No. 6 Auburn baseball took down the UAB Blazers 10-2 on Tuesday night on the road in Birmingham, Alabama.
After this weeknight win over the Blazers, the Tigers hold a 33-14 (14-10 SEC) record this season.
Redshirt freshman Brandon McCraine and sophomore Bub Terrell led the team with three hits each and a combined five runs scored. Sophomore Chris Rembert and junior Eric Guevara both had two hits to help secure the win for the Tigers.
The night started with two singles from Rembert and Ethin Bingaman in the second inning, followed by a ground ball to third from McCraine that scored the game’s first run. The Blazers replaced their pitcher nearly every inning, which appeared to give Auburn some trouble.
“It’s pretty tough, but you just have to stay true to yourself and do what you do best,” McCraine said about the Blazer pitching changes. “I feel more comfortable, more relaxed and feel like I’m seeing the ball well right now.”
The Tigers’ offense really came alive in the fifth inning with five runs and four walks. The scoring frenzy started with a single from Guevara, while Bingaman kept the ball rolling by drawing a bases-loaded walk. Between a wild pitch and Terrell driving in two runs, Auburn led 7-0 by the end of the fifth.
“All of my hits were away tonight. I’ve been thinking about letting the ball travel longer and putting the ball in play,” Terrell said. “That’s the biggest thing for me going forward is just putting the ball in play.”
Junior left-handed pitcher Griffin Graves pitched a career-high four scoreless innings, with a couple of double plays helping him reach that milestone.
After starting the eighth with a Mason McCraine walk, Guevara hit a 109 mph home run, his 11th of the season, extending Auburn’s lead to nine. Mason McCraine knocked in the Tigers’ 10th run later in the inning with a single.
Redshirt senior Abe Chancellor and sophomore Marcel Kulik followed Graves on the mound, both allowing no runs. Junior Jett Johnston gave up the two Blazer runs in the eighth.
While this was the third straight midweek win with double-digit runs for the Tigers, head coach Butch Thompson felt his team could have played better Tuesday night.
“I’m thankful for the win, but not our best effort here recently,” Thompson said. “I’m not disappointed or upset, but we committed to five weeks here to finish this thing. There were definitely some things that we’ll take and put into practice tomorrow and keep pushing.”
The Tigers stay on the road and head to Starkville to face No. 11 Mississippi State for more conference play as the season comes to an end. Auburn will play a three-game weekend series against the Bulldogs starting on Thursday at 7 p.m. CDT.
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