AUBURN, Ala. – Behind homers from Chase Fralick and Cooper McMurray, No. 22 Auburn broke a tie with a five-run sixth inning and never looked back in its 14-6 series-clinching win against Holy Cross Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
“These guys have been amazing,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “They show up early. They work hard. This is one of the best rosters we’ve put together on paper. They come from amazing families, and they have done everything we ask them to do and we have a whole season in front of us.
“We just have to stay after it and dig in and fight,” Thompson added. “Let’s see if we can come out and just be competitive with playing the game and see if we can get settled and play it out a little bit. We have a lot of work to do.”
Fralick and McMurray combined for five hits, including the two homers, and drove in six runs to pace the offense. The freshman’s solo homer to start the sixth broke a 4-4 tie, while McMurray’s three-run shot five batters later extended the advantage.
“I haven’t felt a swing that good in a really long time. It was incredible,” Fralick said of his first collegiate home run. “I’ve been here for eight months, ever since I came this summer, and being able to play with all these guys, my teammates, has been incredible.”
“I think it was huge,” McMurray added of the five-run inning. “The lineup was able to have the pitching staff’s back when they needed it, and they threw the ball well. I think it was big for our confidence and our team as a whole.”
Freshman right hander Christian Chatterton made his collegiate debut on the mound and struck out five batters in 5.1 innings pitched. He retired the first six batters he faced and needed just 14 pitches to get through the first two innings.
“I thought (Chatterton) was incredible,” Fralick said of his fellow freshman pitcher. “We went through the lineup the whole first time without having to use the changeup, which is his best pitch. Once we brought out the changeup and the slider, he was commanding the ball really well, both sides of the plate, front and back. I thought he competed his butt off, so I thought he was incredible.”
Auburn (2-1) jumped out to an early advantage with a run in four of its first five at-bats, but Holy Cross (1-2) tied the game at 4-4 with a two-RBI double in the top of the sixth, ending Chatterton’s outing.
With the Crusaders in their bullpen, Auburn exploded for five run on five hits, highlighted by the aforementioned homers from Fralick and McMurray, to reclaim the lead in the home half of the inning. The Tigers sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth and 25 in its last three at-bats, totaling 10 runs on 11 hits in the final three frames.
Cade Belyeu matched Fralick with a game-high three hits and led the team with six hits in the series. Bristol Carter and Deric Fabian added two hits apiece, while Ike Irish and Lucas Steele each drove in a pair of runs.
Dylan Watts (1-0) earned the win in his 1.0 inning of relief, while sophomores Alex Petrovic and Griffin Graves combined to hold Holy Cross scoreless in the last 2.2 innings pitched.
Auburn continues its season-opening homestand with a pair of midweek games against Troy Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT and North Alabama Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT.