Four takeaways from Auburn Baseball's midweek win over Samford

Auburn sweeps season series over Samford Bulldogs. Here's what you need to know.

Taylor Sondgeroth/Auburn Athletics

Auburn played Samford for the second time this season and won 8-4. 

This was a must-win game for Auburn since Samford is a team lower in the RPI rankings, and a loss to them would have severely hurt their chances of being a top-eight national seed. The midweek matchup was played at the Hoover Met, which is the home of the SEC Baseball Tournament. 

This was some strategic scheduling from the Auburn Baseball program because it is always an advantage to play on a ball field to get a feel for the playing surface. Hopefully, playing this midweek matchup at the site of the SEC Tournament will treat the Tigers well in their goal of winning the whole thing.  

Here are four takeaways from Auburn's huge midweek win. 

Carson Skipper looked like himself

Photo credit: LSU Athletics

Carson Skipper had a few bad outings coming into this midweek game with Samford, but he put all of that behind him after a dominant performance. Skipper struck out four Bulldog hitters and didn't allow a run. He was throwing all of his pitches for strikes with good low 90's velocity on his fastball. Skipper has been one of the best relievers on this ball club this year, so it was good to see him back to his dominant self. The Tigers will need Skipper's success to continue as we head to the postseason in the coming weeks. 

John Armstrong continues his dominance

Matthew Shannon/Auburn Athletics

Freshman right-handed sinker ball pitcher John Armstrong has been unhittable in his last two outings and continued his success in the midweek matchup against Samford. Armstrong threw 2.1 innings of shutout baseball, only allowing one hit, a bunt single. He produced three ground outs which is a great stat from a sinkerball pitcher. Hopefully, Armstrong's success continues, and he, Skipper, and Blake Burkhalter can be the big three coming out of the bullpen down the stretch for the Tigers.

Two big innings help Auburn win

Photo credit: Mario Terrana

In baseball, putting a lot of crooked numbers up on the scoreboard is a great thing to help your team leave with the win. Auburn only scored in two innings in the matchup with Samford, but a five-spot in the second and a three-spot in the seventh led to a Tiger victory. Every Auburn starter had a base hit which is a recipe for winning. The Tigers will hope to bring the hot bats with them in their final weekend SEC series. 

Auburn starting pitchers has a short-lived start

Auburn Athletics

In Auburn's midweek game against Samford, Jordan Armstrong got the start on the mound but didn't make it out of the first inning. Armstrong only recorded two outs in the first inning, giving up two earned runs. He gave up two hits, walked a batter, and hit two batters. 

Trace Bright had a start much like this one from Armstrong in game two of the series against Alabama. But in both of these games, the Auburn Bullpen shut down the opponent after the faulty start. As we get closer to post-season baseball Auburn will need excellent starting pitching to make a potential run to Omaha. 

Auburn will finish the season 11-1 in midweek matchups after the victory against Samford. The Tigers will head to Lexington, Kentucky, for their final SEC series of the year. This series will be a Thursday through Saturday series against the Wildcats. The first game of the three-game set will be played at 5:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, May 19th. The game can be found on ESPN+.

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