After a three-hour-plus weather delay tested the patience of both teams and fans, No. 11 Auburn showed resilience, pulling out a 6-5 win over Mississippi State in a thrilling series opener Friday night at Plainsman Park.
The win was significant on multiple fronts for the Tigers. It marked their ninth series-opening victory of the season and their 10th one-run triumph, showcasing the team's ability to thrive in high-pressure moments.
“I’m just proud of these guys,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “We hung together and worked hard all week. Top to bottom, Rembert got four hits tonight and was awesome to extend innings. I give Pico Kohn a bunch of credit. We knew it was going to be hard to beat that guy. We knew it was going to be a battle. This was a war, and we played enough offense out here tonight to get the one-run win.”
The night began with Auburn starter Samuel Dutton setting the tone on the mound. Dutton was sharp from the start, striking out six of the first eight batters he faced, including a stretch of five consecutive punchouts between the first and third innings. Behind his strong performance, the game stayed scoreless through three frames.
Mississippi State (24-18, 6-13 SEC) broke through in the fourth inning, however, capitalizing on a leadoff walk with a two-run homer from Noah Sullivan. The blast ended Dutton’s 21-inning scoreless streak at Plainsman Park but didn’t shake the senior right-hander for long.
Auburn (29-13, 10-9 SEC) immediately answered back in the bottom half of the fourth, demonstrating their offensive depth. The Tigers loaded the bases with no outs, and Chase Fralick’s one-out single kept the pressure on Mississippi State. Eric Guevara tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center, and Chris Rembert — who would finish with a career-high four hits — drove in two more runs with a double down the left-field line to give Auburn a 4-2 lead.
Dutton quickly regrouped, retiring the Bulldogs in order in the fifth inning, helped by an outstanding diving play from shortstop Deric Fabian to end the frame. Even after allowing a leadoff single in the sixth, Dutton finished strong, stranding the runner at second and recording his ninth strikeout of the game, tying his season high.
“I thought Sam Dutton was absolutely good again,” Thompson said. “He is just so consistent, and we believe we are going to have success with him on the mound. Regardless of who is on the other side, we think we have a chance to win that ballgame, and that proved again tonight.”
Auburn tacked on another insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Guevara singled through the right side with two outs, driving in his second RBI of the game and stretching the lead to 5-2.
However, the seventh inning brought drama. Carson Myers took over for Dutton and encountered immediate trouble after an Auburn error allowed Mississippi State’s leadoff batter to reach. Two batters later, the Bulldogs capitalized, belting a three-run home run to tie the game 5-5 and shift the momentum.
But just as quickly as the lead slipped away, Auburn snatched it back. In the bottom half of the inning, Eric Snow worked a two-out walk and took off running on a 3-1 pitch. Cooper McMurray, showing his clutch gene, ripped a double down the right field line to drive in the go-ahead run and put Auburn back on top.
“Not having the weekend we wanted to have in Austin last week, and even Tuesday, a win is a win, but from the offensive point of view, we left a lot of guys on base,” McMurray said. “So being able to come back today with a fresh mindset, facing a really good Friday night guy in the SEC, we put pitches in him and finally got the dam to break. It was just an overall great win for us and our camaraderie in the locker room, all the way around.”
Auburn’s ability to produce in clutch spots proved critical once again, as each of their last four runs came with two outs.
Following Myers’ outing, Ryan Hetzler took the ball in the eighth and provided the stability Auburn needed. The right-hander calmly worked the final two innings, recording the last six outs to pick up his fifth save of SEC play and close out another nail-biting win for the Tigers.
Auburn will look to carry its momentum into game two of the series, scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.
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Grace is a Sophomore majoring in Speech Language Hearing Sciences. She joined the Plainsman in the spring of 2024.
