The Auburn Tigers claimed their 11th consecutive home regular-season series win on Sunday afternoon with a dominant 12-3 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Nebraska emerged victorious in game one of the series on Friday night, defeating the Tigers, 9-8, in 10 innings. Auburn scored three runs in the bottom of the 10th, but despite having the tying run just 90 feet away at third base, Butch Thompson’s squad was unable to overcome the four-spot that the Cornhuskers posted earlier in the frame.
However, the Tigers responded on Saturday afternoon in front of the largest crowd for a non-conference game in program history, storming past Nebraska to take game two with a 15-4 run-rule win in seven innings.
Auburn’s offensive success carried over into Sunday’s rubber match, as the Tigers posted 12 runs on seven hits to secure the series over the visiting Cornhuskers.
“I tried to convey that we completed good Friday night. I think they gave us pretty good effort all week,” head coach Butch Thompson said after the game. “We can take a lot from this. It’s the first time since Missouri in 2024 for us to lose the first game of a series like that and come back and find a way to win. To really play pretty competitive in all phases against a team like we’re going to be playing here the rest of the year is positive.”
The Tigers put up two runs in the opening frame before a four-run bottom of the second inning, which was headlined by a three-run home run by sophomore Chase Fralick to extend Auburn’s lead to 5-0.
“I saw a good pitch. I had a good count, got a good swing off and the ball went out,” Fralick said of his home run. “It’s been awesome. We have had a way better approach, a more refined approach, and had a better game plan going in and it showed in the last two games.”
The offensive success was evenly spread across the lineup, as seven different Tigers recorded a hit on the day. The only two who finished hitless were Bub Terrell and Mason McCraine, who went 4-for-5 on Saturday with three singles and a walk-off homer.
Alex Petrovic earned his third win in as many starts for the Tigers on the mound, as he tallied seven strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched and only allowed one earned run on four hits.
“I put in a lot of work to be here, and these guys have had my back for two and a half years now. I love being able to reciprocate that and give back to these guys,” Petrovic said. “It’s a blessing to be out there every Sunday and give it everything I’ve got.”
The Tigers certainly saw a fair share of arms at the plate throughout the weekend, as the Cornhuskers used 21 total pitchers across three games. Nebraska used seven in on Friday, six on Saturday, and eight on Sunday, with six of those 21 Cornuskers failing to record an out.
Nebraska’s pitching staff gave 15 free passes to Auburn on Sunday, totaling 12 walks (six in the 8th inning) and three hit-by-pitches. The Cornhuskers gave up a whopping 25 walks to the Tigers over the three-game span.
Auburn scored six of its 12 runs in the rubber match in the 7th and 8th innings, but recorded just one hit in those two innings, illustrating the great abundance of free bases awarded to the Tigers.
The Tigers improve to 9-2 on the season, and they will return to the diamond on Tuesday to face Samford. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CST at Plainsman Park.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
