Auburn bounces back to even the series thanks to a perfect inning by Jackson Sanders and the Auburn defense. Game three of the series is set for 3 p.m. CT on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville.

Mississippi State in the 9th: 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB

Auburn’s prayers were quickly answered after giving up the tying run to Mississippi State in the 8th inning when Chase Fralick smashed a solo home run to right field, giving Auburn its first run since the 5th inning and putting his team in a situation to win the game in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Auburn in the 9th: 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB

We head into the final inning of the game with a 4-4 tie between the Auburn Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Ace Reese singled through the right side and voluntarily entered a rundown to distract Auburn’s defense long enough for Kevin Milewski, who got on base by a leadoff walk, to score.

Auburn will look to regain the lead in the top frame of the 9th inning.

Mississippi State in the 8th: 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB

For the second time in the game, Auburn fails to add runs despite the first two runners of the inning reaching base. Brandon McCraine led off the inning with a single, with Cade Belyeu reaching base after getting hit by a pitch. The next three batters in Auburn’s lineup were retired via strikeout by Ben Davis, bringing his total to four on the day.

Auburn in the 8th: 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB

Auburn pitcher Jackson Sanders got off to a shaky start in the 7th inning by allowing the first two batters of the inning to reach base. He appeared to be on his way out of the jam, but Bryce Chance singled through the left side to score Ace Reese from 3rd base and to trim Auburn’s lead to one run. He eventually got out of trouble by forcing Vytas Valincius to pop out.

Mississippi State in the 7th: 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB

It was an easy inning for Mississippi State relief pitcher Ben Davis, who retired the first three batters he faced with a pair of groundouts and a strikeout of Bub Terrell.

Auburn in the 7th: 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB

Jackson Sanders held Auburn’s two-run lead in the 6th, his first full inning on the mound in relief of Andreas Alvarez. Mississippi State’s Ryder Woodson recorded a two-out single off Sanders in the frame, but a Gehrig Frei pop-out closed out the inning.

Mississippi State in the 6th: 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB

Auburn put two runners on base during the 6th inning on a Lucas Steele walk and Mason McCraine’s third hit of the game. However, Auburn’s good fortune ended with an Eric Guevara strikeout and a Chase Fralick pop out.

Auburn in the 6th: 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB

Mississippi State is now on the scoreboard following a two-out, two-run home run off the bat of Reed Stallman, which cuts Auburn’s lead to 4-2. Jackson Sanders emerged from the bullpen following the deep drive to left field and proceeded to strike out Bryce Chance to end the inning.

Alvarez’s final line: 2 R, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 97 pitches (55 strikes) over 4 2/3 innings.

Mississippi State in the 5th: 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB

Chris Rembert recorded his second RBI of the game with one out in the 5th, when his groundout to shortstop allowed Mason McCraine to score and to extend Auburn’s lead to three runs. The greedy Tigers were not finished, though, as Ethin Bingaman delivered an RBI single in the next at-bat to push Auburn’s cushion to four runs.

Bingaman’s RBI closed the tab on Mississippi State starter Duke Stone, who ended his outing by allowing four runs on seven hits with two walks in 4 2/3 innings and 95 pitches. Maddox Miller relieved Stone by forcing Brandon McCraine to fly out to center field after walking Bub Terrell.

Auburn in the 5th: 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB

Mississippi State is held out of the scoring column for another inning following a fielder’s choice and a line out, with Andreas Alvarez leading off the inning by logging his fifth strikeout of the game.

Mississippi State in the 4th: 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB

The Auburn lineup logged its first extra-base hit of the game when Bub Terrell doubled on the second pitch of the inning. However, the good vibes ended there as Duke Stone struck out Brandon McCraine, Cade Belyeu, and Lucas Steele to end Auburn’s chances of increasing its lead.

Auburn in the 4th: 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB

As the old Yogi Berra quote goes, “it was deja vu all over again” for Mississippi State in the 3rd inning as Bryce Chance stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. However, unlike Thursday’s opener when he hit a 1st inning grand slam, he hit a ground ball up the middle, which resulted in a fielder’s choice that forced Reed Stallman to become the third out of the frame.

Mississippi State in the 3rd: 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB

It took Auburn a few innings to find confidence at the plate, but it struck gold in the 3rd inning when Chase Fralick popped out to center field with the bases loaded and one out to send Lucas Steele home, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Chris Rembert followed suit in the next at-bat by sending a single up the middle to advance everyone 90 feet, which scored Mason McCraine to extend the lead to 2-0.

We will now see if the two-run cushion will bring out the best in Andreas Alvarez on the mound.

Auburn in the 3rd: 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB

Mississippi State stranded one runner in the 2nd inning, but that was as far as they reached as Andreas Alvarez struck out Ryder Woodson to end the frame.

Alvarez is up to three strikeouts with a walk through two innings of work. He has thrown 40 pitches, with 23 of them finding the strike zone.

Mississippi State in the 2nd: 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB

The Auburn Tigers appeared to gain an edge on Mississippi State as a pair of singles by Chris Rembert and Ethin Bingaman put two runners on base. However, Duke Stone rebounded by striking out the next two batters, and a pickoff play by the Bulldogs caught Bingaman in a rundown between 1st and 2nd base, killing Auburn’s threat of putting a run on the scoreboard.