Auburn advances to the SEC Tournament semifinals in a dominant fashion

No. 6 Auburn baseball continued its dominance in SEC play Friday night, shutting out No. 10 Texas A&M 7-0 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium to move on to the SEC Tournament semifinals.

With the win, Auburn improved its record to 38-18 overall, while advancing further in the SEC Tournament, after holding Texas A&M to just two hits in nine innings. Auburn pitchers Andreas Alvarez and LJ Cormier combined for 13 strikeouts in one of the Tigers’ most complete all-around performances yet.

Auburn got on the board right away in the first inning. After Ethin Bingaman walked and Eric Guevara advanced him to third on a single, Bub Terrell hit a double to drive him in, giving Auburn an early 1-0 lead.

The Tigers’ offense then exploded in the second inning, putting up four more runs and breaking the game open. Mason McCraine began the inning with a solo home run to right field. Then, with Bristol Carter and Taylor Belza in scoring position, Chase Fralick hit a double that scored both runners and gave Auburn a four-run lead. Eric Guevara followed later in the inning with a two-out RBI single to extend Auburn’s lead to 5-0.

The offensive support was more than enough for Alvarez to work off, as he dominated Texas A&M in five scoreless innings. The right-hander allowed one hit while striking out nine despite walking four batters. Alvarez consistently wiped out Texas A&M’s hitters throughout the night and set the tone early for Auburn. His nine strikeouts increased his season total to 102, making him and Jake Marciano the fifth duo in program history to each record 100 strikeouts in a season.

Texas A&M threatened Alvarez in the third inning, putting two runners in scoring position with no outs after Alvarez allowed two walks and threw a wild pitch. Facing the top of the order, Alvarez struck out Gavin Grahovac and Caden Sorrell before a flyout to right field completed his dominant escape.

“That’s one of the best lineups in the SEC,” Alvarez said. “I was able to throw my off-speed for strikes, especially in hitters’ counts. That was probably a difference maker.”

Cormier was equally as dominant as Alvarez, entering in the sixth inning and throwing four shutout innings, while allowing just one hit and striking out four batters to complete the combined shutout.

“I felt good in the bullpen,” Cormier said, after allowing one hit in 4.0 scoreless innings, while striking out four. “I knew I could compete with all three pitches. I’m glad I could get an opportunity and I’m glad [Butch Thompson] trusts me to go out there.”

Auburn continued to add insurance runs later in the game, beginning in the sixth inning when Chris Rembert hit an RBI double to score Carter. Bingaman drove in Auburn’s final run with a solo home run to left field, extending the Tigers’ lead to 7-0.

The Tigers finished with 11 hits, led by Carter and Guevara, who each had two. Bingaman scored twice and added a solo home run, while Fralick drove in two runners during the second-inning explosion. All nine batters in Auburn’s lineup recorded a hit.

Texas A&M struggled offensively all night against Auburn’s pitching staff, striking out 13 times and leaving seven runners on base. Auburn also played clean defense, committing no errors in the shutout victory over the Aggies.

“It’s one of the top three or four offenses we’ve played over 60 games,” Auburn head coach Thompson said regarding the Aggies. “The [Auburn] offense was great tonight. We were ready to go.”

With this remarkable win, Auburn continues to build momentum for its SEC Tournament push and beyond as both its pitching staff and offense delivered another statement performance in a matchup against one of the top teams in the SEC.

Auburn will face No. 7 Arkansas in Hoover, Alabama, today in the SEC Tournament semifinal in an attempt to reach the SEC Tournament championship game.