duo earns National Team invite

[aubiefifty 16,761]

Auburn duo earns USA Baseball Collegiate National Team invite

Updated Jun 8, 5:19 PM; Posted Jun 8, 5:19 PM

Auburn's Will Holland is one of two Tigers to earn invites to Team USA's college training camp this summer. (Dennis Victory/preps@al.com)

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By Tom Green

tgreen@al.com

Two Auburn players will have a chance to compete for Team USA this summer.

Sophomore shortstop Will Holland and freshman pitcher Tanner Burns were both extended invites to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp later this month. They are the third and fourth Auburn players to compete with the US collegiate team in the last four seasons, joining Anfernee Grier in 2015 and Casey Mize last summer.

They are the ninth and 10th Auburn players to earn Team USA invites, and they are the first duo to earn invites in the same year.

As part of their training camp invites, Holland and Burns will play in a game against the Coastal Plain League Select on June 27 and a series against Chinese Taipei from June 28 through July 2. During that weeklong opportunity, the two will vie for spots on the final 24-man roster that will compete in series against Cuba and Japan later this summer.

Holland is second on the team with a .319 batting average this season to go along with a team-best .416 on-base percentage and a .545 slugging percentage, which ranks second on the roster. The sophomore shortstop, who has spent much of the season batting leadoff for the Tigers, also has 12 home runs, 17 doubles and 51 RBI. His 17 doubles lead the team, while his 51 RBI rank second behind designated hitter Edouard Julien's 68, and his 12 home runs are tied with Brendan Venter for second-most on the team.

Burns is enjoying a Freshman All-America season while establishing himself in Auburn's weekend rotation. The right-hander has made 16 starts this season, boasting a 3.12 ERA in 80 2/3 innings of work. Burns is second on the team with 74 strikeouts and is limiting opponents to a .224 batting average.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

Congrats to them!  Hope they enjoy the experience.