Ole Miss used a pair of homers Friday to outlast the No. 4 Auburn, 6-4, in the opening game of the Super Regional despite a double-digit strikeout from Andreas Alvarez. The Tigers' offense turned cold, scoring four runs—their lowest run total over the last five games dating back to the SEC tournament.
With six straight outs in the first, including three strikeouts for Auburn’s Alvarez, the Rebels turned it around and got to work quickly in the second. Hayden Federico was hit by a pitch right before Owen Paino’s single to left field. Then, Ole Miss’ Brayden Randle singled the team’s first of four two-out hits, scoring the first run and putting Auburn on their heels early.
The Tigers had a chance just an half-inning later, loading the bases with a walk, but their chance was cut short by the first of two inning-ending double plays. However, in the next inning, Auburn would load the bases again, threatening to blow the game open and use the record crowd to their advantage. The Tigers finally pushed a runner across when regional MVP Chase Fralick hit a ball deep into the outfield, allowing Bristol Carter to score and claim his first hit of the postseason.
After a single by Chris Rembert to score Mason McCraine later that inning, Alvarez would be able to come out for another, but would ultimately be his last. After 107 pitches and a walk to Ole Miss’ Randle, LJ Cormier came on in relief and was immediately bombarded. On another two-out swing, Cormier's first pitch was a two-out moonshot from Collin Reuter to center, effectively clinching an insurmountable lead for the Rebels.
The McCraine brothers did all they could to spark momentum for Auburn. Mason delivered an RBI double in the sixth and Brandon added a solo homer in the ninth, it wasn't enough to overcome the Tigers' difficulty with runners in scoring position. The Tigers would ultimately bat 6-for-22 (.273) with runners on and an even worse 2-for-9 (.222) with runners in scoring position. Coach Butch Thompson would talk about the Tigers' problems with runners on after the game.
“We did do the part of getting runners on, and we'll need to continue to do that to stay competitive. I love, of course, Mason getting the hit there in the ninth home run,” Coach Thompson said. “Those are exactly the type of approaches you need in that moment, we need to carry through a lot of tomorrow and a little bit at them. so just got to keep swinging, got to make a difference in the two out stuff."
Now, with the Super Regional being a best two-of-three series, Auburn has its back against the wall in a must-win game tomorrow afternoon. Mason McCraine, who hit the RBI double to make it 6-3, spoke about the team’s attitude facing elimination a second time in as many weeks.
McCraine said, “we got to win, we've been talking about our got-tos, and it's just another got-to on our checklist; we've been in the show before. I think we have the team to do it.”
Auburn will look to stave off elimination tomorrow against the Rebels at 4:00 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
