AUBURN, Ala. (EETV)--In a game filled with huge hits at the plate, Auburn outplayed Mississippi State, cruising to a 14–8 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Auburn wasted no time getting the bats rolling, striking quickly in the bottom of the first inning. Ike Irish started things off with a double to left field, scoring Chris Rembert for the early 1–0 lead. Moments later, Eric Guevara smacked a single through the right side, bringing Irish home to make it 2–0.
Mississippi State answered in the second inning when Bryce Chance singled, sending Noah Sullivan across home plate. Shortly after, Gehrig Frei drew a bases-loaded walk to score another run. However, Auburn responded in the bottom half of the inning. Deric Fabian’s sacrifice fly scored Cade Belyeu to put the Tigers back on top, and Chris Rembert followed with a two-run homer to left field.
Auburn’s momentum continued when Cooper McMurray launched a three-run hit to right field, extending Auburn’s lead to 8–2 by the end of the second.
Mississippi State’s Ace Reese attempted to shorten the lead with a solo home run in the third, but Auburn’s offense wasn’t cooling off. In the fourth inning, Lucas Steele singled through the right side, scoring two more runs. Belyeu’s sacrificial fly later in the inning grew the Tigers' lead to 11–3.
Mississippi State attempted to put some runs on the board after a tough couple of innings. In the fifth, Bryce Chance singled home two runs, but was thrown out trying to make it to second. With a sacrifice fly by Sawyer Reeves in the sixth and a solo home run by Hunter Hines in the seventh, the Bulldogs trimmed the Auburn lead to 11–7.
Auburn kept the foot on the gas and struck again in the eighth. Steele added another RBI single, and Chase Fralick's two-run double quickly pushed the lead to 14–7.
Reese capped his strong performance for Mississippi State with his second home run of the game in the ninth, but it wasn't enough to overcome Auburn's powerful offense.
With the win, Auburn showcased an elite performance at the plate. The Tigers will look to carry their momentum into their next matchup against Samford in Hoover, Alabama.
