Keegan back on the mound as Auburn opens practice

AUBURN | Keegan Thompson was finally back on the mound facing live hitters as Auburn opened up preseason practice Friday at Plainsman Park.

Thompson, Auburn’s ace starter in 2014 and 15, missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

“It was fun. It was a good first day,” Thompson said. “I started out a little rusty, but the second inning I came back and threw more strikes and got a couple of guys out. It’s nice to be back on the mound three weeks away (from opening day). We’re looking forward to it.”

Thompson struck out five and allowed just one hit in 2.0 innings. Heading into his junior season, Thompson is 12-6 with a 2.49 ERA with 135 strikeouts in 159.1 innings.

“I'm just tickled to death. I think he's growing and getting stronger,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “I just think he's so hungry in anticipation for the opportunity after being out for so long. He's only thrown two innings and really that's only the second time he's thrown to hitters, but I feel like he's ready. I feel like he's right where he's supposed to be and I know here over the break that he's worked hard.”

Thompson’s velocity has returned but he’s still working to refine all his pitches back to their pre-injury effectiveness.

“I’m still working on life from the fastball a little bit, but for the most part it’s feel and command of all my pitches,” Keegan Thompson said.

Thompson and sophomore Casey Mize should be Auburn’s top two starters. They’ll be part of a staff that includes 11 newcomers including freshman Davis Daniel, who is also a likely weekend starter.

“I think, honestly, we’re going to be pretty good,” said catcher Mike Rojas, a junior college transfer. “We have a dominant staff throughout the whole way. We have a bunch of new guys that can work in the bullpen or be our fifth starter or fourth starter, or whatever. So it’s pretty good. All-around good arms.”

Butch Thompson has seen a lot of progress in his program since he took over 15 months ago.

“We've got to define some bullpen pieces,” he said. “I felt good about our starters. I felt good about our at-bats today. I felt good about our routine ability to play defense around today. So all around, if I use the word team, I thought the team was pretty consistent across the board.”

Auburn begins the season with a four-game series against George Washington at Plainsman Park. The opener is 2 p.m. CT Friday, Feb. 17 followed by a double-header Saturday and the series finale Sunday.