KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Auburn Baseball ended a chaotic, rain-affected series on Sunday vs the Tennessee Volunteers. After a close game two that took extra innings, the Tigers left no doubt in game three, slugging their way to an 8-1 victory and the series win in a game that was shortened to seven innings due to the weekend’s weather.
Christian Chatterton got the start for Auburn and proved to be extremely effective. The freshman right-hander tossed three innings of two-hit ball, both hits coming in the second frame. Chatterton struck out just two Volunteers, but limited hard contact well in his time on the mound on his way to his fourth win of the season.
The Auburn lineup took a couple of innings to get going, but broke out in a big way in the third. Chase Fralick, Eric Snow, and Chris Rembert started the inning with three consecutive singles, chasing the Tennessee starter AJ Russell from the game. Russell would be relieved by Nate Snead, who wouldn’t have much more success.
Snead immediately launched a wild pitch that allowed Fralick to score and moved Rembert and Snow up to second and third. Cade Belyeu then shot a single to center, scoring Snow. Ike Irish reached on a fielder’s choice to score Rembert on the next at-bat, recording the first out of the inning but extending the Auburn lead to 3-0.
Cooper McMurray continued the Auburn hit parade, rocking a double to right. Finally, Lucas Steele delivered the final damage of the inning, flying out to left field to score Irish and give the Tigers a 4-0 lead heading to the bottom of the third.
As Auburn entered the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers turned to Florida transfer Cade Fisher on the mound. Fisher delivered a gem in relief, pitching four strong innings. The junior lefty struck out five Volunteers, allowing just two hits and one run that came on a solo shot by Cannon Peebles in the fifth inning. However, Fisher did more than enough to secure a save and give the Tigers the win in the seven-inning contest.
Though Fisher didn’t need it, the Auburn lineup was kind enough to do its best State Farm impression and deliver some insurance in the top of the fifth. Snead allowed consecutive singles to Chris Rembert and Cade Belyeu to open the inning, prompting Tennessee to pull the righty and bring in freshman righty Brayden Krenzel in relief.
Just like Snead before him, Krenzel immediately fired a wild pitch that allowed Belyeu to take second, putting two Tigers in scoring position. Krenzel continued to struggle with command from that point, walking three of the next four Tigers and giving two Auburn runs a free pass to the plate.
At that point, Volunteer head coach Tony Vitello decided he had seen enough of the umpires and got ejected from the game, giving each member of the crew an earful before leaving. Krenzel didn’t walk any more batters in the inning, but he did allow a Chase Fralick single that scored Ike Irish and extended the Auburn lead to 8-0 at the time.
Thanks to Fisher’s strong relief outing, the Tigers held the seventh-ranked Volunteers to one run for the second time in three games and secured the series, Auburn’s eight SEC series win in its last ten SEC series.
The Tigers now sit at 33-15 overall and 13-11 in SEC play, good enough for eighth in the conference and a firm spot in the top ten of the national rankings. Additionally, Auburn has series wins over four of the seven teams above it in the SEC, including a sweep of third place LSU.
Overall, with two series remaining, the Tigers find themselves in an excellent position to host a regional, and maybe even a super regional, at Plainsman Park this Postseason. After a 2024 season that saw Auburn finish 8-22 in SEC play and miss the NCAA Tournament, Head Coach Butch Thompson has engineered an incredible bounce-back season for the Tigers.
