No. 11 Auburn baseball picked up a 2-1 series win over archrival, and eighth-ranked, Alabama over the weekend at Plainsman Park. It was the Tigers’ third conference series win of the season and the second straight series win over the Crimson Tide dating back to last season.
The Tigers picked up a 10-0 win in run-rule fashion on Friday night, dropped game one of Saturday’s doubleheader 6-5 and capped off the series with a 7-5 win on the backend of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Here’s a recap of the Tigers’ weekend:
Game one
Behind a four-run first frame and seven scoreless innings from Sam Dutton on the mound, No. 11 Auburn run-ruled No. 8 Alabama 10-0 on Friday night at Plainsman Park.
“This is as good as this team’s played,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We tried to simplify practice the last two days, just try to get in the middle of the field and return the energy where it’s coming from back toward the mound. The guys showed up. They were ready to play.”
Dutton went the complete game – the first time for an Auburn pitcher since 2023 – and allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out six while facing just three over the minimum in his second seven-inning appearance of his career.
Chase Fralick paced the Auburn offense, which tallied 15 hits on the night, with a season-high four hits with two doubles. Five players collected multiple hits in the game.
The Tigers set the tone from the start as they jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after the first frame with four runs on five hits. Three of the four runs came with two outs. Cooper McMurray opened the scoring with an RBI-single to left and Lucas Steele followed with a two-run double. Bristol Carter capped the rally with an RBI single to right.
Eric Snow and Chris Rembert opened the second inning with back-to-back doubles, and Ike Irish followed with an RBI single to center to push the lead to 6-0.
The Crimson Tide didn’t record their first hit until the fourth inning as Dutton went three consecutive innings facing the minimum.
The Tigers scored four runs over the final two frames. In the seventh, Alabama put a runner in scoring position, but Dutton retired the next two to end the night.
Game two
In a back-and-forth affair, No. 11 Auburn fell short in a 6-5 loss to No. 8 Alabama in Saturday’s first game at Plainsman Park.
Auburn threatened to score in the first inning with a pair of runners on base, but was unable to plate a run as Alabama’s Justin Lebron made an exceptional play at shortstop to end the inning.
With the same situation appearing in the second, Derric Fabian recorded a two-out single to right field to put the Tigers on the board.
Auburn starter Cade Fisher stranded Alabama with bases-loaded in the third, but not before the Crimson Tide tied the game with three hits and a hit batter. With both teams trading runs in the third and fourth innings, Cam Tilly entered in relief of Fisher and retired nine of the first 10 batters – the first seven – he faced to ensure the game remained knotted at two through the top of the sixth.
Auburn took a 3-2 look in the bottom of the sixth as Fabian recorded his third hit of the night, but Alabama responded and took the lead with two runs on four hits in the seventh.
Chris Rembert blasted a 428-foot home run over the War Eagle Wall in left to tie the game at four, and the Tigers took the lead with a run on a wild pitch in the eighth.
Alabama started the ninth inning with a leadoff double and took the lead on a two-run home run from Lebron, and Auburn was retired in order at the plate in the home half of the ninth to end the game.
Game three
No. 11 Auburn struck for a four-run first inning to claim the series in a 7-5 ballgame on the backend of the doubleheader on Saturday at Plainsman Park.
Bub Terrell started the scoring with a two-RBI single to left center, and Bristol Carter extended the lead to 3-0 with a single to right. Chase Fralick capped off the inning’s scoring efforts with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Auburn starter Andreas Alvarez retired the first five Alabama batters he faced before the Crimson Tide put two on with a walk and a hit-by-pitch in the top of the second, then cut the deficit to one with a three-run homer
The Tigers extended their lead to 6-3 in the third with a double from Ike Irish and two-out single from Terrell.
On the heels of Alvarez, Griffin Graves held the Crimson Tide scoreless in his 2.1 innings of work and Tiger third baseman Eric Guevara hit a solo-shot to center.
With runners on second and third in the seventh, Alabama threatened to score before Guevara snagged a hard grounder and threw the leading baserunner out at the plate. However, Alabama still tacked on two runs off of Ryan Hetzler before he responded with six straight outs to end the night.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
