No. 6 Auburn baseball’s offensive struggles were too much to overcome, as the Tigers dropped the series opener 10-3 to No. 11 Mississippi State.
Auburn starter Jake Marciano struggled in this one, working just two innings while allowing six hits, four runs and one walk. The sophomore now holds a 4-4 record with a 2.71 ERA heading into the final SEC series of the year against Georgia next weekend.
The Tigers’ bats were quiet from essentially start to finish Thursday night, with Bub Terrell’s two-run blast in the seventh marking one of the few times they showed signs of life. Bulldogs southpaw Tomas Valincius cruised through the opener, retiring 15 straight Tigers.
After Valincius sat Auburn down in order, Mississippi State’s offense got straight to work in the first, as two singles and a walk, all with two outs, loaded the bases for Bryce Chance. The Bulldogs center fielder left no doubt, launching a grand slam over the left-field wall, marking just his second home run of the year and giving his squad an early 4-0 lead.
“They wound up getting those bases loaded and got the big swing right there, but we have to be able to overcome things like that, too. Even if we’re used to it or not,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “All-in-all, if you look at the game, we did not get a leadoff man on. We were the puppet tonight, and they were the puppeteer, and I think it was on both sides.”
In the third, Thompson brought in LJ Cormier from the bullpen, hoping to put up some zeroes defensively. However, Vytas Valincius, brother of Tomas, kept it going for the home squad in Starkville, lacing a single past the glove of Auburn third baseman Eric Guevara to extend the advantage to 5-0.
The fifth finally brought some offense for Auburn, as shortstop Brandon McCraine singled through the left side to score Ethin Bingaman, putting the Tigers on the board and cutting the deficit to 5-1.
Unfortunately for the orange and blue, Mississippi State immediately responded in the home half of the frame, as Chance doubled to left-center field, scoring Noah Sullivan and re-securing the five-run lead. Chance finished the evening 3-for-5 with two extra-base hits and five RBIs.
In the sixth, Ethan Harden took over for Cormier, and the Bulldogs’ stellar offensive performance kept rolling as Gehrig Frei belted a two-run shot down the right-field line for his ninth home run of the season, giving Mississippi State an 8-1 lead.
In the seventh, Terrell finally sparked some offense for Auburn with his 12th home run of the season coming in a clutch spot, driving in two runs and cutting the deficit to 8-3.
Following Terrell’s attempt to get the Tigers back into the game, Auburn turned the ball over to sophomore Christian Chatterton. The right-hander’s outing didn’t go as planned, allowing a leadoff home run to right fielder Jacob Parker that made it a 9-3 game. The Bulldogs didn’t let up, manufacturing another run in the frame via two singles, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 10-3.
Jack Bauer sat the final six Auburn batters down in order, sealing Mississippi State’s dominant victory.
Game 2 is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT on SEC Network.
“There’s no time to feel sorry for yourself,” Thompson said. “We’ve been squeezing for five weeks, but that doesn’t matter. We have to get right back out here, get behind (Andreas) Alvarez, make whatever adjustments we need to and come out and try to win a baseball game.”
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Rory is a sophomore majoring in journalism sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @RorymGarvin
