Notebook: Mound turnaround
AUBURN | No. 23 Auburn has won three consecutive SEC series including taking two-of-three at No. 2 South Carolina and against No. 1 LSU last weekend.
A big part of the Tigers’ turnaround has been an improved pitching staff.
Through the first four weeks of league play, AU had a 8.83 team ERA, which ranked 13th in the SEC. It’s dropped to 5.02 in the last four, which ranks fourth.
In the last two series it was 4.15 and against LSU, the second-highest scoring team in the country, it was 3.12.
“I think our meetings as we started the second half were meaningful — the leadership meetings,” said AU coach Butch Thompson. “i thought the message from the coaching staff was good. We kinda let the first half go and we really committed to the second half.
“A lot of times, this stuff is not physical. All these guys are the best where they came from. A lot of times it’s just getting to the point where you’re playing enough to get comfortable and your mind getting to a good place and picking up some confidence.”
Auburn will go with the same rotation as last week with sophomore right-hander Chase Allsup (0-1, 7.20) Thursday, senior left-hander Tommy Vail (4-1, 3.68) Friday and junior right-hander Christian Herberholz (1-3, 4.37) Saturday.
The trio allowed just four earned runs in 13.0 innings against LSU. The improved pitching has allowed AU to go 6-3 in the second half of conference play after starting 5-10.
“We’re collectively at a good spot right now where I think we all, especially on the mound, have kind of hooked it up at the same point,” said Thompson. “Our defense has been intact all year. The lineup just has pieces that can absolutely be successful.
“The last couple of weeks we’ve shown the full potential of what we could be if we start hitting in all three phases.”
The series gets underway Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU and continues Friday night at 6:30 p.m. on SECN+/ESPN+ and Saturday at 2 p.m. on SEC Network.
FOOT ON THE PEDDLE: Auburn, which is 27-19-1 overall and 11-13 in the SEC, returned to the rankings for the first time since March 13, checking in at 23rd in the Perfect Game poll. Just a few weeks ago, AU was on the outside looking in for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. While that’s not the case going into the Ole Miss series, it could be again if the Tigers struggle in Oxford.
“If we don’t get a result, we’ll be right back out of there going into next week. We’ll be on the outside looking in,” said Thompson. “That’s what’s amazing about this league. Every year comes down to defining moments and comes down to make or break and you have to win.
“We’re going to try to stay on the process. I like where the team is at. I think everybody is giving great effort. We found something, and we just need to hold on to it. I don’t need more. We just need to create the same processes these last two weeks that we have the previous three.”
POWERFUL LINEUP: The Rebels, which have a 7.11 ERA in SEC games, will go with junior left-hander Xavier Rivas (5-3, 5.83) Thursday, freshman right-hander JT Quinn (3-2, 5.86) Friday and TBA Saturday. Ole Miss, which is 25-23 overall and 6-18 in the SEC, did score 32 runs in a series loss at Missouri last weekend. “If you look at the last eight games, I think Ole Miss is probably swinging it the best of the teams we’ve played the last three weeks,” said Thompson.
RECORD WATCH: Kason Howell hit .364 in three games last week with two triples and five RBI. He is tied with Ike Irish with an SEC-leading 19 doubles. Howell is currently third in program history with 67 career doubles, one behind hitting coach Gabe Gross (68) and four behind Todd Faulkner (71). He has also played in 237 career games, which ranks fourth all-time, nine behind record-holder Jay Waggoner (246).