Gabe's two-strike approach taking hold
AUBURN | For Gabe Gross, Auburn’s hitters already have two strikes on them every time they step into the batter’s box. That’s the starting point for the first-year hitting coach when it comes to implementing his approach.
“We're going to start with two-strike hitting,” Gross said. “We're going to try and stay in the middle of the field, middle of the field, middle of the field, and we're going to two-strike hit. We're going to try to be a tough out.
“Once you learn to two-strike hit, that can give you confidence to lay off borderline pitches early in the count and not make weak ground ball outs. You can look for your pitch and learn how to drive it and it just makes you a better overall hitter.”
That approach has worked well for the Tigers during the first four weeks of the season. Auburn is hitting .224 as a team with two strikes, well above the MLB average of .187 in 2009. A Stanford study from 1998-2001 found that college baseball players had a .141 batting average on two-strike pitches.
It’s even more impressive when you consider that a five of the Tigers' 20 home runs (25 percent), 13 of their 45 doubles (28.9 percent), their only triple and 49 of their 148 RBI (33.1 percent) have come on two-strike counts.
“We work on it pretty much every day. Letting the ball get deeper, seeing it and then working the right-centerfield gap,” said junior Brendan Venter, who leads the SEC with a .443 average and is hitting an eye-popping .615 with two outs.
Venter, Brett Wright, Steven Williams and Edouard Julien — all newcomers — have combined for 15 of Auburn’s home runs this season. They have the top four batting averages on the team.
“When I got here I was, honestly, just a pull guy,” said freshman Steven Williams, who is hitting .343 with a team-high 21 RBI. “Me and Gabe worked on hitting it back up to left-center and center field and working with two-strike hitting, which I think I’ve gotten a lot better on, honestly.
“I was striking out a good bit before the season started and I started doing the two-strike approach, me and him worked on it, and it’s been good for me.”
Auburn’s returning players have also seen their production step up, especially in terms of plate discipline. Luke Jarvis has eight walks through 18 games this season after totaling just 10 last year. Conor Davis has 15 walks after totaling 18 last season. Jay Estes has struck out just 10 times this season after striking out 52 times a year ago.
With 111 walks and 108 strikeouts, Auburn is the only team in the SEC with more walks than strikeouts.
“Everybody knows he’ll be kind of laid back just like Sis was but at the same time, you do something wrong he’ll let you know. He’s not afraid to show it,” said Davis of Gross, who was an All-American at Auburn and had a seven-year MLB career. “We all respect him and we know that he’s the real deal.”
Overall, Auburn is hitting .317, which ranks second in the SEC and 11th nationally. The Tigers are also hitting .343 with two outs. Their 20 home runs, which ranks fifth in the SEC, are well ahead of last year's pace. AU's 20th home run in 2017 didn't come until April 23.
"It’s special. I think they’ve got a good plan,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “I can see a play, one, and I can see consistency, two, and I see everyday at practice a commitment. You put those three things together with somebody that’s a good leader … it’s been pretty exciting.”
Auburn, 17-1, opens up conference play this weekend as No. 6 Texas A&M visits Plainsman Park for a three-game series. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network. Saturday’s game will be 2 p.m. on SECN+ and WatchESPN and Sunday’s 1 p.m. on SECN+ and WatchESPN.