The Auburn Tigers (14-2) are headed to Columbia, Mo., to kick off conference play against Missouri (15-2). Both teams have been red-hot throughout the start of the season and are looking to grab more wins as SEC play begins.
Auburn is coming off a nine-game homestand on the Plains, during which they only dropped one game. Most recently, the Tigers absolutely dominated UAB on Tuesday night, with a final score of 17-2 to secure the win, extending their win streak to seven.
Auburn’s bats have been on fire so far this season, with standout redshirt freshman Brandon McCraine leading the team and the freshmen in the conference. McCraine is batting .468 so far this season and has an on-base percentage of .581.
Junior Bristol Carter and sophomore Chase Fralick have also helped lead the Tigers to victory thus far, Carter batting .457 and Fralick batting .397 this season. Fralick brought in his fifth home run of the season on Tuesday night, which helped get head coach Butch Thompson’s squad in a groove.
“It brings a good vibe to the dugout,” Fralick said. “There is a lot of intensity that goes in those swings, and it can really change momentum of games when stuff like that happens. When we take the momentum early in games with some big swings it relaxes our starting pitcher, and our lineup only wants to do more for our team.”
Speaking of starting pitchers, sophomore Jake Marciano has absolutely crushed it on the mound so far. With a 1.23 ERA in 22 innings pitched, Marciano has led the Tigers to victory multiple times this season.
Jake Marciano (4) throws the first pitch in Plainsman Park against Youngstown State on February 13, 2026.
As for Missouri, they have had a similarly dominant season so far. They are continuing their already 10-game homestand and a 13-game win streak after their 14-6 win over Southern Indiana.
Redshirt sophomore Tyler Macon leads Missouri with a .476 batting average and a .571 on-base percentage.
As for pitching, junior Josh McDevitt puts on a show on the mound with a 2.37 ERA in 19 innings pitched.
Both teams are looking to open conference play with wins and set a strong tone for the remainder of the season, with Auburn focusing on playing as a unit.
“I thought we were invested in almost every sequence,” Thompson said after the game against UAB. “It wasn't just one person. We can sit here and talk about three, four guys with good nights. For us to just play good baseball it has to be all of us. We need contribution from the top, middle and the bottom. As a unit, that was the story of the night was how we played offense, not individual hitters, per se, but just how we played offense as a group and together up and down the lineup.”
Brandon McCraine (11) catches a ground ball against Samford in Plainsman Park in Auburn, AL on March 3, 2025.
First pitch between Auburn and Missouri Friday night is set for 6 p.m. CST.
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