Auburn Bats Flop Against Texas, Drop Series

The No. 4 Auburn Tigers wrapped up their weekend series vs No. 2 Texas on Sunday, with each team throwing an elite arm in Auburn’s Alex Petrovic and Texas’ Dylan Volantis. Neither starter went especially deep, but the Texas staff kept the Tigers off the scoreboard and secured both a 5-0 win and the weekend series.

Petrovic struggled in his start for Auburn, giving up seven hits, two walks, and four earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings in an outing that gave the Tigers’ Sunday starter his first loss of the young season. The Auburn bullpen allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings, but the damage had already been done.

Auburn emptied its pen to keep the game close, using eight different bullpen arms after Petrovic’s early exit. By contrast, Texas had to use just four arms from its bullpen, relying primarily on Sam Cozart and Brett Crossland, who each pitched at least 1 2/3 innings after pitching the day prior.

“Both days, our relievers, and we even got some new guys in the ballgame today, to give up only one run after they beat up our starters,” head coach Butch Thompson said.“They got the big swing early. We weren’t able to cash in on some things. They left no doubt. Credit to them. It’s really important for us to go back to work.”

The Auburn lineup was dazed and confused at the plate against both Volantis and the Longhorn bullpen, recording just four hits on the day. The Tigers did manage seven walks, but left 12 runners on base, a theme for head coach Butch Thompson’s lineup this weekend. Auburn also struck out 11 times against Texas pitchers.

Despite the deflating end to the series, Auburn proved it can hang with the best teams in the country this week. The Tigers finished the week 2-2, with one win each over No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Georgia Tech. Game 2 against Texas was also close, with Auburn coming up just one run short with bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

The Tigers’ starting pitchers had their worst weekend of the season to this point, with both Petrovic and Jackson Sanders giving up at least four earned runs and neither pitcher making it out of the fourth inning. However, lefty Jake Marciano still turned in a good performance on Friday, going 7 strong innings and allowing just one earned run.

Scheduled Friday night post for Marciano.

7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K 👏 pic.twitter.com/qWhNLKVqad
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) March 21, 2026

Pitching has been Auburn’s biggest strength so far this season, with the Tigers entering the weekend with the best team ERA in the SEC. However, they will need better outings from their starters in the future to win more series in conference play.

ERA LEADERS IN THE SEC 💪

🔗 https://t.co/RtbofVN41d

🤝 @643charts pic.twitter.com/RUNd1Dmcb0
— SEC on D1Baseball (@sec_d1baseball) March 19, 2026

The lineup will also have to be better for Auburn moving forward, especially with runners on base. The Tigers left 31 runners on base across their three games vs the Longhorns, including a disastrous first inning in Game 2 when Auburn failed to score after loading the bases with no outs.

The bats did show solid fight on Friday and Saturday, but were completely silenced on Sunday. Auburn can’t expect its pitching to continue to be nearly perfect, and will need to be able to count on better run support moving forward.

It is obviously never ideal to lose a series, but showing constant fight against Texas and taking the midweek against Georgia Tech is encouraging for the future of this team. However, the schedule does not get much easier, as the Tigers will head to Tuscaloosa this weekend to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide and superstar shortstop Justin Lebron.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, and X for the latest news