Auburn powered through multiple rain delays on Sunday to defeat UCF 9-3. Six of the nine runs for Auburn came from solo home runs, with Cade Belyeu and Ethin Bingaman combining for six home runs in the NC State and UCF games.
After a three-hour delay due to storms, Auburn-UCF finally got started, and it didn’t take long for UCF to get on the board. On just the second pitch of the game, DeAmez Ross hit a long bomb and gave the Auburn crowd more rainy day gloom.
The Knights would tack one more run on in the second off a Ross single, and left fans questioning how much longer the Auburn starter could go.
Then, after another weather delay, the Auburn bats finally started to get hot. Mason McCraine got the solo home run party going in the third, firing a weary Auburn crowd to their feet. That Auburn crowd wouldn’t sit back down for long as Chase Fralick followed up McCraine’s solo homer with one of his own. That homer would be Fralick’s third home run up to that point of the regional, and eighth RBI.
With Auburn’s bats warming up, Auburn’s worry turned to their starter, Alex Petrovic, and his almost 50 pitches through 2 innings. Well, Petrovic would shut that worry down, as he finished his start by going six innings, five hits, and only giving up three runs, with only two of those being earned.
The combo of Belyeu and Bingaman, which already had a combined four homers in the game Saturday, kept that home run power going Sunday. Bingaman got the duo started with a fourth inning solo-homer, one of Auburn’s six solo shots Sunday. Belyeu would finish the duo’s sixth combined home run over the last two days in the sixth, extending the Tigers' lead to three in the middle innings.
Taylor Belza’s solo shot and Chase Fralick’s second homer of the day would finish the Tigers’ home run party, giving Auburn 14 total over the regional. Although, the Tigers wouldn’t stop there, as Mason McCraine would pick up his two RBIs on the day on an 8th inning double.
On the other side, for the Tigers, Ryan Hetzler was lights out. Taking over after Petrovic’s 108-pitch performance, Hetzler struck out five of the last 10 batters for UCF, giving up only one hit as he closed the game out.
Hetzler’s great performance gave Auburn’s coaching staff confidence in him to start the possible regional final game against a familiar foe in Milwaukee. That game was 55 minutes after the UCF, and was broadcast on ESPN+
