AUBURN | Auburn pitchers walked nine, hit five batters and threw five wild pitches in Sunday’s 19-10 loss to No. 4 Mississippi State.
It was another rough performance for a staff that ranks last with a 7.35 ERA in 12 conference games. The Tigers’ 1-11 SEC record is the worse start in program history.
Butch Thompson has seen enough.
“I’m one of those coaches that really hangs with his players,” said Thompson, Auburn’s sixth-year head coach. “I know there’s a lot of fans that get mad at me as long as I hang with the players. But I think it’s to the point where it’s incumbent on the players to force some real adjustment.
“When you walk somebody and you execute a breaking ball in front of the plate by three feet and somebody walks into second, that’s a low level of execution and pitch-ability. That’s what we’ve got to move past. It’s too easy.”
One change Thompson and pitching coach Tim Hudson can implement this week is making pitching changes quicker.
“Identifying that and shortening the ropes. They’ve shown a track record now that they haven’t consistently gotten out of innings and situations,” said Thompson.
Consistency is something AU’s staff has struggled with. A week ago at No. 2 Arkansas, AU’s three weekend starters — Cody Greenhill, Jack Owen and Joseph Gonzalez — combined to go 1-0 with a 1.56 ERA. Last weekend against MSU, those same three combined to go 0-2 with a 14.80 ERA.
Gonzalez, a freshman, was knocked around for nine runs in 0.2 innings.
“We’re just going to have to build around who’s pitching good,” said Thompson. “Cody and Jack will definitely get their two starts. We believe in Joseph. We didn’t want that outing to happen but we knew everybody we’ve coached that are going to be good, that are that young, have pretty much had one.”
SMOOTHER ROAD AHEAD: Auburn’s first four conference opponents, three of which were ranked in the top five nationally, have combined for a 94-29 overall record and 31-17 SEC record. The Tigers final six opponents have combined for a 110-80 overall record and are 26-46 in the SEC. AU will finish the SEC slate at Alabama, Florida, at Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M and at Missouri.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ryan Bliss had a strong series against Mississippi State batting .455 with a double, home run and three RBI. He also had a perfect fielding percentage with 10 chances at shortstop. Other standouts included Kason Howell, who batted .444 with a home run, and Bryson Ware, who hit .333 with two home runs and three RBI.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Will Morrison held MSU without a hit in two outings out of the bullpen. He struck out the final batter in Saturday’s game and came back to throw 1.2 innings Sunday allowing two walks. Seb Thomas threw 1.2 scoreless innings and Peyton Glavine 1.0 scoreless inning out of the bullpen. Greenhill allowed just two earned runs in 6.0 innings in Friday night’s loss.
NEXT UP: Auburn plays at Georgia Tech Tuesday night at 5 p.m. CT on ACC Network. Sophomore RHP Trace Bright (2-3, 7.28) will start against the Yellow Jackets but Thompson plans to use a number of pitchers for one or two innings. GT will throw freshman RHP Marquis Grissom Jr., who will make his college debut after returning from an injury. The Tigers will return to SEC play with a three-game series at Alabama starting Thursday night at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.
