Following a rain-delayed victory in the series opener, Auburn fell to Mississippi State in the second game of the series on Saturday evening.
The Bulldogs (25-18, 7-13 SEC) rode a dominant first inning to a 12-7 victory over the Tigers (29-14, 10-10 SEC). Auburn had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Eric Snow, who was put in to pinch hit for Cole Edwards, grounded into a double play with the bases loaded.
Mississippi State wasted no time in the batter’s box as Ace Reese sent a two-run shot flying over the right-field wall. Hunter Hines had a two-run homer of his own two at-bats later.
Cade Fisher got the start for Auburn but only made it one inning. John Armstrong came in to relieve Fisher and held things together until the top of the sixth inning when the Bulldogs put six runs across the plate.
The Tigers turned to Griffin Graves during that stretch, but he failed to record an out before allowing three runs.
Auburn’s first run came in the bottom of the third inning when Bub Terrell doubled down the right-field line to drive in Chase Fralick. That was the Tigers’ only run until a lead-off homer from Fralick in the bottom of the fifth inning. Fralick was the only member of the Tigers to record multiple hits.
A contributing factor to the Tigers’ early struggles at the plate was the dominant outing had by Mississippi State starting pitcher Evan Siary. The right-handed junior limited the Tigers to three runs off four hits through six innings on the mound. He also struck four batters out while only walking one.
Auburn started to figure things out at the plate when Stone Simmons came in to relieve Siary. Deric Fabian and Chris Rembert each bounced a home run off the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh inning.
A single up the middle by Lucas Steele in the bottom of the eighth inning put Ike Irish and Cooper McMurray across the plate to bring Auburn within four runs. Snow’s untimely grounding into a double play stopped that rally in its tracks.
Auburn will attempt to secure the series win on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
