AUBURN | It’s been a tough start in conference play, but Auburn enters week three of 10 with some building momentum.
The Tigers finished the series against No. 1 Arkansas with a come-from-behind 8-6 win and followed that up with a 13-3 run-rule win over Jacksonville State Tuesday night.
Another tough opponent awaits this weekend in No. 4 Texas A&M.
“Momentum, you’re either trying to get it or keep it, so I’ll take it. As a coach, all I care about is them getting out there competing every single day,” said AU coach Butch Thompson.
“Arkansas has a great club and until we beat them, they had won 15 in a row. We had a team the first week that had won 13 in a row. We’re about to go to a place this third weekend, they think they’re the best team in the country. That’s what you sign up for in the Southeastern Conference.”
The Aggies, 22-3 overall and 3-3 in the SEC, opened league play losing 2-of-3 at Florida before taking 2-of-3 against Mississippi State at home last weekend.
TAMU is second in the SEC with a 2.85 team ERA, sixth with a .295 batting average and first with a .985 fielding percentage.
Auburn enters the series 16-8 overall and 1-5 in the conference, needing some wins to not fall too far behind.
“I believe in our program and I want us to get our share,” said Thompson. “But our axe should be getting sharper now. We should be learning and growing from every one of these experiences.”
Thursday and Friday night’s games are scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SECN+/ESPN+. Saturday’s game will be 7 p.m. on SEC Network.
MOUND IMPROVEMENT: Since giving up 33 runs in three games at Vanderbilt, Auburn’s pitching has stepped up over the last five games with a 3.14 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 43.0 innings. AU is 3-2 during that stretch.
“I think that trip to Nashville was kind of a lot of nervous jitters, guys doing too much,” said left-hander Tanner Bauman. “You’re here for a reason. You’re at Auburn for a reason. You’re talented enough to compete against these schools. It’s not about changing just because the competition gets better. It’s about sticking to how you pitch and going after guys no matter what.”
BACK FROM INJURY: When Eric Guevara first injured his knee during fall practice, the freshman was expected to miss the entire season. Just six months later, Guevara stepped in the box as a pinch-hitter Tuesday night against Jacksonville State. He could be a week away from getting his first start at third base.
“He’s done an amazing job of rehabbing,” said Thompson. “He’s been running bases and figuring out how to slide with a new brace. We think he has real skill. We’re going to make a pretty good commitment to him. It might be at-bats you see here over the next week and we’re waiting on a full doctor’s release to get him playing defense.”
THE LITTLE THINGS: Three of Auburn’s five conference losses have come by a combined five runs including two one-run losses to the Razorbacks last weekend. “It’s not thinking that we’ve got to do so many different things. It’s looking at one key moment in each game that have been these close losses and realizing if we make that pitch or we get a hit in that at-bat, then that can be the difference in us being 5-1 or 1-5,” said Bauman.
POWER AND SPEED: Auburn is one of two teams in the country with at least 40 home runs and 50 stolen bases. Cooper McMurray has 10 home runs and is fourth in the SEC with 36 RBI. Ike Irish has eight home runs and is fifth in the SEC with 34 RBI. Cooper Weiss leads the nation with 21 stolen bases.
