Host Auburn used a pair of early big innings to hand the visiting Wright State baseball team a 7-2 loss on Friday afternoon in the opening game of the weekend series.
 
The series continues Saturday afternoon with a 3 p.m. ET first pitch from Alabama.
 
The Raiders finished with six hits, including two from Justin McConnell, but could not overcome back-to-back three run innings from Auburn in the second and third frames that proved to be the difference.
 
Auburn got on the board with three in the second via a solo homer and a pair of RBI singles, but the Raiders responded in the top of the third, as Konner Piotto led off the frame with a double to right center field and scored moments later on McConnell's RBI double. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, McConnell came home on Damon Dues' RBI single to pull Wright State to within a run after two and a half.
 
The hosts responded in the bottom of the third with another three-run frame, this time using an RBI double and a pair of run producing groundouts to extend the lead. The score would remain at a four-run distance until the sixth, when Auburn's second solo homer of the afternoon brought the game to its eventual final score.
 
Daniel Kreuzer took the loss for Wright State, allowing six runs on nine hits in five innings of work. Three relievers - Bradley Deboutte (one hit, one run), Henry Von Hollen and Riley Perlich – combined to allow one hit over the final three innings while recording four strikeouts. Offensively, McConnell led the way with his two hits and RBI, while Gehrig Anglin and Zane Harris joined Dues and Piotto with one hit each.
 
Tanner Burns earned the win for Auburn, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with eight strikeouts in five innings. Cody Greenhill tallied the three inning save, striking out five over the final three frames. Auburn's offense was paced by a three-hit afternoon from Conor Davis and two hits each from Matt Scheffler and Rankin Woley.