AUBURN | Auburn was 2-1 last week with a series win over Alabama at Plainsman Park. The Tigers have a full bank of games at home this week including a top 10 rival coming to town Friday.
RECORD: 29-18 overall, 12-12 in SEC
RANKINGS: USA Today Coaches (NR), Perfect Game (NR), Baseball America (NR), D1Baseball (NR), NCAA RPI (15).
SCHEDULE: UAB Tuesday night at 6 p.m. CT on SECN+. No. 7 Georgia Friday night at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games are on SECN+.
NOTES:
** A look at how Auburn ranks in the SEC: .272 batting average (8th), 32 home runs (13th), 287 runs scored (10th), 56 stolen bases (6th), 4.19 ERA (10th), 425 strikeouts (10th), 198 walks allowed (12th), .973 fielding percentage (9th).
** The Tigers are sixth in the SEC West, 0.5 games behind Texas A&M (12-11-1) in fifth and three games behind Mississippi State (15-9) and Ole Miss (15-9) in second.
** Auburn was 34-14 overall and 13-11 in the SEC at this time last season. The Tigers finished 15-15 in the league after being swept at Ole Miss and taking 2 of 3 from LSU at home.
** AU will be home for five consecutive games with the Georgia series sandwiched between midweek games against UAB and North Alabama. AU finishes the regular season at No. 17 LSU.
** Alabama was 8 of 9 on stolen bases during the Auburn series. AU has thrown out just 11 potential bass stealers this season, which is tied for last in the SEC.
** Auburn batted .368 and scored 28 runs on 39 hits in the Tide series, all season highs. Four players hit .500: Will Holland (6-12), Conor Davis (6-12), Ryan Bliss (6-12) and Brody Moore (3-6). Rankin Woley hit .429 in two games and Steven Williams hit .375.
** Bliss was named co-SEC Freshman of the Week. In addition to batting .500, he scored five runs and had five RBI. Davis has a team-high nine-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .395.
** Auburn has nine or more hits in seven-straight games and is batting .328 during the stretch.
** An issue that’s plagued Auburn for a good portion of the season has been batting with runners in scoring position. AU was just 6 of 33 (.182) with RISP in losing all three games at Vanderbilt the previous week. But Auburn was much better in the Alabama series batting .409 (18 of 44) with RISP.
** The Tigers had a 4.33 team ERA in the UA series with Jack Owen posting a 1.80 ERA and earning the win in Friday night’s start. Cody Greenhill, who gave up three unearned runs Saturday, Garrett Wade, Bailey Horn and Will Morrison all had 0.00 ERAs out of the bullpen. Greenhill, Horn and Morrison all had two appearances.
** Both Greenhill and Elliott Anderson have struggled when they pitch twice in one weekend. Anderson has thrown twice in six weekend series. He has a 3-0 record with a 0.00 ERA and five hits in 8.2 innings in the first game, and is 0-0 with a 8.68 ERA and 16 hits 9.1 innings in the second. Greenhill has thrown twice in seven weekends. He is 0-0 with six saves, a 0.00 ERA and one hit in 10.1 innings in the first game, and 1-2 with one save, a 5.02 ERA and 21 hits in 14.1 innings in the second.
** After being held out of the Alabama series with a sore shoulder, Tanner Burns is expected to return as the starter for Saturday’s game against Georgia. Burns threw Sunday without discomfort and is expected to throw again this week. If Owen and Burns both start the UGA series it would be the first time AU had both since the opening SEC series against Tennessee March 15-17. Owen started game two of the UT series but left after 4.0 innings due to shoulder soreness.
** The pitching matchup for the UAB game: Auburn freshman left-hander Carson Skipper (3-2, 6.89) vs. UAB junior left-hander Austin Bohannon (1-2, 5.01). Skipper is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts at Plainsman Park. AU beat UAB (22-26, 8-16 C-USA) 13-5 in Birmingham March 19.
** A win over UAB would give Auburn 30 wins for a third-straight season for the first time since 2003-05.
