It was a big first inning for No. 9 Florida State. The rest of the game belonged to No. 5 Auburn.
The Tigers surged back from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Seminoles 8-5 Saturday afternoon at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
After allowing four runs on five hits in the first inning, AU starter Jackson Sanders (1-0) settled down to earn the win holding FSU without a hit over the next four innings and striking out a career-high nine.
“I love what Jackson Sanders did,” AU coach Butch Thompson told the Auburn Network. “He was in the strike zone, but the stuff may have been a little too close and they came out looking for the fastball. He didn’t do anything but get better. I liked the competitive spirit for him to continue to go get five innings after giving up four in the first.”
Jett Johnston allowed one run on two hits in 2.2 innings with two strikeouts while Ryan Hetzler earned his first save of the season retiring the final four batters of the game including the final two on strikeouts.
“I thought it was a super gritty performance,” said Johnston. “(Sanders) is one of those guys where sometimes he needs a little bit to settle in. I think once he settled in, he dominated it. He got punched in the mouth early but really found a way to settle the game and gave our offense a chance to get back into the game.”
Auburn got a run back in the second on an RBI-groundout by Caiden Combs and another in the third on a solo home run by Bristol Carter.
The Tigers took the lead in the fifth on an RBI-single by Eric Guevara and a two-RBI triple by Chase Fralick on a bloop down the right field line that fell between the second baseman and right fielder, who collided trying to make the play.
Auburn added three more runs on a sacrifice fly by Logan Gregorio in the sixth, a sacrifice fly by Fralick in the seventh and a wild pitch that allowed Brandon McCraine to score from third base in the eighth.
“I said, ‘Don’t you look at that scoreboard, and you just get to six.’ We needed to focus instead of being behind on something to try to get to that’s attainable, but then they had to do it. They just gritted and grinded,” said Thompson.
Carter and McCraine had three hits apiece with Carter driving in a run and McCraine scoring three. Guevara was 2 of 4 with one RBI and Fralick 1 of 3 with three RBI.
Auburn, which improves to 5-1, will conclude the Amegy Bank Series against No. 11 Louisville Sunday at 10:30 a.m. CT on FloCollege.