No. 13 Auburn baseball emerged victorious Friday night against No. 20 Florida, 5-3, evening the series at 1-1 after dropping Thursday’s matchup.
This win marks the Tigers’ fourth conference road victory of the season and the team’s sixth win against a ranked opponent. Auburn will now look to take the series Saturday in hopes of securing its third straight conference series victory.
Star left-hander Jake Marciano and now-reliever Jackson Sanders each threw four innings, combining to allow just one earned run while striking out 12.
GAINESVILLE, FL - APRIL 17 - Auburn's Jake Marciano (4) - #6 Auburn Tigers vs. #7 Florida Gators at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, FL on Friday, April 17, 2026. Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers
Marciano began the game on the mound and threw two scoreless innings before running into trouble in the third. A throwing error allowed the Gators to score two runs in the inning before adding another in the fourth on a home run from left fielder Blake Cyr.
Sanders relieved Marciano and worked around control issues to toss 4 1/3 scoreless innings, earning the win.
With one out in the ninth, Auburn pitcher Ryan Hetzler came into the game to close out the Gators. The junior succeeded, producing a game-ending double play and securing his first save of the season.
Auburn’s offense began the game hot, putting up four runs on Florida starter Liam Peterson in the first four innings. The Tigers kicked off their scoring in the second inning thanks to a solo home run from freshman right fielder Ethin Bingaman.
After Florida answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the third, Auburn exploded for three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Freshman Brandon McCraine reached on a Florida error to begin the inning, scoring Bingaman and tying the game up at 2-2. His brother Mason gave the Tigers a multi-run lead an at-bat later, cranking a two-run home run to left field to put Auburn up 4-2.
After Cyr’s solo shot in the fourth inning brought the Gators to within just one run, Mason McCraine came to the plate again in the sixth inning. On a 2-1 count, the freshman left fielder gave the Tigers a clutch insurance run, hitting his second home run of the game, a solo shot to center field. Auburn held on to the 5-3 lead the rest of the game, handing Florida the loss and evening the series.
GAINESVILLE, FL - APRIL 17 - Auburn's Mason McCraine (17) - #6 Auburn Tigers vs. #7 Florida Gators at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, FL on Friday, April 17, 2026. Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers
The Tigers will see sophomore Alex Petrovic take the mound for Saturday’s rubber match. The redshirt sophomore has been a solid starter for the team all season long, sitting with a 6-1 record on the season and a 2.66 ERA through nine starts. Auburn will hope to see the right-hander continue to keep hitters struggling, as opponents are batting .201 against Petrovic this season, the second-best mark of any starter for the Tigers this season.
First pitch on Saturday is set for 11 a.m. CDT and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
