Auburn barely escaped elimination against NC State, 17-13, on Saturday as the Tigers hit five homers in an offensive explosion. The Tigers also tied their second-highest scoring total this season, with 17 runs scored, led by eight starters getting a hit.
The Tigers flipped the script from yesterday's game, going from the team that gave up an early 10-0 to the one that went up 10-0 early. Eight of the first nine batters for Auburn successfully reached base, with the only omission being Bub Terrell’s RBI fielder’s choice. Auburn’s early run, highlighted by Chase Fralick’s and Ethin Bingaman’s home runs, successfully pushed NCST’s starter out of the game with only one out. Four more batters for the Tigers would push the final two runs of the inning across, putting the Wolfpack on its heels early.
Even with a 2-run homer from Cade Belyeu in the top of the second inning, the Wolfpack would claw their way back into the game with a run of their own. Starting in the second inning with a couple of base hits, NCST would take advantage of some bad fielding for the Tigers. Two errors in the third for Auburn, combined with a sac fly, would allow seven runs to cross and generate pressure on Auburn’s early lead.
Auburn’s offense would continue to stay hot, though, with a fourth-inning bomb by Ethin Bingaman, setting Auburn to put the game away just two innings later. In the sixth, Chase Fralick would follow up his earlier bomb with a 2-run double, clinching a career-high 6-RBI game. Cade Belyeu would make it a touchdown-sized difference for the Tigers with his second homer of the game, just before Chris Rembert closed scoring for the day for the Tigers. Coach Thompson highlighted his team’s offensive showcase after the game, saying how important it is to win games this late in the year.
“Can we create the pitching advantage and have that take place? … tall orders to keep scoring and keep going, but I think whoever wins this is going to do that.’ Coach Thompson said.
Even with Auburn going back up by 10, North Carolina State just wouldn’t go away. A pair of singles in the bottom of the sixth would bring the lead back to single digits, but it was the seventh inning that put fear into Auburn’s crowd. A walk then a double would get the half-inning going and put two members of the Wildpack into scoring position. A Sac Fly and a wild pitch scored those two runners, clearing the way for a Vincent DeCarlo home run to put the Wildpack down just four.
Fortunately for the Tigers, Jackson Sanders would come in and close the game for the Tigers, something Coach Thompson didn’t want to do today.
“I tried to do everything in my power to not bring Jackson Sanders in that ball game, and ultimately I did, and ultimately it's because of my respect for that team that I saw on the other side, the way they just dug in and was there to compete, and with this setup of this field, …” Coach Thompson said.
With today's victory, Auburn will move on to play the loser of the UCF-Milwaukee game, with the game tomorrow starting at 2 p.m. That game’s broadcast has not been announced, but will likely be ESPN+ or SECN+.
