No. 6 Auburn baseball continued its impressive run against SEC competition Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 11 Mississippi State 13-2 in seven innings at Dudy Noble Field to secure its sixth straight series win.
The Tigers improved to 35-15 overall and 16-11 in SEC play following the win, continuing one of their strongest stretches of the season. Auburn has now won six straight SEC series for the first time since the 1995 season.
Coming off a dramatic victory Friday night, Auburn instantly took control of the rubber match. The Tigers put together a complete performance, combining dominant pitching, aggressive baserunning and timely hitting to secure the run-rule victory.
“We’ve been pretty good on this run with Petro,” Thompson said. “Offense, defense, pitching, baserunning, it was a good day.”
Starting pitcher Alex Petrovic stepped up once again in this crucial SEC matchup, improving to 8-2 on the season and tying for the team-high after allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out four batters over 5.1 innings pitched. Petrovic delivered another strong performance for Auburn, finding his rhythm and giving the Tigers exactly what they needed on the mound to thrive in this game. His outing helped Auburn improve to 6-1 in rubber games this season, including five straight rubber-game wins behind Petrovic.
“It’s the don’t-blink mentality. We’ve been in this situation before,” Petrovic said. “You’ve got to make big pitches in big situations, and I did it.”
Auburn’s offense backed Petrovic throughout the entire game, finishing with 14 hits while five different Tigers recorded multiple hits in the dominant showing.
Eric Guevara led the way offensively, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. His offensive production helped Auburn gain insurance throughout the middle innings and put more pressure on Mississippi State’s pitching staff.
The Tigers got on the board in the second inning when Chris Rembert hit a solo home run to left field. The 421-foot homer gave Auburn a 1-0 lead and created a spark for the Tigers. Auburn added another run to the scoreboard later in the inning after aggressive baserunning forced a Mississippi State error, then extended its lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning.
The run gap expanded in the fifth inning when Auburn's offense erupted for five runs. RBI singles from Guevara and Rembert helped drive in three runs before Ethin Bingaman crushed a two-run home run to left field to give Auburn an 8-0 lead.
Although Mississippi State hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, Auburn immediately responded to the damage with four more runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs.
Ryan Hetzler closed the game out in the seventh inning, forcing a game-ending double play with the bases loaded to secure Auburn’s 11th run-rule victory of the season.
With the series win, Auburn continued to build momentum as it inches toward postseason play and works to prove itself as one of the SEC’s most dangerous teams heading into the end of the regular season. Thompson highlighted the team’s resilience throughout the weekend.
“The two boys yesterday - Dre and Sanders - made this possible,” Thompson said. “To find a way to win the series, I’m impressed with the guys, but we’ve got to keep our head down.”
Auburn will look to continue its fierce run as it prepares to face Jacksonville State before returning home for the final stretch of SEC competition.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Lila is a freshman majoring in journalism sports production. She started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
