Auburn could have faltered after being down 8-3 going into the sixth inning, just as they had in the previous two games of the series. Instead, they found a different gear to pull off the victory.
The Tigers finished the series with a win against the Rebels Saturday afternoon as they stormed back in the final innings to win 13-8.
“They did the same thing yesterday,” said Auburn Head Coach Butch Thompson. “They were resilient as could be. I’m just thankful. This was a big win for the program. With everything that’s going on in college baseball and the shaping going into the SEC Tournament, the postseason. We had done a good job the last three weekends and won every series. We needed to get one today, and the guys responded in a big way.”
Auburn’s relief pitching for the series had been subpar up until the fifth inning when Ryan Hetzler entered. He helped reel the Tigers back into the game, allowing only two more runs the rest of the way.
“There’s absolutely nothing left in the tank. That was everything I had,” Hetzler said. “It means a lot, just having a lot of trust behind me. I kept asking for one more, one more. I just wanted to keep going out there to help my team out. It’s our seniors’ last game, last regular season game, so I wanted to do it for them, not just for me. I really just tried to leave everything out on the field and help our team.”
The Tigers would tie up the game in the top of the sixth as Cooper McMurray drove in Chris Rembert with a two-out double. Lucas Steele drove in the tying run with a two-run double. Auburn would have its first lead of the series with Chris Rembert nailing an RBI double to score Chase Fralick.
Auburn would go on to finish the game with four more runs, with three coming in the final inning. Hetzler would force two flyouts and an out at second to seal the Tigers' win and give them the 6th seed heading into the SEC tournament.
“It was a big ballgame. Each team wanted to win as bad as they could, and I’m proud of the guys for how we responded,” McMurray said. “Thursday and Friday didn’t go as well as we planned, but we showed a lot of fight last night in the later innings. It kind of just continued today. They punched us. We punched back. Just being able to land that last punch, and Hetzler coming in and finishing the ballgame was huge.”
The five-run comeback would tie the Tigers' season record for biggest comeback win, dating back to the series finale vs Vanderbilt earlier in the year. Auburn will now wait to see who they’ll face in the first round of the SEC tournament.
"We don't have to play Tuesday, so that's nice," McMurray said. "The SEC Tournament is what you play the game for. It's on a neutral site for everybody. A lot of talent. A lot of great teams are going to be there. It's just another great opportunity for us to go out there and showcase to the nation how good of a team we can be."
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William Halliday is a junior journalism major from Memphis, Tennessee. He started with the Plainsman in fall 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @wphalliday3
