No. 18 Auburn rallies to defeat No. 17 Arkansas, clinching series

No. 18 Auburn rallied from an early game 3-0 deficit, scoring eight unanswered runs to defeat No. 17 Arkansas 8-3 and clinch the series Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park.

Coming off a late-game loss the night before, the Tigers were determined to prove themselves. With the series win, this marks Auburn’s 13th regular season home series win in its last 14 chances, and its first against the Razorbacks since 2017.

Despite allowing three runs on three hits and a walk in the second inning, Alex Petrovic (5-1) faced the minimum in his other four innings of work to secure the win. His inning pitch counts in those innings were five, eight, nine, and 12. 

Sophomore Jackson Sanders pitched in relief for the first time this season and managed to earn his first career save with four scoreless innings. Sanders struck out eight of 13 batters he faced while throwing 38 of his 54 pitches for strikes.

After a quick 15-pitch first inning, Arkansas (20-13, 5-7 SEC) threatened in the second inning by loading the bases with nobody out. This resulted in the Razorbacks scoring three runs on an RBI groundout and a two-out two-run single.

However, Auburn (22-9, 6-6 SEC) didn’t hesitate and responded immediately, using two singles and a hit batter to load the bases before Brandon McCraine’s two-run double. Todd Clay then evened the score with an RBI groundout to second.

After conceding runs in the top of the second, Auburn answered with three runs on three hits and a hit batter in the bottom half. McCraine led the rally with a two-RBI double to right center; this was his first of three hits and a season high of three RBI in the game.

“They punched first, but we punched back,” said McCraine, who raised his average to .347. “We’ve been struggling to find gaps and seeing the ball land. It’s good for us to get back rolling again.”

The Tigers continued their offensive power as they scored in four of five innings from the second through the sixth. Ethin Bingaman put the Tigers ahead with an RBI double in the third. This marked his second of two hits in the game and his fifth RBI of the series. Shortly after, McCraine added to this tally and delivered with a two-out RBI single to right.

Bub Terrell hit his sixth home run of the season and the second of the week, pushing the lead to 6-3 in the fifth.

Bristol Carter manufactured a run with a walk, advancing on a stolen base and a wild pitch to score on Chris Rembert’s RBI groundout. Chase Fralick then closed off the scoring with his sixth homer of the year, matching Terrell just four pitches later.

McCraine was one of four players in the lineup to record multiple hits, and the Tigers totaled the series with 20 runs on 30 hits.

Sanders entered in relief of Petrovic to start the sixth and didn’t miss a beat, as six of his first seven outs were via strikeouts despite dealing with the different routine and a 17-minute rain delay. He ended up facing two batters over the minimum, only allowing a hit batter in the seventh and a single in the eighth. 

“The four starters have done so good the entire year. All three starters were great this series,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “That might’ve been as set as I’ve seen Jackson Sanders. He came out of the ‘pen, handled it masterfully and had his stuff set. Petrovic’s fourth and fifth innings were poised, masterful. Those two guys did a great job. That gave us a chance. This is a team that’s trying to grow and get settled. It was a great response for our offense, only striking out two times.”

“It’s a different kind of adrenaline coming out of the pen compared to starting,” Sanders said. “I was trying to dominate the strike zone. Our hitters did a great job offensively. We tried to execute pitches the best we could, and they ended up missing them.”

The Tigers will continue their home stand with a Tuesday matchup against Jacksonville State (26-6, 11-0 C-USA) at 6 p.m. CDT.