AUBURN | After working out of the bullpen as a freshman, Chase Allsup will take the mound for the first game of his sophomore season.
Allsup is No. 17 Auburn’s Opening Day starter at the Tigers host Indiana Friday for the first of a three-game series.
“It's definitely a dream come true,” said Allsup. “We all sit there dreaming about opening up the weekend on Friday nights as a kid and to come out here and finally make it a reality to be able to do that, help your team get ahead.”
In 23 appearances last season, Allsup was 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA. He struck out 36 and walked 17 in 29.1 innings.
“What's gonna be important to me is just trying to get through as many innings as I can and have command of all my pitches. Just trying to give our bullpen a chance to not have to use a lot of guys that first day so we have more depth at later in the weekend,” said the right-hander.
Auburn is scheduled to start junior right-hander Joseph Gonzalez Saturday and freshman left-hander Drew Nelson Sunday. Gonzalez is AU’s top returning pitcher after going 7-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 14 starts a year ago.
They will face an experienced Indiana lineup that returns seven of nine position starters.
“They have real power,” said AU coach Butch Thompson. “They got two or three guys that can absolutely steal a base if you're not aware of how to stop the running game or slow it down a little bit. Big swings. If you make cripple pitches or don't get into some good sequencing of quality, you'll pay for it.”
Sophomore outfielder Carter Mathison returns after hitting .273 with 19 home runs and 58 RBI as does senior catcher Matthew Ellis, who hit .271 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI. Senior shortstop Phillip Glasser hit .346 with 12 doubles and stole 6 of 7 bases a year ago.
On the mound, the Hoosiers will go with senior left-hander Ben Seiler Friday, senior left-hander Ty Bothwell Saturday and TBA Sunday. Seiler, a transfer, was 4-6 with a 4.35 ERA in 13 starts at Siena last season. Bothwell was 3-2 with a 4.47 ERA in 19 appearances last season including two starts.
Auburn returns four position starters including senior Bobby Peirce, who is moving from right to left field and will bat leadoff after mainly working out of the four-hole last season.
“I have (batted leadoff) before and it's something that I like,” said Peirce. “I'm an aggressive hitter. I think it kind of puts a little pressure on the opposing pitchers just not really sure what to throw, like early on in the game they kind of try to settle in. So I think it's good I can go up there and kind of put some pressure early.”
First pitch Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT. Saturday’s game is 2 p.m. and Sunday’s 1 p.m. All three games will be carried on SECN+/ESPN+.
OPENING DAY NOTES
** The SEC has implemented some changes including a 10-run rule after 7 innings, a 30-second clock between batters and for mound visits, and a 2:30 clock for pitching changes. The 10-run rule can be implemented for non-conference games with the consent of the non-conference coach.
** Food trucks will be available for fans outside the stadium and in the outfield viewing plaza. This weekend includes the Philly Connection food truck Friday and Amsterdam Cafe one Saturday.
** Football coach Hugh Freeze will throw out the first pitch Friday.
** One final quote from Nate LaRue: "Every expectation every year is to make it to Omaha and win a national championship. So we came in from day one and Coach Thompson says every day is the world series. So that’s been a really big hitting point for us. And we’ll just see how it plays."
