AUBURN, Ala. – Highlighted by an inspiring performance from sophomore outfielder Cade Belyeu, No. 22 Auburn started the 2025 season with a 4-1 win over Holy Cross in front of the largest crowd in Plainsman Park history.
Playing with a heavy heart after losing his mother, Staci, Friday morning to a battle with cancer, Belyeu hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to extend Auburn’s advantage en route to the win.
“One of the most inspiring things I have seen in 32 years,” head coach Butch Thompson said of Belyeu’s performance. “That is the story line of this ball game, regardless of outcome or result. Staci wanted her son to play. I didn’t know how it would go, but he played an amazing game. It was pretty incredible.”
Playing for the first time in the newly-renovated Plainsman Park, a record 5,718 members of the Auburn Family entered the gates to take in Opening Day on The Plains.
“Just absolutely incredible,” Thompson added of the atmosphere. “If you build it, they'll come type concept, and that looked amazing over the wall. Our fans, I think that's an environment that you know has taken almost a decade to try to get in motion, and you've done all these little pieces along the way, but something came into full circle tonight that was pretty special.”
Carson Myers earned the second save of his career by holding Holy Cross scoreless in the final three innings.
“I had full intentions to finish the game and give my team my best shot,” Myers said. “I knew the bottom half of the lineup was left, right, left, left, and I know that’s optimal for a left-handed pitcher, so I was just going inning by inning and getting my guy and making my pitch.”
The senior southpaw retired nine of the 10 batters he faced and needed just 32 pitches, 25 of which were strikes, to end the game.
Auburn (1-0) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Eric Snow delivered a two-RBI double in his first at-bat in an Auburn uniform.
“We thought we had a really good scouting report and wanted to see the ball over the plate,” Snow said. “Gabe (Gross) did a good job getting us prepared for that. I saw a slider and was ready to hit it.
“It’s a school I have always wanted to come to, even out of high school,” he added. “(Karl Nonemaker) and Gabe gave me a chance, and I’m going to take every opportunity I get. Cooper (McMurray), (Deric) Fabian, Ike (Irish) and all of the older guys have taken me in and made this place like home.”
Prior to Snow driving in the first runs of the season, Deric Fabian and Belyeu set the table with back-to-back singles to start the inning.
The Crusaders (0-1) cut their deficit in half with a RBI double in the top of the fourth. However, the combination of Cam Tilly and Myers on the mound held the visitors scoreless the rest of the way.
Tilly (1-0) took over for Cade Fisher, who started on the mound in his Auburn debut, and earned his first win of the season with 2.2 scoreless innings and a pair of strikeouts. Fisher struck out five batters in 3.1 innings, including a pair in the first and three in the third.
After Belyeu’s sixth inning home run and with Myers keeping the Crusaders at bay on the mound, the Tigers capped off the scoring in the contest with an RBI triple from Fabian in the eighth.
Three of Auburn’s bottom four hitters in the lineup in Belyeu, Fabian and Snow collected multiple hits, accounting to six of the team’s nine hits in the contest.
The two teams return for game two of the three-game series Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.