After an offensive explosion on Saturday, the Auburn Tigers were held silent in their matchup against the Cincinnati Bearcats, as Auburn dropped its first midweek game of the season 8-0 and to fall to 3-1 on the young season.
“I didn’t see much, " said Head Coach Butch Thompson. “Just been kinda underwater three of the four games here. Almost non-competitive in situations. I don’t know if guys are trying too hard, but it looks way off. Sometimes in the middle of the season you go through a stretch like that, but at the beginning of the season we were hoping that after a three-game series we could get settled a little bit more… we absolutely did not.”
Cincinnati controlled the game from the first inning. The Bearcats finished top-three in bunts and stolen bases last season, and that small-ball approach was exactly how they beat Auburn, with four stolen bases and three bunt hits. Cincy was always looking 90 feet ahead. Even if taking the extra base didn’t result in a run, it forced Auburn to throw more pitches and use more arms early.
The Bearcats scored early on starter Andreas Alvarez, who was making his first start of the season. Cincinnati's first run came in the first inning after a passed ball from Chase Fralick allowed Jackson Smith to score after doubling and stealing second. The next inning, Alvarez gave up back-to-back base knocks to start the frame and then a sac fly to give the Bearcats a two-run lead.
The Tigers did have their own offensive opportunities early, however. A double from Bub Terrell followed by a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases, but all three Tigers were left stranded. The strikeout was Auburn’s biggest foe of the night, as Tigers were punched out three times with a runner on third with one or two outs in the first four innings. This trend of failing to score with runners in scoring position and less than two outs continued throughout the night, neutralizing the Auburn offense.
After turning a popped-up bunt into a double play to get out of the second inning, Alvarez settled in to go 4.0 innings, allow two runs (one earned), and strike out eight batters. Thompson then handed the ball to Christian Chatterton to deal with the elusive Bearcats.
Chatterton kept the game steady for around four innings until Cincinnati broke it open in the eighth. He finished his 3.0 innings of work allowing two earned runs. From the time Chatterton came off the bump it was a revolving door of relief pitching for the Tigers.
After surging to a four-run lead in the eighth, the Bearcats rallied to score four more while seeing four of Auburn’s arms throughout the inning: LJ Cormier, Marcel Kulik, Abe Chancellor and Justice de Jong.
Auburn will look to bounce back at the 2026 Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Tigers' first game of the series is against Kansas State on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. CDT, with Florida State and Louisville waiting later in the weekend.
