Auburn's Surge Ends Arkansas' Series Hopes for First Time Since 2017

Auburn scored eight straight runs to stun the Razorbacks 8-3, snapping a nine-year series drought against Arkansas in dominant fashion.

Arkansas Razorbacks Maika Niu on second base in game against the Auburn Tigers. | Arkansas Communications

Arkansas had the lead. They had the momentum. They had the crowd buzzing early.

But when it was all said and done, Auburn had the series.

Auburn scored the final eight runs of the game to beat Arkansas 8-3 in a Saturday rubber match, handing the Hogs their second straight series loss and dropping them to 20-13 overall and 5-7 in SEC play.

For Auburn, it's their first series win over the Razorbacks since 2017, a fact that made the victory that much sweeter for the Tigers, who improved to 22-10 on the season and 6-6 in conference play.

The loss stings for Arkansas, a team that entered the weekend needing wins to stay relevant in the SEC standings.

Instead, they're now sitting well below .500 in league play with tough matchups still ahead.

Arkansas Jumps Out Early But Can't Hold On

It looked like the Hogs might be in for a good day when freshman left fielder Christian Turner came through with a two-out, two-run single in the second inning to make it 3-0.

Before Turner's hit, Kuhio Aloy had driven in the first run of the game on a groundout. For a brief moment, Baum-Walker Stadium had reason to be optimistic.

That lead didn't last long.

Lefty starter Colin Fisher immediately gave all three runs back in the bottom of the second.

Brandon McCraine hit a two-run double to right-center field that split the outfielders and brought Auburn right back into the game.

A Todd Clay fielder's choice brought in the tying run, and just like that, it was 3-3 heading into the third inning.

Auburn took the lead for good in the third when Ethin Bingaman doubled to center field to score Chase Fralick and give the Tigers a 4-3 advantage.

McCraine then added another with a run-scoring single to right field. The Razorbacks never led again.

Fisher's day ended after just 2⅔ innings. He allowed five earned runs and couldn't escape the third inning for the fourth straight weekend. With five earned runs on Saturday, Fisher's season ERA climbed to 4.37 — a far cry from the stretch earlier this season when he threw 22 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. In 17⅓ career SEC innings, he now carries a 12.40 ERA, a number that makes it hard to keep him in the weekend rotation.

Hunter Dietz on the mic 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/uB1Jtf3FCf

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 4, 2026

Auburn Adds on, Arkansas Can't Adjust

After Fisher exited, Auburn kept finding ways to score. Bub Terrell launched a home run to right field in the fifth inning — his sixth of the season — to push the lead to 6-3.

The Tigers then tacked on two more runs in the sixth, with Chase Fralick connecting on a two-run home run that put the game out of reach at 8-3.

It was a gut punch for a Razorback bullpen that had already used multiple arms trying to keep the game manageable.

On the other side, Auburn starter Alex Petrovic was hard to crack. Outside of the second inning, he only allowed one baserunner over his five innings of work.

He pitched backwards, using offspeed pitches in fastball counts, and the Hogs never seemed to figure him out. When Petrovic exited, Jackson Sanders — Auburn's typical game two starter who moved to the bullpen because the series was pushed up a day — kept Arkansas completely quiet the rest of the way.

The Razorbacks finished with just four hits. Two of those hits came from freshmen Turner and Carter Rutenbar.

Reese Robinett and Nolan Souza each added one as well. Every Arkansas hitter struck out at least once on the day.

Arkansas struck out 12 times on Saturday compared to just two for Auburn. It's now the 11th time in 12 SEC games that the Razorbacks have struck out at least 10 times.

That's a pattern that's getting harder to ignore, and it points to a deeper issue with how Arkansas is approaching opposing pitching in conference play.

A 16-minute rain delay in the seventh inning with one out didn't slow Sanders down at all. Once play resumed, he struck out both Razorback hitters to retire the side without breaking a sweat.

Count 'em up 💨@gopaschal pic.twitter.com/PhyI6v7V9P

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) April 4, 2026

The Bigger Picture for Arkansas

Over the full three-game series, Arkansas scored just eight total runs.

If not for Ryder Helfrick's late-game heroics on Friday night — when he kept the Hogs alive with a game-winning blast — Auburn likely would've swept the series entirely.

Saturday's final four innings saw Arkansas never get the tying run to the plate against Sanders. That's not a recipe for winning in the SEC.

The rotation situation is now a real concern for coach Dave Van Horn. Fisher can't keep going out there as a game three starter if he can't make it past the third inning, and the answers aren't obvious.

Hunter Dietz has been the most consistent pitcher on the staff this season and figures to move to the top of the rotation. Cole Gibler has also been effective, going 3-0 with a save and posting a 2.57 ERA over 28 innings pitched.

He allowed just one hit over the final two innings on Saturday. A combination of Dietz and Gibler for the top two spots seems like a reasonable path forward, with game three becoming a question mark that needs answering fast.

Van Horn's staff looks different from the team that started the season and not in a good way.

The Hogs need to figure out their starting pitching situation before heading to Alabama next weekend, where they'll face a red-hot Crimson Tide squad.

What's Next for the Hogs

Before the Alabama series, Arkansas returns to Baum-Walker Stadium for a midweek home game against Arkansas-Little Rock on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

Peyton Lee is the probable starter for the Razorbacks against an opponent they should handle, giving the offense a chance to shake off the rust and get some confidence back at the plate.

The SEC schedule doesn't get any easier after that. At 5-7 in league play, the Razorbacks don't have many games left to waste if they want to make the postseason.

The offense needs to start producing against conference pitching, and the rotation needs to stabilize. Two things that haven't happened consistently enough over the past few weeks.