By the time the bottom of the sixth inning had rolled around, Bub Terrell and other Auburn outfielders were chit-chatting with Mississippi State fans beyond the wall, and yes, even taking some food from one of the many tailgates being thrown.
That was how in control No. 5 Auburn was of the rubber match against the No. 10 Bulldogs, piling on a three-run lead in the fifth inning with five runs and following that up with four runs in the sixth. In the end, it was a 13-2 victory in seven innings and another massive series win for Butch Thompson’s Tigers.
“Offense, defense, pitching, baserunning, it was a good day,” 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 wins sixth straight SEC series
It was the sixth straight series win for the Tigers, with the last two coming on the road against top-10 opponents.
Chris Rembert got the party started with a solo homer in the second. Ethin Bingaman scored later in the inning on a failed pickoff attempt, while Chase Fralick, the hero on Friday night, drove in Eric Guevara with a groundout in the third to stretch the lead to 3-0.
The Tigers turned the jets on in the fifth, scoring one run on a single by Guevera, two runs on a Rembert single up the middle, before Bingaman knocked a two-run homer over the left-field wall to make it 8-0.
After a two-run dinger by Mississippi State in the bottom of the frame, Auburn answered back with four runs in the top of the sixth and a run in the top of the seventh.
Alex Petrovic (8-2) made sure that the Bulldogs stayed at bay, allowing just two runs on six hits and two walks while fanning four in 5 1/3 innings, while Ryan Hetzler closed the door, hurling 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
“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 (35-15, 16-11 SEC) travels to No. 24 Jacksonville State on Tuesday before returning to Plainsman Park for the final home series of the season against No. 3 Georgia.
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