MADISON, Ala. – Highlighted by a career-best outing from Alex Petrovic, No. 23 Auburn defeated UT Martin 6-1 in front of a neutral-site crowd of 5,207 at Toyota Field Tuesday night.
Making just his second career start, Petrovic retired the first 15 batters he faced and needed just 50 pitches to get through the fifth inning.
“When a pitcher is going like that, just let him run,” head coach Butch Thompson said of Petrovic. “That’s a confidence builder and a step for him. What I like about him is just the maturity. This is not an individual sport. This is a team sport. He just settled everybody around him. I think that created some freedom throughout the ranks and our ballclub.”
The sophomore right hander ultimately allowed one run on one hit with a walk and a career-high eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched en route to earning the win.
“Command over the baseball is the most important thing when it comes to the mound. It creates a lot of success for me,” Petrovic said. “I was just trying to do as much as I can for the team. I felt really comfortable. My stuff was set, and I did what I could.”
Following Petrovic’s lead, John Armstrong, Andreas Alvarez and Ryan Hetzler appeared in relief and finished the game with 105 pitches, 73 of which were strikes, and allowed just four baserunners.
“Hopefully that’s just a good rhythm that we struck tonight, especially on the mound, that we can carry and try to reach for that each and every day regardless of who were are playing. That should be the goal,” Thompson added.
Offensively, Eric Snow was one of four Tigers to collect multiple hits, leading the way with three hits for the second straight game while hitting his third home run of the season and matching a season high with three RBI.
“I just try to keep working hard and keep a consistent routine that Gabe (Gross) set out for us. I think that’s really paid off,” Snow said. “I love to get after it in the box. I know a pitcher’s best pitch is strike one, and I love jumping on it when they throw it.”
Petrovic (1-0) retired the first nine Skyhawks he faced with five strikeouts and needed just 29 pitches, 22 of which were strikes, to get through the first three frames.
Auburn (14-3) put two aboard with nobody out in the third thanks to a leadoff hit-by-pitch from Snow and single from Cooper McMurray. With runners on the corners on one out, Cade Belyeu got the Tigers on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Petrovic went back to work with a 1-0 lead and continued to sit down the Skyhawks, doing so in order in the fourth and fifth while racking up his sixth, seventh and eighth strikeouts to mark a new career high in the category.
Auburn added to its lead with two runs in the fifth. Making his first start since Opening Weekend, Eric Guevara started the inning with a leadoff double on the first pitch. Snow then stepped back to the plate for the third time and sent a two-strike pitch out to left field season to increase the lead to 3-0.
Only two of the first 16 UT Martin hitters saw an advantage count against Petrovic. The third Skyhawk to do so hit a single through the left side with one out in the sixth inning, marking their first baserunner of the game. Petrovic proceeded to issue a one-out walk before giving way to Armstrong. Both baserunners moved up on a wild pitch, and UT Martin (6-9) got on the scoreboard with a one-out sacrifice fly.
With its lead trimmed to two, Auburn answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 6-1 game. Snow drove in his third run of the game on his third hit, a single through the right side. McMurray followed with a two-run single past the first baseman, marking his team-best 21st and 22nd RBI of the year.
Alvarez made his first relief appearance of the season to start the seventh inning and faced the minimum in his 2.0 innings of work thanks to a runner caught stealing in the seventh and double play in the eighth.
Hetzler made his fifth appearance of the season and worked a clean ninth inning with a strikeout to finish things off. The game marked the fifth this season that the sophomore right hander has finished.
Auburn starts Southeastern Conference play vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt (14-3) Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.