Chase Fralick hit a solo home run in the ninth inning to lead No. 5 Auburn to a 5-4 victory over No. 10 Mississippi State on May 9, evening their series at Dudy Noble Field.
The win is significant for Auburn, as it marks the team’s sixth comeback victory this season when trailing or tied after the eighth inning. The result keeps both teams level in Southeastern Conference play with records of 15-11.
After Mississippi State erased a four-run deficit by scoring four unanswered runs from the fifth through eighth innings, Fralick stepped up to start the ninth and sent a two-strike fastball 396 feet over right center field. “It just shows resilience,” Fralick said. “We can bounce back from any game, whether teams are making a comeback or if we’re on the ropes, this team can do anything.” He added, “We’ve done a great job controlling our composure. We know what we have to do when we go out there on the field and the gameplan we have when we go against a pitcher. If we execute, we have faith we’re going to be on the good side of the result.”
Jackson Sanders earned his fourth win of the season by retiring Mississippi State’s three, four and five hitters in order in the bottom of the ninth inning. Sanders said about pitching under pressure: “At the end of the day, it’s just me and (Fralick) out there competing. It’s the man in the arena,” adding that he focused only on competing despite playing before more than 13,000 fans.
Auburn head coach Butch Thompson commented on his team’s perseverance: “It wasn’t our cleanest game, but it was one of our best spirits,” Thompson said. “They’ve done that time and time again. I get to where I can’t see the way we’re going to do it, but (Andreas) Alvarez gets us off to good, competitive starts, and I think it’s as much of his spirit.” He continued: “What a crazy ballgame and a lot going on… We just stayed in there and kept fighting. I think the spirit got us through and got us back to even in this series.”
Auburn built an early lead behind sacrifice flies from Fralick and RBI singles from Chris Rembert and Ethin Bingaman before Mississippi State mounted its comeback with timely hitting late in regulation.
Looking ahead, Alex Petrovic is scheduled to start for Auburn as they face Mississippi State again Saturday at 3 p.m., with coverage set for SEC Network.
