No. 10 Auburn baseball secured its second straight conference series with a 2-1 series win over Kentucky at Plainsman Park this weekend.
Auburn has now won 14 of its last 15 home series, dating back to the 2024 season, with this series marking Auburn’s first against Kentucky at home since 2016.
Auburn controlled the series-opener with a 12-5 victory on Friday, dropped the middle game on Saturday 5-4 and cruised to an 11-0 run-rule win in Sunday’s rubber match.
Here is a recap of the Tigers’ weekend:
Game one
Auburn struck for six runs in the first frame and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 12-5 win in the series opener against Kentucky.
With the win, the Tigers have won nine straight series-opening wins in SEC home series dating back to last season.
Auburn managed 12 runs on 15 hits, which is its most in SEC play – just one game after the Tigers were run-ruled with 14 strikeouts against Jacksonville State. Five players in Auburn’s lineup collected multiple hits, with Eddie Madrigal and Ethin Bingaman recording three apiece.
The Tigers wasted no time mounting an early lead, scoring six runs in their half of the first on four hits, three Kentucky errors, and a pair of wild pitches and walks each.
Chase Fralick drove in Bristol Carter to start the scoring, and Auburn took advantage of a couple of fielding errors to extend the inning. Bingaman drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring another, and Madrigal drove in a pair on a single through the right side. Another run scored on a wild pitch and Brandon McCraine capped off the scoring with a single through the middle.
Auburn tacked on a pair of runs in the second as four consecutive batters reached with two outs. Bingaman drove in his third and fourth runs with a single to right field.
Kentucky got on the board in the third with a two-out, two-RBI single, but Auburn answered with two in the home half of the frame to make it 10-2.
Andreas Alvarez got the nod for his second weekend start and earned his sixth win of the season, giving up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts. After giving up a pair in the third on 34 pitches, Alvarez retired the next eight batters he saw.
Auburn scored on an RBI single from Carter in the sixth for an 11-2 lead.
The Tigers went to the bullpen in the seventh and gave up a trio of runs on four hits, and Auburn added an insurance run in the eighth on another Carter single to right field.
Game two
After allowing Kentucky to score in each of the first two innings, Auburn held the Wildcats scoreless for the final seven frames but could not mount a comeback, dropping the middle game 5-4.
Jake Marciano took the loss for Auburn, falling to 3-2 on the season after allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits, including three home runs in four innings with seven strikeouts.
Marcel Kulik and Garrett Brewer combined to pitch the final five innings in scoreless fashion.
Brewer entered a jam in the sixth, and with two on, he gave up an infield single to load the bases with one out. However, he escaped the inning with no damage after buckling down for back-to-back strikeouts.
Auburn trailed 5-4 after its half of the sixth, scoring a run on a wild pitch. But it left multiple runners stranded for the fourth time in the game.
Kentucky reliever Nile Adcock went on to retire nine straight Auburn batters until Eric Guevara recorded a one-out single in the ninth – the tying run. Auburn put one more on with a hit by pitch, but a lineout to deep right field and a flyout to center ended the Tigers’ hope of completing the comeback bid.
The Wildcats built an early lead after a three-run first frame. A solo-homer and an error, allowing them to plate two more, gave them a 3-0 lead. Kentucky started the second inning with a pair of solo homers to push its lead to 5-0 after two innings.
Auburn got on the board in the fourth with a two-out, RBI single to right field, but the Tigers left the bases loaded to end the inning.
Chris Rembert barreled a two-run single in the fifth to cut Auburn’s lead to 5-3, and then tacked on one more in the sixth, scoring on a pair of wild pitches, two hit by pitches and a walk.
Auburn tallied nine hits with four players – Guevara, Rembert, Gregorio and Brandon McCraine – recording multiple hits.
Game three
Auburn used a 7-run fifth inning to blow Sunday’s rubber match open, cruising to an 11-0 run-rule win in seven innings.
Starter Alex Petrovic improved to 6-1 on the season, tossing a complete game with eight strikeouts on five hits.
He retired the first 11 Wildcats he saw in order and held them hitless until the fourth frame.
Meanwhile, Auburn wasted no time putting runs on the board. The Tigers plated a trio of runs in their half of the opening frame. With runners on the corners after a lead-off walk and a stand-up double from Chase Fralick, Rembert flew out to center for an RBI and Terrell blasted his seventh homer of the season, a two-run 362ft shot over the right field wall.
With Petrovic dealing on the rubber and recording his third straight 1-2-3 inning, Auburn added another run in the third as Rembert singled through the middle to score Carter.
Kentucky’s Will Marcy kept the Tigers off the board with a pair of tough grabs in right field to end the inning with minimal damage.
The Wildcats put their first runners on with a pair of two-out singles in the fourth, but a flyout to center field ensured another scoreless inning.
Auburn broke the game open, pushing the run-rule threat on Kentucky with seven runs on six hits and an error in the fifth. With runners on the corners after a leadoff single and Fralick’s second double of the day, Rembert tallied his third RBI of the day with a single to right field.
A wild pitch allowed one more to touch paydirt, and Bingaman’s first hit of the game scored Rembert. A walk and another single set up Logan Gregorio for an emphatic grand slam to right field, his second homer of the season, which gave Auburn the lead it needed to close things out.
Kentucky put three runners on across the final two frames, but left each of them stranded.
Auburn will host Alabama State at Plainsman Park on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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