The Milwaukee Panthers shocked No. 4 Auburn baseball Friday afternoon, taking their first-round matchup in the Auburn Regional over the heavily favored Tigers 13-8.
Auburn’s pitching staff, which led the SEC this year with a 3.63 ERA, gave up an uncharacteristically high total of 16 hits on the day, with half of them coming before the Panthers recorded their fourth out of the game.
Auburn’s 13 runs allowed were the second-highest mark it has given up this season and more than it had allowed in any conference game this year. With the loss, Auburn will now need to win four straight games to keep its hopes of making the College World Series alive for just the seventh time in program history.
Milwaukee’s offense came out of the gates aggressive, jumping on Auburn’s highly touted arms early. Milwaukee recorded three straight singles, while seeing just six pitches to drive in its first run of the game. In the following at-bat, Panthers left fielder Bradyn Horn blasted the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall, putting Auburn down four in the top of the first inning.
The first inning signaled things to come for the Tigers, as Milwaukee’s offense forced problems for Auburn’s pitching all afternoon.
“Milwaukee was superior offensively in their at-bats for nine innings,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said.
Milwaukee kept its foot on the gas. After recording three straight hits to begin the top half of the second, the Panthers produced two more runs in the inning to take a 6-0 lead early.
The fourth inning saw the Panthers blow the lead wide open, batting around the lineup. Thanks to an RBI single from third baseman Grant Ross and another three-run home run from right fielder Charlie Marion, Milwaukee put up four additional runs on the Tigers.
Despite a valiant comeback effort from the Tigers, who ended the game on an 8-3 scoring run, Milwaukee’s explosive start proved to be too much of a mountain for Auburn to climb.
“That was the difference in the game. They had four runs on the first 16 pitches. We couldn’t slow them down today,” Thompson said.
One bright spot for the Tigers, in what was a disappointing day for the squad, was an impressive performance from third baseman Eric Guevara. The junior, from Panama City, Panama, drove in four of the Tigers’ eight runs in the game, with two of them coming on a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, his 13th long ball of the season.
Auburn will now need to run a four-game gauntlet over the next three days to escape its regional as the winner. The Tigers are set to take on the loser of today's game between NC State and UCF in a win-or-go-home matchup tomorrow.
First pitch between Auburn and the loser of UCF and NC State is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
