Tigers can build around freshmen class
AUBURN | A tough season on the baseball diamond gave a talented group of freshmen more opportunities this season, and they took full advantage.
That’s especially true for outfielder Cade Belyeu, who was named to the Freshman All-SEC team after hitting .284 in 26 starts with eight home runs and 20 RBI.
He became the first AU player since 2008 to homer in four consecutive games to lead the Tigers to series wins over Missouri and Alabama to close out the season.
“His home runs are coming on weekends and coming in big moments,” said AU coach Butch Thompson. “We’ve seen defense from him, we’ve seen him on the bases and we’ve seen him have some great at-bats in timely moments. Pretty exciting to watch Cade Belyeu play.”
Catcher Cale Stricklin also stepped up to start 13 games and bat .273 with a double and five RBI in 33 at-bats. He also threw up nine base runners.
“He’s caught his whole life and his dad was a coach and a catcher, and he can do all the extra nuances,” said Thompson. “He can catch and also keep up when guys are jockeying on the base. It’s good to see a young player like that to play well at this level, to really defend and to get a big hit.”
Third baseman Eric Guevara returned from knee surgery to hit .204 with two doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI in just 54 at-bats.
“I think he’s a great player,” said Thompson. “From the time he went down with that non-contact injury right before fall started, we thought we lost something. That’s how much we thought of him was back in August. I’m telling you, when you say a first-year guy can play and play at this level, that’s a good player.”
Outfielder Cole Edwards only had 15 at-bats but showed plenty of power in practice and his a player Thompson expects to return and take a big step forward in year two.
On the mound, Cam Tilly showed a lot of potential before missing the final two weeks of the season with an oblique injury. The right-hander finished his freshman campaign 3-1 with a 6.29 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 24.1 innings.
He threw 3.0 shutout innings at LSU and 2.2 shutout innings against Arkansas.
“You don’t think he’s a freshman when he’s out there,” said sophomore Will Cannon. “Every time, he wants the ball, and that’s not typical for a freshman. Every time you see him out there, you know we’re in good hands. The way he goes about his stuff is really awesome as a freshman. He’s going to do big things.”
Left-hander Griffin Graves was inconsistent in his first five appearances out of the bullpen but struck out the side in the ninth inning against Alabama to finish the season on a high note.
In seven appearances, right-hander Alex Petrovic struck out 17 batters in 11.0 innings before being sidelined with an elbow injury midway through conference play.
Auburn, which finished the season 27-26 overall and 8-22 in the SEC, signed the nation’s No. 4 class last November and plans to be aggressive in the transfer portal rebuilding the roster for the 2025 season.