Auburn Baseball Walks Off No. 2 Texas to Take Series Opener

The No. 4 Auburn Tigers played host to No. 2 Texas Friday night for Game 1 of the highest-ranked matchup in Plainsman Park history. After a long duel that showcased both teams’ elite pitching staffs, Auburn came out on top 4-3 in front of a record-setting crowd of 7,247 fans.

Auburn jumped on Texas starter Ruger Riojas early, scratching across a run in the first inning before recording an out thanks to consecutive doubles by Chris Rembert and Chase Fralick. Texas answered with two solo shots by center fielder Aiden Robbins in the fourth and ninth innings, with the Longhorns adding a second run in the ninth after a balk, error, and fielder’s choice.

The Tigers found themselves trailing for the first time all night entering the bottom of the ninth, and the lineup stepped up. Mason McCraine ripped a leadoff double, Ethin Bingaman walked, and Lucas Steele singled to short to load the bases. Two batters later, Bristol Carter ripped a ball to center on his first plate appearance of the night, and Robbins missed the ball in center field to allow all three runners to score and give Auburn an exhilarating walk-off win, 4-3.

WHAT. A. FINISH‼️#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/XdEwHxespl
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) March 21, 2026

Jake Marciano got the start for Auburn in Game 1 and proved again that his ERA of 0.93 was representative of far more than just a hot start. Marciano pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just two walks, two hits, and one earned run. The sophomore lefty also struck out nine Longhorns.

“That was definitely the game of my life,” Marciano said after the game. “I have never had that much fun in my life, and really going out there and competing and having everybody behind our back and Bristol getting the job done just through that one AB getting called off the bench like something not most can do. And I’m just really happy to start off the series.”

Auburn had to dip into the bullpen for two arms on the night, getting an inning each from righty Jett Johnston and lefty Garrett Brewer. Johnston pitched the eighth, only allowing a walk and striking out a Texas batter in a clean inning. It was less clean for Brewer, who allowed a hit, a walk, and two runs in the ninth. However, it was enough to get the win in Game 1 and give the Tigers the series lead.

Despite the use of Johnston and Brewer, the Tigers will still have three of their top four bullpen arms available for Saturday: Christian Chatterton, Drew Whalen and LJ Cormier. The Tigers’ bullpen is a bit more top-heavy than Texas’, but Auburn had to use fewer of its top-flight relievers, leaving both teams on about equal footing for the rest of the series.

Texas had to use two bullpen pitchers in its own right in the loss, burning lefty Haiden Leffew and lefty Ethan Walker, each of whom entered the night yet to allow a run on the season. Leffew pitched 1 2/3 innings, and Walker recorded just one out before giving up the game-winning hit.

The Longhorns will still have their top bullpen arm available in righty Max Grubbs entering Saturday, and Walker is likely to be available as well after not taking a large amount of work in Game 1. However, the main Longhorn challenge on the mound will likely be lefty grad student Luke Harrison, who has been the primary Saturday starter for Texas this season. Harrison has a 2.19 ERA on the season.

Auburn’s lineup profiles slightly worse against lefties, as three of the top five hitters in the Tigers’ Game 1 lineup bat left-handed in Chase Fralick, Bub Terrell, and Mason McCraine. However, Auburn will have sophomore lefty Jackson Sanders on the mound to rely on, who has been rock-solid outside of allowing four runs to a top-10 Florida State team in Arlington.

The Longhorn lineup seemed mystified by lefty Jackson Sanders for the majority of Game 1, an encouraging sign for Sanders’ prospects in Game 2 on Saturday. Auburn will look to remain the only undefeated team in SEC play at 6 p.m., and the Tigers are breaking out the sky blues for the occasion.

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