No. 5 Auburn baseball secured its first series in Starkville since 2017, and its sixth consecutive Southeastern Conference series win for the first time in a single season since 1995, with a 2-1 series win over No. 10 Mississippi State this weekend.
Auburn dropped the series opener 10-3, hung on for a 5-4 win in the middle game and handled the Bulldogs for a 13-2 run-rule win in Saturday’s rubber match.
Here is a recap of the Tigers’ weekend:
Game one
Auburn fell behind after a four-run first inning that included a two-out grand slam from Mississippi State and never recovered en route to a 10-3 loss in the series opener on Thursday.
The Bulldogs scored in five of their eight plate appearances, including both times Auburn plated a run and outhit the Tigers 16-4. In nine at-bats, Auburn did not put its leadoff man aboard once, striking out 15 times.
On a short rest week, Auburn starter Jake Marciano recorded two outs on seven pitches before a groundball to shortstop resulted in an infield single after an untimely throw and extended the inning. With the bases loaded, Bryce Chane took advantage with a moonshot to left field to give Mississippi State an early advantage it held on to throughout the remainder of the night.
Mississippi State starter Thomas Valincius retired Auburn’s first nine batters in order and struck out six Tigers.
After tossing 31 pitches in the first frame, Marciano gave up a pair of singles to lead off the second, but recorded a strikeout and induced a double play ball to end the inning, and ultimately his night. In two innings, he threw 44 pitches, giving up four runs on six hits to take his fourth loss of the season.
The Bulldogs added a run in the third with a two-out single through the left side that scored a run from first.
Valincius tossed a perfect game through four innings after striking out the side, but Auburn’s Ethin Bingaman broke it up with a single through the middle in the fifth, and later scored on a Brandon McCraine RBI single.
Chance drove in his fifth run in two at-bats in the bottom of the frame on a two-out double to extend the Bulldogs’ lead.
LJ Cormier tossed 3.1 innings in relief of Marciano but exited in the sixth, and the Bulldogs tacked onto their lead to 8-1 with a two-run homer off Ethan Harden.
Bub Terrell barreled his 12th long ball of the season in the top half of the seventh to give Auburn two runs, but Mississippi State reliever Jack Bauer entered right after and did not allow a base runner in the final 2.1 innings.
Auburn’s Abe Chancellor tossed the final 1.1 innings and did not allow a run on just one hit – his eighth consecutive scoreless appearance of the season.
Game two
Auburn catcher Chase Fralick lifted the Tigers to a 5-4 win in the middle game on Friday by breaking open a tie game with a solo homer to start the ninth inning.
The Tigers led 4-0 through their first five plate appearances, but Mississippi State scored four unanswered runs to even the game heading into the final frame. Fralick led off Auburn’s half of the ninth with a 396-foot blast over the wall in left center, ultimately winning the game for the Tigers after pitcher Jackson Sanders retired the side in the ninth for his fourth win of the season.
Both squads threatened to score in their first two at-bats, but Auburn struck first in the top of the third. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out and plated a run on a sacrifice fly from Fralick. Rembert recorded his second hit of the night with a two-out single up the middle to give Auburn a 2-0 lead.
Again, Mississippi State threatened in the bottom half by loading the bases with two outs, but Alvarez induced a groundball out to second to escape unscathed.
With a pair of runners in scoring position in the fifth, Rembert scored Mason McCraine with a groundball to short before Bingaman’s two-out single doubled the Tigers’ lead from the start of the frame.
Alvarez’s last pitch of the night was a two-run homer, which cut the Bulldogs’ deficit in half in the bottom half of the inning.
Sanders worked a scoreless sixth before giving up a run in the seventh on a two-out single, and gave up another in the next inning on another two-out single, setting the stage for Fralick in the ninth.
Game three
Auburn improved to 6-1 in rubber games with a 13-2 drubbing in 7 innings of the Bulldogs on Saturday to secure its first series win in Starkville in nine years.
The Tigers scored nine runs across the fifth and sixth frames and tallied a run in every inning but two. Five players recorded multiple hits, with Guevara recording a team-high three and as many RBIs.
Auburn starter Alex Petrovic picked up his eighth win of the season, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Ryan Hetzler closed things out to combine for a six-strikeout, nine-hit performance for the duo.
Rembert started the Auburn scoring with his 14th homer of the season, a 421-foot blast over the wall in left, to lead off the second frame, before Mason McCraine drove in another on a one-out single to center field.
Before posting a scoreless fourth frame, Auburn added another in the third. Fralick drove in Guevara from third on a groundout to short after Guevara barreled a one-out double down the third-base line and moved to third on a steal.
The Tigers broke things open with a five-run fifth. Auburn scored them on five hits and a hit-by-pitch. A pair of singles drove in the first three runs before Bingaman blasted a two-run shot over the wall in left for an eight-run advantage.
With Petrovic rolling through the first four innings, he gave up a one-out single and a two-run homer that scurried over the outstretched glove of Bristol Carter in center to put the Bulldogs on the board.
The first six Auburn batters reached in the sixth, and with the bases juiced, Guevara’s third hit of the game was a bases-clearing double down the line in left. Fralick singled up the middle and scored another before Mason McCraine scored on a balk from the Mississippi State pitcher.
Petrovic’s second walk of the evening came with one out in the fifth, ultimately ending his day. Ryan Helzter gave up a single but buckled down with two straight strikeouts to escape the inning with no harm.
With its back against the wall, Mississippi State loaded the bases in the seventh with one out, but Hetlzer tossed a game-ending double play ball to second base.
The win marked Auburn’s largest margin of victory in Starkville since 1993.
Auburn will travel to Rudy Abbot Field in hopes of evening the season series against Jacksonville State on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
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