HOOVER, Ala. – Andreas Alvarez and LJ Cormier combined on a two-hit shutout and No. 6 Auburn smashed a pair of home runs to defeat No. 9 Texas A&M 7-0 Friday before 13,105 at the Hoover Met, advancing to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2003.
“It’s one of the top three or four offenses we’ve played over 60 games,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said of the high-powered Aggies. “The (Auburn) offense was great tonight. We were ready to go. The crowd was phenomenal with the Auburn people, and I thought that was pretty neat.”
Auburn set the tone in the top of the first inning when Ethin Bingaman battled out of an 0-2 count to reach via a base on balls, advancing to third on Eric Guevara’s single and scoring on Bub Terrell’s double to right.
Leading off the second inning, Mason McCraine put Auburn ahead 2-0 when he drilled an 0-2 pitch over the wall in center field, his sixth home run of the season.
The Tigers tacked on three more runs in the inning to take a 5-0 lead. After Taylor Belza and Bristol Carter singled to chase Texas A&M starter Ethan Darden, Chase Fralick brought them both home with a double off reliever Gavin Lyons. Guevara then singled to right to score Fralick and cap off the four-run frame.
Texas A&M (39-14) threatened in the bottom of the third, putting two runners in scoring position with no outs after a pair of walks and a wild pitch. Facing Texas A&M’s dangerous top of the order, Alvarez struck out sluggers Gavin Grahovcac and Caden Sorrell before a flyout to right field completed Dre’s great escape.
Alvarez struck out nine to bring his season total to 102, joining Jake Marciano as Auburn’s first pitching tandem to each record at least 100 strikeouts in a season since 1999, the fifth duo in program history to do so.
Alvarez (9-3) sailed through 5.0 scoreless innings, getting Grahovac to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to conclude his outing.
“That’s one of the best lineups in the SEC,” Alvarez said. “I was able to throw my off-speed for strikes, especially in hitters’ counts. That was probably a difference maker.”
Auburn made it 6-0 in the top of the sixth on back-to-back two-out doubles from Carter and Chris Rembert.
Cormier relieved Alvarez in the bottom of the sixth, retiring the Aggies in order, and fellow freshman Bingaman led off the top of the seventh with a towering 410-foot home run to left to put the Tigers ahead 7-0. The home run was Bingaman's 11th of the year.
The Aggies’ first two batters reached base in the bottom of the seventh with an HBP and an infield single, but Cormier struck out the next two batters and ended the inning with a fielder’s choice groundout.
“I felt good in the bullpen,” said Cormier, who allowed one hit in 4.0 scoreless innings while striking out four. “I knew I could compete with all three pitches. I’m glad I could get an opportunity and I’m glad BT (Thompson) trusts me to go out there.”
After coming out on the wrong side of ABS challenges for 16 innings, Auburn got one to go its way at a crucial time, with Fralick’s challenge leading to a called third strike on A&M’s Chris Hacopian to end the eighth inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Fralick again successfully challenged a pitch initially called a ball, resulting in a game-ending strikeout.
“I thought it was there and I trusted my gut and tapped my helmet,” Fralick said.
“I did not think it was a strike,” Cormier said. “I’m glad he challenged it. It was amazing. Best way it could’ve ended, probably.”
Alvarez and Cormier handcuffed the Aggies’ first three hitters as well as anyone has all season, holding Texas A&M’s trio of All-SEC first teamers Grahovac, Sorrell and Hacopian to a combined 1-for-12 with four strikeouts.
“They mixed pitches,” Fralick said. “They did a great job executing our game plan. Everybody has holes and we were able to find theirs.”
All nine Auburn batters recorded a hit, with Guevera and Carter getting two hits apiece.
Needing two wins to claim its first SEC Tournament title since 1998, sixth-seeded Auburn (38-18) plays No. 10 Arkansas, the seventh seed, in Saturday’s semifinals at approximately 3:30 p.m. CT, 30 minutes after top-seeded Georgia plays fifth-seeded Florida at noon.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer