Auburn claims fourth-straight series with Sunday win over Oklahoma

Auburn baseball faced another winner-take-all situation on Sunday when it faced No. 13 Oklahoma at Plainsman Park, and an early spark fueled the fire for a convincing win.

Auburn baseball scored multiple runs in four innings and crushed six home runs in Sunday's game, propelling them to a 14-4, eight-inning run-rule win over the Oklahoma Sooners at Plainsman Park to claim its fourth-straight SEC series. Despite the strong offensive output from the Tigers, the win is credited to a questionable strike-three call in the 1st inning.

The game began flat for the No. 9 Auburn Tigers as four of the first five batters from Oklahoma reached base, and two of them scored. Auburn starter Alex Petrovic hit the leadoff batter and walked the third batter he faced, with most of the pitches missing in questionable locations. Later in the inning, Auburn catcher Chase Fralick struck out looking on a pitch low and away, a location that was not a strike for Petrovic in the top frame.

The call led an angry Butch Thompson out of the dugout to plead his case with the umpiring crew, doing so without receiving an ejection. The outrage fueled Auburn to score eight runs over the ensuing three innings, and to put the icing on the cake with a four-run 8th inning to put the run-rule into effect.

The offensive explosion was carried by the top of the Auburn lineup, who recorded eight of Auburn's 13 hits and five of Auburn's 14 runs. The big bat of the day belonged to freshman Ethin Bingaman, who crushed three home runs and logged seven RBI on the day. His most notable homerun was the dagger of the game, when he smashed a three-run home run over the scoreboard in center field. Thompson's displeasure with the umpires also aided Petrovic, who allowed zero runs and two hits the rest of his 6-inning outing.

Auburn baseball is now No. 5 in the SEC at 12-9 in conference play, three games behind Georgia for the lead in the conference. The Tigers will have the chance to improve their stock this weekend with a road trip to Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas, to face Texas A&M. The Aggies are No. 2 in the SEC with a 14-6 conference record, and are a half-game back from Georgia. The Tigers and Aggies open their series on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.