AUBURN, Ala. (Interstat) — Jackson Sanders delivered a dominant performance on the mound, striking out 10 over seven shutout innings to lead the Auburn Tigers to a 6-0 victory over the Winthrop Eagles in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Samford Stadium – Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park.

The game, played under the lights, was effectively decided in the first inning as the Tigers’ offense staked Sanders to an early lead he would not relinquish. Auburn sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs on four hits against Winthrop starter Luke Earnhardt. Braylen Carter led off with a single, advanced on a throwing error and scored on Chase Fralick’s RBI groundout. Chris Rembert followed with a double and came home on Eric Guevara’s single. After a walk, Todd Clay capped the rally with an RBI double to left field, plating Guevara for a 3-0 advantage.

That was more than enough support for Sanders. The right-hander, coming off a rougher outing against Nebraska on Feb. 28 where he allowed four earned runs, was in complete command. He surrendered just two hits, both singles, and did not issue a walk. Sanders retired the side in order in the third, fourth and seventh innings, overpowering Winthrop batters with a steady stream of strikeouts.

Winthrop’s best scoring chance came in the second inning when Cornelius Wouters doubled and advanced to third with one out. A single by McGuire sent Wouters home, but a strong relay throw from left fielder Bingaman to catcher Fralick cut him down at the plate to preserve the shutout. The Eagles managed only one other hit off Sanders and never advanced a runner past first base against him.

Auburn added to its lead in the sixth, capitalizing on a Winthrop error. With Harrison Wilson on in relief, Bingaman singled and Carter reached on a throwing error by the third baseman. Rembert then drove in Bingaman with a single, and Fralick followed with another RBI single to score Carter, making it 5-0. The Tigers grounded into two double plays in the game, which limited further damage.

The Tigers finalized the scoring in the eighth inning when McCraine M. singled, stole second and scored on Rembert’s second run-scoring single of the game. Rembert finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs.

Drew Whalen closed out the win for Auburn with two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit. For Winthrop, relievers Garrett Byrd and Harrison Wilson combined for five innings of scoreless, one-hit ball after Earnhardt allowed three runs in three innings.

The victory improved Auburn’s record to 12-2, while Winthrop fell to 10-4. The game defied the projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a high-scoring 8-7 Winthrop victory, though Auburn’s 82.2% win probability according to the ELO system proved more accurate.

The most important part of the game was Sanders’ masterful pitching performance, which completely neutralized a Winthrop lineup that had averaged over seven runs per game this season. His ability to protect the early three-run lead with efficiency and power set the tone for the Tigers’ second consecutive shutout of the Eagles in the series.