AUBURN | One day teams will stop testing Judd Ward’s arm. Thankfully, for the Auburn sophomore that day hasn’t come yet.
Ward threw out his eighth baserunner of the season from left field in the Atlanta Regional clinching 4-1 victory over Georgia Tech Sunday. He leads the SEC in outfield assists and has the most at AU since Clete Thomas threw out 10 in 2005.
“I think it brings a lot of energy to the table,” said Ward of his assists. “If you’re down a run or two and you make a play like that, it bring a lot of energy to the dugout. It gets everybody back alive, gets the bats going.”
Ward’s assist against the Yellow Jackets came off the Tigers’ three-run top of the sixth. Jackson Webb got on first with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning and then Nick Wilhite hit a deep fly ball to left. Ward caught it on the track, saw Webb standing on second base and fired a strike to first base to complete a double play.
It kept Tech off the board and preserved Auburn’s 3-0 lead heading into the last three innings.
Ward made another huge defensive play in the ninth. Wilhite hit a line drive into left field, but Ward tracked it down deep in the left field corner, making a leaping catch near the foul line for the first out of the inning.
“I was playing more toward the line because Cody (Greenhill’s) fastball is mid-90’s and has a lot of run. Lefties don’t usually pull it. He slapped it down the line and I just got a good jump on it and made a play,” Ward said.
“I was going for it. I was like, ‘I think I got this.’ I just went up and tried to make the play and end up catching it.”
Ward also had a good series at the plate against Tech batting .417 with a double, three walks, two runs scored and one RBI. He was named to the All-Tournament team. But it’s his defense that Ward takes the most pride in despite not being named to the 10-player SEC All-Defensive team.
“I love it. It’s something you can control everyday,” he said. “It’s not like hitting. Hitting comes and goes but defense is all about mentality and playing hard.”
Despite a string of injuries to its pitching staff, Auburn is playing its best baseball heading into Saturday’s opening game of the Chapel Hill Super Regional against No. 14 national seed North Carolina.
The Tigers need two wins to advance to their first College World Series since 1997.
“It hasn’t been the type of year but we expected to still make a run and make it this far. This team has come through a lot, a lot of adversity. It’s just been a lot of fun. We’ve worked hard every week,” Ward said.
“It’s really special. It’s been really fun to be a part of this team and everything that’s been going on with Auburn.”
Weather permitting, Saturday’s game will begin at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2. Sunday’s game is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on ESPN and if necessary, the two teams will play Monday at noon on ESPN2.
