Auburn Keeps Season Alive, Uses Bats to Defeat NC State in Baseball Regional

One down, three to go.

Auburn baseball kept its season alive on Saturday afternoon, using the bats to take down NC State, 17-13, to knock the Wolfpack out of the NCAA Tournament at Plainsman Park.

Eight Auburn runs propelled the Tigers in front immediately, being on the other side of the early onslaught of runs compared to Friday’s loss to Milwaukee. Two home runs were hit in the inning, one each by Chase Fralick and Ethin Bingaman.

Seven Auburn batters scored a run on Saturday, with all but one recording a hit on four NC State pitchers over the course of the game. Fralick would finish with the most, bringing in a career-high six on his own across three different at-bats.

“That first inning, we got punched big time yesterday,” head coach Butch Thompson said after the game. “Chase’s swing got us underway to punch back and punch early today."

Center fielder Cade Belyeu would continue the offensive motor after that high-scoring first inning. He would hit one to right field in the second inning, followed by another in the sixth to bring in two. Saturday was the first time in his career that he has recorded multiple home runs in a game.

ANOTHER ONE! ☝️

Belyeu with his 2nd big fly! pic.twitter.com/FAKZwkCR7i
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) May 30, 2026

After the game, Thompson gave him plenty of credit for his career at Auburn thus far, calling him a “winning human”.

“If he shuts it down and ever stops, that boy has been through more than any player in almost three years in my career,” he said about Belyeu. “He’s been through everything, and he’s had some huge moments and I think he’s in a great place.”

While Auburn exhausted eight arms in the loss to the Panthers, starter Andreas Alvarez ate up 5.2 innings in the win while throwing 105 pitches. That was the fourth time this season that he’s reached triple digits on the mound. Although he allowed nine runs, only four were earned due to the Tigers’ defense.

“I thought he stood up winning at the end,” Thompson said of his starter’s performance. “I thought the last two innings were tremendous. I think he finally started texturing. . .got a couple of popups, and he kept wanting innings. We’ve been practicing that with him all year.”

After leaving the game, the sophomore would eventually pick up his 10th win on the mound for Auburn this season. Star starter-turned-reliever, Jackson Sanders, pitched the final seven outs of the game to lock the game up.

Thompson didn’t want Sanders to go into the game, looking to rest him for tomorrow, but a late NC State push made it a must.

“Up 10, I tried to do everything in my power to not bring Jackson Sanders in that ball game, and ultimately I did,” the Auburn head coach said, “and ultimately it’s because of my respect for that team that I saw on the other side.”

That will need to change if Auburn wants to play to its identity: limiting runs. These last two games were the most runs that Thompson has seen his team allow in a two-game span this season.

The Tigers will now await their next opponent at home, needing another win to get to the championship of the Auburn Regional that begins on Sunday afternoon. Thompson’s group will play the loser of Milwaukee and UCF, which is going on immediately after the first game.

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