AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) – Following Friday night’s game, where they scored nine and had eight of the nine batters reach base, Auburn’s offense looked to stay hot heading into game two of their regional against Stetson University. As high-scoring as Auburn was on Friday, Stetson was even more successful, defeating NC State 11-2. Auburn’s Dutton slowed the Hatters on Saturday though, forcing 11 groundouts as the Tigers won 8-5.
Auburn's offense, however, stayed just as hot as it did on Friday night. The Tigers knocked 10 doubles, including three in the two-run second inning, to propel the lineup for most of the night. The doubles were responsible for 10 of the 12 Auburn hits on the game.
In the third inning for Auburn, it was a variety of hits and walks that forced Stetson’s starter into an early exit. After an opposite field single by Guevara, Ike Irish started the inning’s scoring with a double that could have been a triple if he had not fallen heading to third. Ike would then get his opportunity to cross home a batter later as McMurray hit his second double in just three innings, extending the lead to four, and getting the sold-out stadium rocking. Auburn Head Coach Thompson thanked the fans after the game for how great of an atmosphere it was.
“Another unbelievable crowd, a great atmosphere for postseason,” Coach Thompson said, “that’s what it’s supposed to feel like”.
It wouldn’t take long for the Hatters to strike back as their designated hitter, Evan Griffis, would hit a single to right field. The ball would bounce off Irish’s glove, allowing Griffis to advance to second. Following a walk to the next Stetson hitter, Griffis would play station-to-station on the next three consecutive groundouts, giving the Hatters their first run.
Just an inning later, two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Stetson with no outs, forcing a make-or-break situation for Sam Dutton. The next batter, Jordan Taylor, would single to right field, scoring Lorenzo Meola. However, Landon Moran would be gunned down at the plate by Ike Irish on the same play. Stetson would score one more run off their third single of the night to make it a 4-3 game. Cooper McMurray would get his third double of the game the following inning, before Snow would score him with the team’s seventh double to that point.
Following a walk to McMurray and another double for Eric Snow in the seventh, Bub Terrell came up to the plate with only one out. Terrell then proceeded to hit what Coach Thompson would later call one of the most important hits of the game: a double off the massive wall in left field that scored both Snow and McMurray and pushed the lead back to four.
Stetson would score two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, but Dutton’s final line would remain a respectable 6.2 IP, seven hits, four earned runs, three walks, three Ks, and most importantly, 11 ground-outs forced.
Irish would cushion the lead with one more home run to lead off the ninth, and the Hatters couldn’t make a dent in the Auburn lead as Ryan Hetzler shut the door late.
The Tigers now await the result of NC State and Stetson before the regional final at 6 p.m CDT Sunday evening. If Aubrun wins that game, the Tigers will advance to a Super Regional for the first time since 2022. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Auburn Sports Network.
