The Auburn Tigers earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Youngstown State Penguins on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park, walking it off in the 10th inning on a wild pitch.
In a game that was a strong pitching duel and featured limited offensive opportunities, Auburn did just enough in the bottom of the 10th inning to secure the win and walk it off.
Auburn’s starter Jackson Sanders set the tone with six strong innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run while striking out eight.
Jett Johnston followed with three scoreless innings, and Ryan Hetzler struck out the side in the 10th to strand two runners and preserve the tie.
Youngstown State’s Jack Messmore was equally as efficient, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts before his bullpen allowed the tying run in the ninth and the winning run in the 10th.
Youngstown State put themselves on the board and manufactured its lone run in the top of the fifth inning.
Brady Shannon worked a leadoff walk and moved into scoring position with a stolen base following a strikeout. Gavin Cutting then ripped a double to right center that scored Shannon and gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
Auburn was able to limit further offensive damage as the inning ended with a groundout and a flyout, but the Penguins had, once again, struck first.
The Tigers’ offense was held scoreless until they were down to their final three outs.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Cade Belyeu sparked Auburn’s rally with a leadoff double down the left-field line. Ethin Bingaman followed with a walk, putting the tying and winning runs on base with no outs. After a sacrifice fielder’s choice moved both runners into scoring position. Bristol Carter hit a deep fly ball to right field for a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.
The ninth inning ended with both teams still tied, forcing extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, the Penguins began with a hot start. Shannon singled to center, and a pinch-hit single from A.J. Jang put two runners on base with no outs. Auburn then turned to reliever Ryan Hetzler, who delivered three straight strikeouts, two swinging and one looking, to strand both runners and keep the game tied.
In the bottom of the 10th, Eric Guevara singled to right field to start the commotion. A fielder’s choice and an error moved him to third base, and Auburn loaded the bases after an intentional walk to Belyeu. With the infield shifted in, Combs put the ball in play, resulting in a 6-2 force out at home for the first out. Moments later, a wild pitch went past the catcher, allowing Chase Fralick to score from third with the winning run.
The walk-off victory highlighted Auburn’s resilience, ability to capitalize on errors, and clutch pitching under pressure. After being held silent offensively for much of the game, the Tigers took advantage of late opportunities to secure the 2-1 win, making their record 2-0.
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Lila is a freshman majoring in journalism sports production. She started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
