No. 15 Auburn baseball took game one of its home series against Kentucky on Friday, 12-5, securing the team’s third win in its last four SEC matchups.
The Tigers took advantage of a variety of defensive and pitching mishaps from the Wildcats early in the game before staving off a late comeback attempt from Kentucky in the latter half. With the game one win, Auburn now needs to win one of its remaining weekend matchups against the Wildcats to take its second straight SEC series.
The Tigers jumped all over Kentucky ace Jaxon Jelkin to begin the game, scoring six runs in the first inning alone. In an inning in which the Tigers batted around the entire lineup, Auburn capitalized on a disastrous frame for Kentucky.
The Wildcats allowed four hits, walked two batters, committed three errors and threw two wild pitches. The three errors in the first inning alone matched Kentucky’s season high, and the Wildcats finished with four on the night.
Auburn scored two runs in both the second and third innings thanks to a variety of clutch two-out at-bats. In the second, Auburn put together three two-out hits and a walk to increase its lead to 8-0.
Freshman Ethin Bingaman came up clutch with the bases loaded, driving in two runs on a single to right field — one of his three hits on the night. After chasing Jelkin out of the game in the third inning, freshman Brandon McCraine greeted Kentucky reliever Tommy Skelding with a leadoff double to right-center, advanced to third on an error and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Auburn’s trio of sophomore stars added another run in the third. After Chase Fralick was hit by a pitch and Chris Rembert doubled down the line, Bub Terrell drove in Fralick with a deep sacrifice fly to put the Tigers up 10–2.
Tigers starter Andreas Alvarez continued his streak of impressive pitching performances this season. The sophomore threw six strong innings, allowing just two earned runs on four hits while striking out five Kentucky batters.
After cruising through his first two innings of work, Alvarez hit a bump in the road in the third, giving up two earned runs — his most in a start since his outing against West Georgia nearly two months ago. Alvarez recovered in his final three innings, allowing just one baserunner on a walk in the sixth.
With tonight’s performance, Alvarez has now recorded a win in each of his last six starts, and the Tigers are 7-1 when he takes the mound this year.
After failing to secure a run-rule victory in the sixth inning, Kentucky’s offense began to show signs of life against the Auburn bullpen, scoring three runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to six.
Auburn reliever LJ Cormier worked around two hits in the eighth inning, striking out the side and holding the Wildcats scoreless. Auburn added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to push the score to 12–5.
After back-to-back Kentucky hits to begin the ninth inning, junior reliever Ryan Hetzler entered for the Tigers and induced a crucial double play and a game-ending flyout, sealing a comfortable seven-run victory over a conference opponent.
Auburn will look to take the series against Kentucky on Saturday night at Plainsman Park, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. CDT on SEC Network.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
