Keegan gets the call
AUBURN | Keegan Thompson asked for the ball and he’s going to get it.
Auburn’s junior right-hander will be on the mound Tuesday as the Tigers take on Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Thompson, who is 6-4 on the season with a 2.30 ERA, held the Rebels without a hit in 6.0 innings of a 4-1 win Thursday.
“I think from the time his game was shortened last Thursday by the lightning delay, Keegan has been thinking about wanting to pitch in the SEC Tournament. It’s something he’s never done,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “He’s felt great and he deserves the opportunity. There’s not any player on our team we would want more than Keegan to be on the mound for us in our opening game in Hoover.”
After throwing 90 pitches Thursday, Thompson is expected to have a shortened outing Tuesday, much like a regular bullpen session. Casey Mize, who missed his start against Ole Miss, could come behind Thompson with a shortened outing of his own.
If the Tigers are successful and advance in the tournament, both Thompson and Mize could return for starts this weekend.
No. 20 Auburn is back in Hoover after missing the tournament last season. Tuesday’s first round is a single elimination with the winner playing No. 1 seed Florida Wednesday in the start of the double elimination part of the tournament. The semifinals and finals are also single elimination.
“That should be an expectation,” said senior catcher Blake Logan of making the SEC Tournament. “I feel like this year we really bought into things early in the year and it’s kind of paid off. It’s good to get back but we’re not done yet. We’re not satisfied with just making it. We want to compete and win every day.”
The Tigers took 2-of-3 from Ole Miss last weekend to finish the regular season 34-22 and 16-14 in the SEC. It’s Auburn’s best conference record since 2010 and only the second winning conference record since 2003.
“It’s really, really important, really exciting for us, especially us older guys, to go out like this,” Logan said. “It’s very cool and I’m just thankful for the opportunity that we’ve had. The things that we’ve been through, I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Auburn, the No. 8 seed, and Ole Miss, the No. 9 seed, will play at 4:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. The winner will play Florida Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.
“I think Tuesday is huge. I think it’s great for Auburn folks to be in Birmingham and for Auburn to be in that tournament,” Butch Thompson said. “We’re supposed to be there.
“I want to make sure we’re trying to attack every inning because this bleeds into everything that you do this time of year. I want to come back and play a really solid ball game and execute very well on Tuesday and find a way to win a ballgame and then we’ll just take the next one.”