Auburn baseball has 11-run first, hits seven home runs in NCAA Tournament opener win

AUBURN — Southeastern Louisiana starter Adam Guth failed to retire any of the eight batters he faced Friday evening. He did, however, give up six hits, two home runs and balked twice.

And that was only the start of the Lions' misery.

Auburn baseball smashed four home runs during an 11-run first inning, including two by Cole Foster – one of which was a grand slam. From there, the Tigers (38-19) rolled to an 19-7 win to start their NCAA Tournament run, and will take on No. 3 seed Florida State Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Auburn Regional winners bracket.

Auburn had 20 hits and seven home runs, both season highs, and tied its season high in scoring. Foster finished with nine RBIs, one off the Tigers' single-game record.

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Here's what we learned from Auburn's first home postseason game in 12 years:

Power surge

Auburn's power output during the regular season was middling at best. It ranked 12th in the SEC with 59 homers; and outside of Sonny DiChiara's 18, no Tiger hit more than Bobby Peirce's seven.

Even adjusting for playing a Southland Conference opponent, what happened Friday came out of nowhere.

Foster, who hadn't played since May 13 due to an oblique injury, marked his return by homering from the left and right side of the plate in the same inning. He blasted a three-run shot in the fourth inning, becoming the first Tiger to hit three in a game since Tony Caldwell did it against Kentucky in 2011.

"To come back today, I felt relieved I didn't feel anything," Foster said. "In practice I've been playing a little conservative with it, but it felt good to be at 100% today."

Nate LaRue hit two homers, and DiChiara and Peirce also went deep. Auburn's previous high for home runs this season was four, which it did against Rhode Island in March.

RARE FEAT: See Auburn's Cole Foster homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning

Taking advantage of chances

In going 1-3 against Kentucky over their previous four games, the Tigers batted just .242 with runners on second or third, including an 0-for-9 showing in an SEC Tournament loss.

Friday was different as Auburn went 5-for-5 in its first five chances with runners in scoring position. As importantly, the entire lineup got in on the action. Six players drove in runs, and six players had multi-hit games. Foster went 4-for-6 and DiChiara, Blake Rambusch and Mike Bello had three hits apiece.

"Guys were gathering, loading on time much better than I thought the 10 days prior, just redirecting their bats right up to the middle of the field," said Auburn coach Butch Thompson. "I didn't know if it was going to show up to the pull side, the middle of the field or the other way. That's how much plate coverage I thought we had; how much energy was being thrown back to where the ball was coming from."

The Tigers also drew six walks after taking only one in their last two games, another positive sign for a team that has been looking for players other than DiChiara to consistently get on base and drive in runs.

Pitching sets up favorable weekend scenario

Auburn's offensive explosion also benefited its pitching staff.

After Trace Bright got through the first five innings with a 12-run lead, the Tigers rode the rest of the way with Konnor Copeland and Brooks Fuller, two pitchers with a combined 17⅓ innings. The pair combined to not allow an earned run. Not only did Copeland and Fuller get postseason experience, but they ensured Auburn will have its most trusted arms ready for Florida State and beyond.

Bright was up and down, allowing six hits and four earned runs. But he came out throwing harder than normal, touching 96 mph in the first inning and holding 94 throughout, and struck out a season-high 10. His 101 pitches were his second-most of the season and well above his average of 75.

"It's comforting to go out there and have 11 runs in the first inning," Bright said. "... You still got to stay locked in, focused, treat it like it's a 0-0 ballgame."

Thompson thought about pulling Bright after the first inning to save him for later in the regional, but decided against it.

"We opted for the rested bullpen because we know that there are big challenges ahead," Thompson said. "Trace did good work for us."

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com, by phone at 334-201-9117 and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn baseball slugs past Southeastern Louisiana in NCAA Tournament