After dropping its first game of the Auburn Regional as a heavy favorite, No. 4 Auburn baseball secured its spot in a win-or-go-home regional final game Monday night with an 8-1 victory over the Milwaukee Panthers.
“The job’s not done,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “We’ve got to come out here tomorrow and stay present and keep fighting. The boys fought hard all day. We can see the summit, but these guys have to get home.”
On a day that saw two lengthy weather delays force the Tigers’ first matchup of the day against UCF to end around 9 p.m. CDT Sunday, the Tigers began the second half of their doubleheader at 10:10 p.m. CDT.
While their Friday matchup against Milwaukee saw the Tigers fall behind 10-0 early in the game, it was Auburn that came out of the gates red hot to secure an early lead Sunday night.
After stranding runners on first and third to end the top of the first, junior and Auburn native center fielder Cade Belyeu pulled a double down the right-field line to score freshman first baseman Ethin Bingaman, putting the Tigers up 1-0 with no outs in the inning.
With the bases loaded, junior third baseman Eric Guevara drove in an additional run on a flyout to center field, on which Belyeu was able to tag up and score. With two outs and runners on first and second, sophomore catcher Chase Fralick added to his incredible day at the plate. Having already hit two home runs against UCF earlier in the day, Fralick drove a towering shot over the right-field wall to give the Tigers a commanding 5-0 lead.
After struggling in their first matchup against Milwaukee, Auburn’s pitching was lights out Sunday night, allowing just one run on four hits. Fresh off a dominant relief performance against UCF, in which he struck out five batters, while giving up just one hit in three innings, Auburn handed the ball to junior Ryan Hetzler. The right-hander once again provided relief for the Tigers’ bullpen, throwing four innings of one-run ball and ending his night by securing his sixth strikeout of the game on his 104th pitch of the day.
Freshman reliever LJ Cormier was handed the ball in the fifth and led Auburn the rest of the way, throwing five dominant innings, allowing just one baserunner and striking out eight batters.
Up 5-1 in the top of the sixth, Auburn took advantage of a wild Milwaukee pitching staff that hit three batters and recorded a wild pitch in the inning. After Guevara’s second sacrifice fly put the Tigers up seven runs, Auburn was in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game. The Panthers were unable to pose any threat of a comeback late in the game, resulting in an 8-1 Tigers victory in Game 1 of the regional finals.
With the victory, Auburn now needs one more win to advance to its second straight super regional. The Tigers have seen quite the momentum swing since their devastating loss in the opening round of the regional, having won three straight elimination games to climb their way back to the finals.
First pitch between Auburn and Milwaukee, with a trip to the Super Regional on the line, is set for 5 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.
