No. 5 Auburn baseball secured its 11th straight regular-season home series win after taking two games over Nebraska at Plainsman Park this weekend.
The Tigers dropped the series opener 9-8 in extra innings, used a breakout day at the plate for a 15-4 mercy-rule win on Saturday to even the series and cruised to a 12-3 victory in the rubber match on Sunday.
Here is a recap of Auburn’s weekend:
Game One
Auburn scored three runs in the bottom of the 10th inning and put the tying and winning runs in scoring position, but ultimately came up short, falling to Nebraska 9-8 in extra innings on Friday night.
The Cornhuskers used a three-run eighth inning to tie the game and eventually send it into extra innings, where they scored 10 runs in the top of the 10th.
After a quick out in the home half of the 10th, Auburn placed the next five on board to cut its deficit to one, but a groundout and a pop-up ended the game.
It was the first series opener home loss since week 12 of the 2024 season.
The Tigers’ pitching staff struck out a season-high 18 batters, but gave up a season-high 14 hits, with seven extra-base knocks.
Auburn jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after a four-run third frame, but Nebraska got two back in the top of the fourth.
Auburn responded with a two-out RBI single from Bristol Carter for a three-run cushion.
Jake Marciano recorded his 100th career strikeout with a strikeout to end the fifth inning and his outing. He allowed two runs on five hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.
Game Two
Auburn responded from the series-opening loss with a 15-4 run-rule win over Nebraska on Saturday in front of the largest non-conference regular-season crowd in Plainsman Park history.
The Tigers’ bats came alive with 12 hits and three longballs, highlighted by Mason McCraine’s season-high four hits and game-ending two-run homer in the seventh.
Nebraska cut an eight-run lead to four with a pair of two-run home runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but Auburn answered with seven runs and five extra-base hits in the fifth and seventh frames.
Jackson Sanders got the start on the bump for the Tigers and gave up the pair of Cornhusker bombs before Christian Chatterton relieved him and held them scoreless with four strikeouts in the final two and two-thirds innings.
The Tigers built an early lead with four runs in the first frame as Ethin Bingaman drew a bases-loaded walk to start the scoring, and Rembert drove in another on a ground ball to third. McCraine capped off the four runs with a two-RBI single to left.
Another four-run second inning was capped off as McCraine ripped another two-RBI single through the right side.
Before giving up four runs in the fourth and fifth innings, Sanders held Nebraska scoreless with five strikeouts.
In the fight frame, Auburn used back-to-back home runs from Eric Guevara and Bub Terrell for another four-run inning.
Chatterton retired seven straight before McCraine ended the game with his two-run homer.
Game Three
Auburn recorded its 11th straight regular-season home series win with a 12-3 effort in the rubber match on Sunday.
The Tigers plated at least one run in every inning but three, highlighted by four runs in the second and eighth frames – the latter in which they did not even record a hit. Auburn only recorded seven hits, but Nebraska’s pitching staff gave the Tigers 12 free passes on the day.
Auburn recorded its first run in the home half of the first after Carter led off with a double down the right field line and Geuvara singled him in with two outs before posting a four-run second frame.
The Tigers recorded four runs on two hits, highlighted by a three-run blast over the right field wall that left Fralick’s bat at 110 MPH.
Auburn pitcher Alex Petrovic worked three scoreless frames in his third start of the season before giving up two runs (one earned) in the fourth. He recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth before giving up a leadoff single in the sixth, ending his day with seven strikeouts on four hits on 85 pitches.
A two-run seventh inning gave Auburn an 8-2 cushion before it tallied four runs in the eighth on seven walks and a hit-by-pitch.
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