Auburn baseball smothers UAB behind three-hit effort from Bryson Ware
In a game where both offenses were at a premium, it was Auburn that stood tall over the visiting UAB Blazers.
Both teams combined to record just seven base hits, with Auburn taking credit for four of them. Behind a one-hit effort from Auburn pitching, and a three-hit performance by Bryson Ware, Auburn earned its fifth straight win by defeating UAB, 4-1 on Tuesday at Plainsman Park.
Bryson Ware recorded three of Auburn’s four hits and scored half of Auburn’s runs on a two-run home run in the bottom of the 4th inning. Cole Foster was the other Tiger who recorded a hit in a tough game that featured eight UAB pitchers.
The game got off to a slow start, as neither team could produce more than one hit through the first three innings. Auburn’s Bryson Ware led off the 2nd inning with a single up the middle, but could not advance past third base to give Auburn a lead.
Ike Irish became Auburn’s second base runner in the 4th inning on a ground-ball blunder by UAB shortstop Gavin Lewis Jr. Two pitches later, Ware sent a moonshot to the video board in left-center field to put the Tigers on the board, 2-0. The home run was his team-leading seventh of the season.
Auburn starter Tommy Vail carried the momentum from his team’s newfound lead by striking out the side in the ensuing inning to improve his count to seven strikeouts through four innings.
Auburn’s third run of the game scored on a misread by UAB third baseman Ben Abernathy. Cole Foster hit a pop-up toward third base, and the baseball changed directions multiple times, causing Abernathy to misjudge the ball on its descent. When the ball landed, Brody Moss scored from second base, and the play was officially ruled a double and gave Auburn a 3-0 lead in the 5th inning.
Vail’s no-hit bid stayed intact through 4.2 innings but came with endangerment. With two down in the 5th inning, Vail walked Gavin Lewis and John Marc Mullins. At that point, Chase Allsup was called upon to cap the inning. He did so on one pitch, which was a ground out by Ben Abernathy to Cole Foster at shortstop. Vail’s night ended with eight strikeouts, two walks, and no hits through 4.2 innings of work.
In Auburn’s half of the 6th inning, Ware recorded his third hit of the night by hitting a triple to center field and was sent home on a sacrifice fly by Bobby Peirce one at-bat later to extend Auburn’s lead to 4-0.
It took seven full innings, but UAB was finally able to secure their first hit. To lead off the 8th inning, UAB’s Tyler Waugh hit a single through the left side to erase the combined no-hitter performed by Vail and Allsup. The Blazers were unable to cash the hit in for a run, as they left a runner stranded at first base to end the inning.
The Blazers scored their first and only run with two outs in the 9th inning. Christian Hall singled up the middle to score John Marc Mullins from third to cut Auburn’s deficit to 4-1. The Blazers brought the tying run up to the plate, but Allsup struck out the final batter to end the game.
Auburn improves to 10-1-1 while UAB falls to 4-8.
Auburn baseball will have a quick turnaround as they hit the road on Wednesday to face Jax State at Jim Case Stadium in Jacksonville. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN+.
