Defense, long ball leads Auburn over Georgia Tech

ATLANTA – Auburn recorded five defensive runs saved and hit three home runs in a 7-2 win over Georgia Tech Tuesday, completing a midweek sweep of the Yellow Jackets this season.

Chris Stanfield robbed a two-run home run in the second inning and threw a runner home in the third, while Cade Belyeu brought back a second two-run homer to right field in the ninth.

“Yes, we robbed two home runs and they were both momentum changes,” the head coach said Butch Thompson said. “That game would have been completely square, but they definitely made great catches and gave us some distance in the game.”

Leading 4-2 in the top of the ninth, Belyeu gave the Tigers some extra assurance with a three-run homer over the wall in right field, his fourth home run of the season. Stanfield singled to start the inning and Cooper McMurray was walked intentionally with two outs to get the freshman to plate.

“I loved Stanfield’s at-bat in the ninth,” Thompson said. “He didn’t get a hit tonight and it was kind of rough and there was an error all over the place, but he was still interested in his last at-bat. He has two strikes and errors on a few pitches and is willing to get a base hit to right field. They intentionally walk McMurray and that gives Belyeu a chance at a time. Those runs were huge.”

The home run extended Belyeu’s career-high streak to 19 games, the longest streak by an Auburn player this season, and he drove in a season-high four runs in the game.

“First of all, big kudos to Stanfield and McMurray for giving me the opportunity to step up in that situation, and also big kudos to the pitching staff for the whole game,” Belyeu added. “I had a tough day at the plate, so I was just trying to find something over the plate and be on time. The second pitch was over the plate and I just got a good swing on it.”

Auburn’s bullpen trio of Ben Schorr, Cameron Keshock And Christian Herberholz each threw a pair of innings and held Georgia Tech scoreless and to just three hits in the final six frames. Schorr earned his first career win, while Herberholz recorded his second save.

“It’s an offensive margin, so 7-2 is a great score for us here against them and with multiple guys,” Thompson said.

Georgia Tech (28-18) jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a solo home run by Drew Burress in the bottom of the first, and the Yellow Jackets nearly extended their lead in the second. However, Stanfield rose above the wall in center field and returned what would have been a two-run homer by Mike Bicchetti.

“I knew the ball was flying here, so I had to get back quick,” Stanfield said. “I just timed it. We practice it every day in practice and I just trusted my instincts. I knew exactly where I was, and that really goes back to the pregame, knowing where you are and knowing where the court is from the wall, but at the time it was just instincts.”

For the first time since April 16 Joseph González allowed the lone run on one hit with one walk in 2.0 innings pitched.

Of Hayden Murphy in relief, Georgia Tech doubled the lead with an RBI single from Burress in the third and threatened for more, but a strong throw from Stanfield to the plate picked off Burress before crossing to keep the game at 2-0.

Auburn (23-24) took advantage of a Georgia Tech fielding error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Belyeu to halve the deficit in the top of the fourth inning.

The Tigers then took the lead on back-to-back home runs from Erik Guevara And Cooper Weiss to start the fifth. The long ball was Weiss’ third in two games against Georgia Tech this season. The Tigers later loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch by Stanfield, double by Ike Irish and intentionally walked McMurray to extend the lead to 4-2 after Georgia Tech’s second error of the game.

Georgia Tech put two on the board with a leadoff double and a walk in the fifth, but Weiss turned a double play to erase a runner and Schorr got a flyout to centerfield to end the inning unscathed.

Keshock came in to replace Schorr after 2.0 scoreless innings, striking out three batters around a one-out double in the sixth before working around a one-out walk in the seventh.

Herberholz took the mound in a 4-2 game, picking up where Keshock left off with a clean eighth before stranding a pair of runners in the ninth.

Auburn travels to Missouri (21-28, 7-17 SEC) for a three-game series in Columbia from Friday to Sunday.