Published Mar 31, 2022
Auburn playing key series at LSU
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Bryan Matthews  •  AuburnSports
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@BMattAU

AUBURN | Hayden Mullins was knocked out of last Friday’s game after being hit in the head with a line drive. Joseph Gonzalez returned Tuesday night after a 16-day absence due to a blister.

Both should play a prominent role in Auburn’s three-game series at LSU this weekend.

Mullins will get the start in the series-opener Thursday night followed by Trace Bright Friday.

“Yea, got checked out in the bullpen Monday … He didn’t get through the fifth when he got hit and we think he’s fine,” said AU coach Butch Thomson of Mullins. “We think Trace is fine and they’ll get an extra day on the backend after LSU. I think those are our first two guys.”

The Tigers are officially TBA for Saturday’s starter but Gonzalez is the likely pick. He needed just 13 pitches to retire the final five batters of Tuesday night’s loss to Jacksonville State without allowing a hit or walk.

“We didn’t know what we would get out of Joseph. He looked normal, looked the part,” said Thompson. “As long as nothing bothered him from this outing tonight, we’ll definitely be pointing toward potentially be getting him back out there for game three at LSU.”

Auburn and LSU are both 3-3 in the conference heading into a crucial series at Alex Box Stadium. AU took 2 of 3 at Texas A&M last weekend while LSU did the same at No. 9 Florida winning game two 16-4 and game three 11-2.

Offensively, LSU is hitting .300 with 58 doubles and 42 home runs, which all ranks among the top five in the league. Six everyday starters are hitting .300 or better, led by Cade Doughty’s .365 clip. Brayden Jobert is hitting .329 with nine home runs and 36 RBI.

First-year LSU coach Jay Johnson has declined to name his starters this season as the rest of the league does but went with So. RHP Blake Money (2-1, 4.05 ERA), Sr. RHP Ma’Khail Hilliard (2-0, 5.32) and Fr. RHP Samuel Dutton (0-0, 0.69) against the Gators last weekend.

Auburn is led at the plate by Sonny DiChiara, who is hitting .455 with seven home runs and 21 RBI. He leads the country with a .608 on-base percentage.

Blake Rambusch is batting .394 and enters the series on a 15-game hitting streak, the longest at Auburn since Jonah Todd’s 16-game streak in 2017.

The series gets underway Thursday night at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network and continues Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. with the final two games on SECN+/ESPN+.