul territory, Julien stepped to the plate and cleared the bases on a big three-run home run, the first of his career, over the rightfield wall, giving Auburn the early 3-0 lead.
Julien struck again in his next at-bat by scoring Wright on a sacrifice fly in the 4th inning, sealing Auburn’s scoring for the night.
Other key performances from Friday’s game include Brenden Venter and Josh Anthony going 2-for-4, Venter and Steven Williams each picked up a double.
Auburn Pitching matches season-low in hits allowed
An offensive clinic was not presented by either team on Friday, however, the Tigers had a solid night on the stat sheet, by allowing only three hits.
Casey Mize was phenomenal on the mound in his third start of the season, allowing two hits and two earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. Mize also struck out nine batters in Friday’s win, which is the second time the junior has accomplished that feat in as many starts.
Mize ran into trouble in the 6th inning, after the first two batters of the inning reached base on an error and double respectively. After striking out a batter, the Cougars got on the board on a Keaton Kringlen single that scored Mitch McIntyre. Mize was then replaced leaving two runners on for Elliot Anderson. Anderson only faced one batter, Nate Favero. Favero cleared the bases on a double, capping the Cougars scoring.
Calvin Coker was responsible for getting Auburn out of the monster inning, and he went above and beyond. The Kyle, Texas product shut down BYU, now allowing a hit in 3.2 innings, earning his second save of the season.
Auburn’s three hits allowed tied a season-low. The last time the Tigers limited their opposition to three-hits was against Longwood in the season-opening series on February 17, a game that Auburn won 25-1.
Next Up for Auburn
The series concludes Saturday with a twin-bill. Auburn and BYU will play a doubleheader, beginning at 12 P.M. at Plainsman Park. Davis Daniel (1-0) will get the nod for Auburn, facing Hayden Rogers (2-0) for BYU. Approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one, Tanner Burns will square off with Kenny Saenz of BYU.
Neither game will be featured on TV/streaming devices.