AUBURN | No. 5 Auburn has a lot to play for going into the final 11 games of the season including three remaining league series.
The Tigers, 30-14 overall and 11-10 in the SEC, play at No. 7 Tennessee this weekend, host South Carolina May 8-10 and finish the season at No. 13 Ole Miss May 15-17.
Auburn enters the stretch run ranked 4th in RPI and first in strength of schedule according to WarrenNolan.com, and probably needs four or five more conference wins to host an NCAA Regional.
"I think me and the players know two of our last three weekends are on the road. We’ll be on the road all next week,” said AU coach Butch Thompson. “We got to 30 wins. I think our strength of schedule and RPI and all those things that everybody thinks about is going to be in great shape by going on the road and playing two really good ball clubs.
“It’s just important at home to keep winning series … And getting to 11 SEC wins, I think that’s huge.”
Auburn is currently tied with Oklahoma for ninth place in the SEC, but just two games behind the fourth-place Volunteers. The top four finishers get a double-bye in the new single-elimination SEC Tournament and the next four get a single bye.
“We know these next three weeks are going to be a challenge,” said Thompson. “We got to keep playing great baseball. SEC, it's easy to lose, it's hard to win. You have to do things to win. It's pretty easy to go out there and lose a ball game in this league, it's hard to win.”
Auburn plays Samford at the Hoover Met Tuesday night at 6 p.m. CT. There’s no T.V. or streaming for the game.
FRESHMAN POW: Second baseman Chris Rembert became the first freshman to earn SEC Player of the Week honors this season after hitting .500 in four games last week with one double, two home runs and five RBI. Rembert, who batted leadoff in all four games, led the league with nine hits and was tied for second with 16 total bases. “Man, he’s just one of our best athletes, best players,” said Thompson. “Chris plays hard each and every day. I think he’s growing defensively too.”
HEALTHY AT LAST: It’s been a tough two years for Eric Guevara. He missed most of his freshman season after undergoing knee surgery and has been slowed by a hamstring injury this year. But he’s finally back healthy and it showed last weekend as he batted .455 against Mississippi State with one home run and four RBI. “Just sticking to my approach and slowing the game down. That has been working for sure,” said Guevara. “It definitely feels good to be 100 percent and be able to go out there with the guys."
WEEKEND WINS: Despite giving up a combined three earned runs in 3.0 innings, Carson Myers picked up wins against MSU Friday and Sunday. The senior left-hander made three appearances last week going 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA. He struck out seven and issued one walk in 5.0 innings. “Myers is perfect for those guys, because they're going to get their swing off, but he's going to stay in the strike zone,” said Thompson. “I think after the home run, he went right to a 0-2 count and that's what we needed there.”
QUICK NOTES: Auburn has already set a single-season attendance record of 145,355 at Plainsman Park with four home games left … Freshman Chase Fralick batted .400 with one double, one home run and four RBI last week … Lucas Steele hit .375 with five RBI … Cooper McMurray hit .353 with two doubles, one home run and five RBI … Samuel Dutton is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA in four home SEC starts. Overall, the senior RHP is 5-2 with the league’s third best ERA (2.48) … Junior LHP Abe Chancellor made his first SEC appearance throwing 2.1 scoreless innings against MSU Saturday … Freshman RHP Christian Chatterton (2-1, 4.58 ERA) will start against Samford Tuesday. He has a 0.69 ERA in three midweek starts.
