No. 8 Auburn baseball jumped on No. 7 Texas A&M early and didn’t look back, taking Game 1 of the doubleheader 18-5 in seven innings.
One week after recording 29 hits in its series against Oklahoma, the Tigers kept the hit parade going, recording 19 on Saturday afternoon. Excluding Mason McCraine, who was pinch-hit for in the second inning, every Auburn batter recorded at least one base hit.
Brandon McCraine and, once again, Ethin Bingaman led the way offensively for Auburn, combining to go 6-for-9 with two home runs and seven RBIs.
Bingaman is now 9-for-16 with four home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs in his last four SEC games.
Auburn starter Andreas Alvarez improved to 8-2 on the season, tossing a seven-inning complete game. In seven innings of work, the right-hander allowed six hits and four earned runs while striking out 11 batters.
The Tigers set the tone in the second inning, putting up six runs and chasing Aggies starter Shande Sdao from the game. After allowing a single to Chris Rembert and back-to-back walks to Bingaman and Bub Terrell, Brandon McCraine and Eddie Madrigal recorded singles to help Auburn jump out to an early 3-0 lead.
Auburn posted its first extra-base hit of the game via Bristol Carter, who smashed a double down the left-field line to extend its lead to 4-0 and force Aggies manager Michael Earley to pull Sdao and insert Grant Cunningham. The southpaw got through just one inning of work, allowing four hits, six earned runs and two walks while striking out one. All nine Tigers hitters came to bat in the inning.
The Tigers greeted Cunningham rudely, with two straight singles from Cade Belyeu and Eric Guevara making it a six-spot for the orange and blue in the second frame.
After cruising through the first inning, Alvarez faced some resistance in the home half of the second, as the Aggies got two runs back courtesy of Jorian Wilson’s 12th home run of the year.
Auburn manufactured another run in the third when Madrigal was caught stealing to end the frame, but Brandon McCraine slid into home before the out was recorded, extending the lead to 7-2.
Once again, the Aggies responded as leadoff man Gavin Grahovac launched his 15th home run of the year to left field to cut the deficit to four runs.
Auburn put up another crooked number in the fourth when Chase Fralick and Bingaman both belted two-run home runs to give the Tigers an 11-3 lead.
In the fifth, the Tigers put up another four-spot on hits from Belyeu, Fralick and Bingaman to make it a 15-3 advantage.
Grahovac responded by hammering his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to cut the deficit to 15-5.
In the seventh, Brandon McCraine provided three much-needed insurance runs, smashing a three-run home run to left field to increase the likelihood the Tigers would end Game 1 after seven innings. The redshirt freshman finished the afternoon 3-for-5 with four RBIs. The rally came with two outs, as Auburn finished the game 10-for-16 with two outs.
After Sawyer Farr reached safely in the bottom of the seventh, Boston Kellner lined into a double play to seal Auburn’s 18-5 run-rule victory.
Game 2 in College Station is set for 5 p.m. CDT Saturday. Jake Marciano will be on the mound for Auburn.
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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
