AUBURN | Auburn is putting a lot on this weekend’s series against No. 15 Florida. After a 2-13 start to conference play, the Tigers have to play lights out in the second half of the conference to have a chance to play in the postseason.
And it’s important to get off to a good start at home against the Gators.
Auburn took a step in building up some positive momentum with two wins this week. Cody Greenhill closed out the Samford game with his first save of the season Tuesday followed by a walk-off win over Jacksonville State Wednesday.
“Two wins in a row, that’s big. I can’t remember the last time we won two straight,” said shortstop Ryan Bliss. “Hopefully, we can use this momentum and take it to the weekend series. This is a big weekend for us. I think that showed us how we can win in all facets of the game. Last night we were up all game and tonight we had to comeback and win in extra.”
Auburn’s last back-to-back wins were March 12-13 beating Little Rock 7-0 Friday and 6-0 Saturday, before falling 12-6 Sunday. The Tigers beat UAB the Tuesday before, giving them a three-game winning streak, the longest of the season.
Butch Thompson took steps this week to shore up a bullpen that has been the root of Auburn’s troubles, taking Greenhill out of the weekend rotation, where he’d been AU’s best starter, and putting him back in the closer role where he picked up his 20th career save Tuesday.
Thompson plans to be use the rest of AU’s bullpen a little differently this weekend.
“I think we need five guys to form one or two guys, meaning not letting an offense get a second at-bat against somebody, chopping it out,” said Thompson, AU’s sixth-year head coach. “We’re going to use all of them, more of them, shorter, in and out, have a guy ready when somebody comes in and try to pass the baton with a little more precision.”
Auburn's hottest bullpen pitcher is Peyton Glavine, who has allowed one run over nine innings in his last five outings.
Florida enters the series 26-11 overall and 9-6 in the SEC. The Gators are on a six-game winning streak that includes a home sweep of Missouri last weekend.
Florida is seventh in the SEC with a .284 batting average, eighth with 45 home runs, sixth with 255 runs scored, 13th with 19 stolen bases, sixth with a 3.88 ERA, 10th with 341 strikeouts, third with 10 saves and 14th with a .969 fielding percentage.
“So many talented arms, velocity. I think our offense will be able to be competitive,” Thompson said. “Where I think Florida is a little bit different, I think their offense is deeper, maybe more talented than it’s been and it’s athletic as well. We’ve got to put the ball in play and put pressure on their infield defense.”
Auburn is third in the SEC with a .289 batting average, second with 55 home runs, seventh with 252 runs scored, ninth with 25 stolen bases, 13th with a 5.35 ERA, 13th with 292 strikeouts, 14th with four saves and seventh with a .976 fielding percentage.
Offensively, Auburn has scored five or more runs in seven consecutive games and Steven Williams has broke out of a slump in a big way going 9 of 22 (.409) at the plate with a double, triple, four home runs and 10 RBI in his last six games.
“Pretty much our whole lineup, we’re all starting to come around, having great at-bats, staying in counts, fighting, winning pitches that we weren’t winning two or three weeks ago. Just having the grit in the box,” said Tyler Miller, who is batting .348 with 11 home runs and an SEC-best 45 RBI.
Game times for the series are Friday at 6 p.m. CT on SECN+/ESPN+, Saturday 11 a.m. on SEC Network and Sunday 1 p.m. on SECN+/ESPN+.
NOTE: There will be a ceremony honoring former Auburn great and two-time World Series champion Joe Beckwith before Friday's game at approximately 5:45 p.m. Beckwith his battling colon cancer.
