A week for team building

AUBURN | Butch Thompson is looking for that spark. Really, anything that will get his Tigers going as they enter postseason play this weekend.

With eight days off between the SEC Tournament and the start of Friday’s Atlanta Regional, Thompson and his staff turned to some team building exercises including a trip to lake Martin.

“We had a fish fry at his house last night,” catcher Matt Scheffler said. “The whole team drove up to lake Martin at his lake house and took a whole tour of the lake. We went and saw goat island, which I had no clue was a thing. That was pretty cool. Then we went to chimney rock. He wouldn’t let us jump off of that but that was pretty fun. All the guys got together, got to talk, have some fun and eat some good food.”

Thompson said he used a bell curve this week, going light at the beginning and end with a couple of intense intra-squad scrimmages in the middle.

“I think we needed it,” Thompson said. “I think we’ve been waiting a while for us to really find a second gear. I told everybody that I’m proud of this team because they have persevered and hung in there through a lot of adversity. Health-wise, some guys not probably playing the best they possibly can, so individually we don’t have a lot to hang our hats on.

“As a team, we’ve grinded through and won some ballgames to get us in; 230 teams are finished with their season now. To still be fighting and still have an opportunity to play for something, our team has accomplished something.”

Scheffler, who missed a game last week with an injured thumb, will play this weekend with a guard. Tanner Burns, who has missed two of his last four starts with a sore shoulder, will start Saturday’s game two of the Regional.

Auburn, 33-25, opens against Coastal Carolina Friday at 11 a.m. CT. The Chanticleers, the 2016 national champions, scored 80 runs in six games to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last week.

Auburn enters the Regional with four losses in its last six games.

“You never give up on our ball club,” Thompson said. “If you get an opportunity to lead something or somebody or some group, you never give up, you always think your best is right around the corner, and that's what we've continued to do as a coaching staff, is to believe that everybody is capable of a little bit more, and can we continue, until our last opportunity, our last breath, can we continue to get this team as close as it possibly can be.”