2/24/23 Auburn Articles

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Chase Allsup has the tools to be a dominant starter for Auburn baseball

Lindsay Crosby

5–7 minutes

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Chase Allsup, physically, might be one of the more impressive pitchers Auburn's had on The Plains in a while. 

With a fastball that can touch 97, effective breaking pitch options in the slider and curveball, and the makings of a changeup, Allsup's not hurting for options to throw. And with a 6'1, 240 frame, he's got the physical frame to carry that velocity deep into a start. 

Now it's a matter of putting it all together. 

After an abbreviated outing on Opening Day, where Allsup went two innings against Indiana with three hits, two runs, two walks, and four strikeouts on 48 pitches, there's some more work to be done against Southern California this Friday. 

Chase Allsup on Opening Day

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

"We want to see Allsup again, see if he can get deeper into a ballgame. Be more efficient," remarked head coach Butch Thompson on Thursday, previewing the weekend matchup for the media. 

Auburn Daily went back and watched every at-bat of Allsup's start against Indiana; here's what we noticed. 

The first inning was two strikeouts, a walk, and a flyout. Three of the four hitters opened up with strikes (the final batter, DH Carter Mathison, swung on the first pitch - it would have been called a ball), and each of the first three hitters were in "pitcher's counts" - 0-2 or 1-2. 

Contrast that with the 2nd inning, where there was only one first-pitch strike to the seven hitters - that solitary first-pitch strike to 2B Evan Goforth resulted in a strikeout, on three straight pitches. Every other batter got a first-pitch ball, mostly via a breaking ball (slider) that missed high or low. The resulting counts were slanted in the hitter's favor in almost every situation - other than a 1-2 count to CF Bobby Whalen (which also resulted in a strikeout), most hitters saw a much more advantageous 1-0, 2-0, or even some 3-0 counts. 

Getting to two strikes is the key for any pitcher to have success; hitters are usually required to expand the zone to avoid a strikeout while getting to two strikes early can maximize the opportunities for a pitcher to get a hitter out on a "chase" pitch - a pitch that begins inside the zone and is caught by the catcher outside of the zone, designed to entice a swing and miss. It's also tougher to "sell out for power" when you have two strikes and need to cover more of the plate under an expanded strike zone.  

Thompson agrees that that's where the game has moved: "College baseball now, as a pitching coach: It's a race to two strikes instead of two balls. The swings are so different when you're in 2-0, 3-1 counts compared to when it's 0-1, 0-2, 1-2."

The 2nd inning home run to catcher Matthew Ellis on Friday was hit on an 0-2 count.

(For an idea of how much the count can affect a hitter's success, here's a handy chart from the end of last season for batting average per count, from our friends at 6-4-3 Charts

The coaching staff's comments about Allsup bear this out; pitching coach Daren Schoenrock, before the season, called Allsup a "high pitch count guy" whose success would come down to "landing his stuff consistently."

"I told him, 'look, I've never had the physical ability to throw a ball 97 miles per hour. It would be hard for me, if I could throw 97, not to try and throw it 99.' Sometimes that creeps into Chase. That high volume of velocity does lead to longer at-bats where he's still ahead and he's just got to learn to end some at-bats earlier - if he does, he'll be able to unfold lineups pretty quick." 

Thompson's comments on Thursday echoed Schoenrock's from before the season. "I can't tell Chase to throw harder; I think he threw 96 mph. But there's a packaging and a relaxing. Like "man, you really have a great arm. Just keep growing into efficiency.'  I'd like to see him more efficient"

Thompson continued, "So I want Chase just to go out and be more efficient. Try to get more barrels moving. I think they're (Southern California) going to evaluate pitchers better than the two teams that we played so far. If you're going to try and start pulling all this swing-and-miss up vertically and beneath the zone, or stretching the plate (horizontally), I think you're going to be in disadvantage counts." 

The key will be throwing early strikes for Allsup, especially to open the at-bat. 

"The worst thing Chase could do is go out and not try and find the zone early. [...] Your goal is to attack, and race to two strikes instead of two balls" said Thompson on Thursday. 

Allsup's stuff is legitimately good - a MLB scout, speaking to me last summer before the College World Series, said the key to getting a hit off of Allsup came down to waiting for your pitch. "Patience is key" with a guy like Allsup - waiting for him to make a mistake and/or "box himself in" to a hitter's count, where he had to throw a strike.  

Allsup knows all of this; he told us as much. The day before his Opening Day start, he met with the media and when asked about the key to his success? 

"Go in, throw strikes, get people out." 

Open with strikes, land the slider more consistently, and he'll be able to do just that. 

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Auburn baseball prepares for visit from USC

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama—Discipline and patience at the plate are trademarks of West Coast college baseball teams and Coach Butch Thompson said that’s exactly what the No. 17 Auburn Tigers are going to get when the USC Trojans (3-1) come to Plainsman Park for the first time ever for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. CST.

Led by former Major League player and Grand Canyon coach Andy Stankiewicz, the Trojans are off to a strong start at the plate with a .316 team batting average, eight home runs and 44 runs scored in a sweep of Marist and a one-run loss to UC-Irvine this season. However, it’s another number that has Thompson’s attention.

The Trojans have a .463 on-base percentage as a team because of 29 walks in four games and the leader of the bunch is junior infielder Ryan Jackson. Batting .500 on the year, Jackson has six hits in 12 at-bats, but he’s also walked seven times in four games. Throw in the power potential of 6-2, 215 infielder Nick Lopez and you have a challenging offense for the Tigers to face. This season the former teammate of Jack Owen at JSerra High in California, he’s 9-18 this season with three home runs and seven runs batted in. 

Another name to watch for the Trojans is redshirt freshman Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek. The son of former UCLA softball player Danielle Martin and MLB player Mark Grudzielanek, he transferred from UCLA and is batting .316 with a home run and seven runs batted in this season.

Those are the challenges that Auburn’s pitching staff will face this weekend. The Tigers will again go with sophomore RHP Chase Allsup in the opener with junior RHP Joseph Gonzalez scheduled for Saturday’s game. Sunday the Tigers are listed as TBA with true freshman LHP Zach Crotchfelt a possibility for the role along with redshirt junior RHP Christian Herberholz.

“I think from evaluating there would be an obvious choice for Sunday, but we’re going to sit TBA for now,” Thompson said. “We’ll keep working to try to figure it out on the weekend, but I think we paired it down. We’ve gotten 16 pitchers in the ball game in four games, now we’ll start pairing down from evaluations. I think it will end up being a new starter, but we’re going to hold on for a couple of days and get into this series.

“We’re about to face a very patient-oriented ball club,” he added. “They are a very traditional West Coast look in these first four games. One of their best hitters is four games into it and has seven walks and zero strikeouts. They are evaluating pitches very well so we probably need to throw less guys, but we’re trying to win ball games. This isn’t spring training. We need guys to shove it in the strike zone like we’ve been preaching to start the season.”

On the flip side, Auburn’s offense needs to get deeper with the trio of Bryson Ware, Ike Irish and Bobby Peirce combining for 26 of Auburn’s 42 hits this season and eight of the nine doubles for the team. With starters Justin Kirby, Cole Foster and Nate LaRue all under .200 after four games, Auburn’s offense will need to continue to improve, but it won’t be easy against a strong pitching staff led by Jaden Agassi.

The son of tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, the 6-3 Agassi allowed eight hits and one run in six and one/thirds innings in his opening start against Marist last weekend. With a career record of 5-3 and an ERA of 4.51 in 11 career starts, Agassi will match up against Gonzalez on Saturday with junior RHP Tyler Stromsborg earning the Friday night role for the Trojans. On Sunday they will go with freshman RHP Eric Hammond.

Game times for the weekend series are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. Saturday and Sunday will be available via stream at SEC Network+.

2COMMENTS

FRI | SO RHP Chase Allsup (0-0, 9.00) vs. JR RHP Tyler Stromsborg (0-0, 5.06)
SAT | JR RHP Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 0.00) vs. JR RHP Jaden Agassi (1-0, 1.42)
SUN | TBA vs. R-FR RHP Eric Hammond (0-0, 3.00)

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Behind Enemy Lines: Auburn-USC Baseball preview with Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire

Taylor Jones

6–7 minutes

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Auburn Baseball received a gift of sorts on Tuesday night, as it was announced that their upcoming weekend series with USC will now be played at Plainsman Park after an inclement weather forecast forced the series to change venues from Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles as originally planned.

Sure, there is disappointment that the Tigers will have to wait another season to visit sunny Southern California, but it does help that they will play their second-straight Power Five opponent in front of the home crowd.

Buy Tigers Tickets

The Tigers opened the season by winning two-of-three games over Indiana last weekend at Plainsman Park behind great plate appearances by newcomers Ike Irish and Justin Kirby. Auburn’s hot streak continued on Tuesday night as the Tigers defeated North Alabama, 13-1 in seven innings at Toyota Field in Madison.

The Trojans enter the weekend with a mirrored 3-1 record after sweeping Marist last weekend and falling to UC-Irvine in midweek action on Tuesday. USC got similar results on the mound as Auburn did last weekend by recording outs without many strikeouts. First baseman Nick Lopez has also shown power at the plate for the Trojans.

What else do we need to know about USC before this weekend’s series? We called on Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire to help us out.

Zemek talks about last weekend’s series against Marist, the importance of Nick Lopez, and just how important this series is to the 12-time national champions. Without further delay, here is the latest edition of Behind Enemy Lines with Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire.

Katie Chin/USC Athletics

The Trojans scored 34 runs in a three-game sweep of Marist to open the season. What was your biggest takeaway from the series?

It’s hard to take away too much from a series against Marist. That said, this is the first season under new coach Andy Stankiewicz. The fact that USC got off to a roaring start can only help the team build confidence under a new leader who, like Lincoln Riley on the football field last season, is trying to create a new culture and revive a long-dormant program. Certain dynamics and realities can (and do) exist independent of the schedule or the quality of opponent. Building good habits contains value even against lower-tier opposition. The hope is that it can become something more. Whether it actually will is the real question.

Lyn Golden/ USC Athletics

Like Auburn, USC’s pitching limited hits in the first two games of the season without recording many strikeouts. How much of a challenge will USC’s defense provide Auburn’s offense?

Going from Marist to the SEC is a Grand Canyon-level distance in terms of quality and the caliber of competition. Let’s put it this way: USC will have to earn the benefit of the doubt with its performance. USC is decades removed from being a baseball program which entered the season being feared and respected. The Trojans need to get that back, but they don’t have it now. They need to claim it. It’s a “prove it” series for USC, to be sure.

Jenny Chuang/USC Athletics

Nick Lopez has been stellar at the plate with a .500 average and three home runs. If Auburn finds a way to cool him off, does USC have other lineup threats that could keep them afloat?

USC did get production up and down the batting order against Marist. It’s too early to look at this USC batting order and circle one guy and say, “This player (or this spot in the batting order) is the true hinge point in the whole offense.” What also has to be mentioned is that guys have to get on base for Lopez so that Auburn doesn’t have the luxury of being able to pitch around him. USC — like any other baseball team which has gone through an extended (nearly decade-long) period of bad play and poor results — needs an all-hands-on-deck approach more than one savior, and as any baseball fan knows, giving adequate protection to the one star is so essential to the creation of an elite team. The Yankees could feast on bad teams with Aaron Judge and eight other guys (maybe Anthony Rizzo stood out to an extent, but that’s it). The Astros ate them up. It takes a full team, and we’re going to learn about USC’s team in this series.

CSUN Athletics

Which starting pitcher has the most potential to shut Auburn’s bats down?

Blake Sodersten (Cal-State Northridge transfer) struck out nine Marist hitters in the five innings he worked. He shows the punchout ability other USC starters haven’t displayed to the same extent. That has to be the first place to look for a pitcher who might be able to establish command of the strike zone and get Auburn hitters on the back foot.

Jenny Chuang/ USC Athletics

How much do you feel that the series being moved to Auburn will affect the Trojans?

New head coach, new season, new everything — it’s a USC season with so many uncertainties. Now comes this plot twist. It is probably not conducive to good performance for USC, but then again, going to Auburn worked out pretty well for Pete Carroll in 2003. It could be that being on the road might knit this team together and also create a sense of having no pressure. Realistically, though, I don’t expect it to benefit USC.

Jacob Taylor/Auburn Tigers

How do you see this series shaking out?

It starts with USC’s pitching. The starters went five to six innings against Marist. Some of the relief pitchers, such as Caden Connolly and Josh Blum, were electric out of the bullpen. Yet, that was Marist, not Auburn. The pitching has to measure up, but again, it’s hard to give USC the benefit of the doubt until the Trojans establish themselves as a real force.

Auburn wins the series, 2-1. The Trojans would love to win the series, but the main point of emphasis is for the team to learn what it is capable of.

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Auburn baseball vs USC preview: A big non-con series for the Tigers

Lindsay Crosby

6–8 minutes

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Auburn baseball sits at 3-1 after an opening weekend series win against Indiana and a midweek thrashing of UNA, and unexpectedly gets to sleep in their own beds for a weather-related relocation of a three-game series against Southern California (3-1). Here's what you need to know for the matchup:

Probable Starters

Friday: RHP Chase Allsup (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs RHP Tyler Stromsborg (0-0, 5.06 ERA)

Saturday: RHP Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP Jaden Agassi (1-0, 1.42 ERA)

Sunday: TBA vs RHP Eric Hammond (0-0, 3.00 ERA)

Statistical Leaders - Auburn

Auburn's offense is currently led by 3B Bryson Ware, currently 10-15 with four doubles, a home run, 5 RBIs, and no walks to two strikeouts. A former junior college shortstop, the senior is now solidified at third base after two seasons in the outfield as a part-time starter and key defensive replacement. Ware batted only .234/.336/.394 last season, his second on The Plains, and was occasionally plagued offensively by poor performance against offspeed and breaking pitches. 

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Ware attributed at least part of that success to a simpler approach, "Yeah, like Coach (Gabe) Gross says, I'm trying to be an athlete and kinda get lost in playing the game - not trying to hit, just trying to do all the things I can do to put our team in a position to win."

I asked Ware specifically what he did to work on consistency at the plate, and he talked about the virtues of the Josh Donaldson Hitting Lab, "We're fortunate enough to have some 'spinball' machines down in the cage, so that's a huge benefit for us. That's as close as you're going to get to getting live looks without seeing an actual live arm. Also, we have Jason Selk, our mental coach, talk to us. So I've been trying to do my - we call them mental workouts, which is just kind of trying to visualize some things before they even happen. And another thing, trying to not do too much and cut down on my swings a little bit - be as short as possible and try to stay within myself."  

(The Spinball Pitching Machines are advanced pitching machines that can simulate not only a traditional fastball, but also impart spin to mimic sliders, curveballs, etc. The top of the line model, the iPitch Smart Pitching Machine, is controlled by a tablet and can take inputs of specific spin measurements to exactly recreate any pitcher's arsenal that there is Trackman/Rapsodo data for and then throw either pre-planned sequences, based on that pitcher's real-life usage, or random sequences. It has the ability to target nine different points of the strike zone and throw at velocities from 50mph all the way up to 100mph. It retails for a base price of $14,000, plus shipping and included options.)   

Head coach Butch Thompson couldn't be happier about the progress the senior from Mississippi has made: "I see comfort, I see confidence," Thompson told 247's Jason Caldwell. "At the plate it’s becoming more believable every game we play because that slider that’s two balls off the plate, the barrel’s not moving."

Thompson reiterated the offensive contributions of Ware were a welcome sight for the coaching staff. "We have seen him play enough and be in the program enough that when he doesn’t recognize and goes for that pitch, it makes it more difficult for him to put at-bats together. He’s taking that pitch and seeing it and evaluating it. I think that has put him in much better counts and given him a chance to get balls over the plate to be able to perform.” 

Other statistical leaders of note: 

DH Ike Irish: 9-16 with three doubles, four RBIs, and two walks

LF Bobby Pierce: 7-18 with one homerun, one double, six RBIs.

RF Justin Kirby: 2-11 with two homeruns, three RBIs, and seven walks

Statistical Leaders - Southern California 

Senior infielder Nick Lopez led the Trojans offensively through the opening week, 1st on the team in hits (9), home runs (3), and doubles (3), and tied for the team lead in runs (7) and RBI (7). His 3 homers are 5th in the NCAA and his 21 total bases are the 4th most in the NCAA.

Senior outfielder Cole Gabrielson posted the first two-homer game of the season for USC on Sunday against Marist.

Senior righty Blake Sodersten, entering in the 4th on Sunday against Marist, struck out nine batters in 5.0 innings.

Redshirt freshman infielder Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, a transfer from UCLA that did not appear in a game last year, had an immediate impact on this Trojans lineup with seven RBI on two doubles and a homer through his first four collegiate games. Martin-Grudzielanek hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the 6th inning of USC's season opener against Marist.

Junior infielder Ryann Jackson is tied for the team lead with a .500 batting average, going 6-for-12 at the plate so far. Jackson has also drawn seven walks (15th in the NCAA) and owns a .700 OBP (25th in the NCAA).

As a team, Southern California sports a .609 slugging percentage, tops in the Pac-12 and 17th in the NCAA. Their 29 walks through four games have them in the top 20 nationally for 2023. Thompson brought attention to their walks in comments to the media on Thursday: "A very patient-oriented ball club. [...] They're evaluating pitches very well. We need guys to shove it in the strike zone like we've been preaching to start this season." 

Expected Starters 

C  Nate LaRue

1B Cooper McMurray OR Brody Wortham OR Cam Hill

2B Caden Green

SS Cole Foster

3B Bryson Ware

LF Bobby Pierce

CF Kason Howell

RF Justin Kirby

DH Ike Irish

Game Times and How to Watch 

Game times are 6PM on Friday, 2PM on Saturday, and noon on Sunday. Limited chairback and Tiger Terrace seating is still available - more information can be found at aubtix.com. Game one will not be available for broadcast owing to a previously scheduled women's gymnastics meet at Neville Arena, but games two and three will be available on SEC Network+. The radio call, with Brad Law and Paul Ellen (games one and two) and Andy Burcham (game three) will be available locally on 95.9FM and online at AuburnTigers.com. 

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i have never seen this and thought some fo you might enjoy it...........

 

 

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this was posted late in case folks wonder why..........

 

 

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Auburn Baseball vs. USC: How to watch, stream, listen to this weekend’s series at Plainsman Park

Taylor Jones

3–4 minutes

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The series that almost never was is set to take place at Plainsman Park beginning Friday night.

Auburn welcomes USC to the Plains for a three-game set after cold weather and rain forced administration from both Auburn and USC to call an audible. The series originally planned for Los Angeles was changed in a matter of 6-8 hours according to Auburn head coach Butch Thompson.

“I hate it for our guys not being able to make that trip (to Los Angeles), but I tip my hat to a lot of people in administration, our travel people, Southern Cal’s administrators,” Thompson said Thursday. “It’s tough to pick up a college baseball team and travel across country, so I tip my hat to both administrations for going, ‘This is the right thing to do. How do we get there?”

USC has arrived, they have practiced at Plainsman Park, and they have their hotel. So now reality has set in that one of college baseball’s “blue bloods” is coming to Auburn for the first time in history.

“We’re going to have a 12-time national champion at Plainsman Park for the first time. It keeps getting neater,” Thompson said. “I appreciate (USC). I appreciate our fans for how they’ve jumped on the tickets. I’m just thankful this series is about to be pulled off.”

Auburn and Southern Cal each enter the series with 3-1 records. The Tigers took two-of-three from Indiana in last weekend’s season-opening series and defeated North Alabama, 13-1 on Tuesday in Madison. As for the Trojans, they swept Marist last weekend but dropped a midweek contest to UC-Irvine.

Below, you will find everything you need to know ahead of this weekend’s series between Auburn and USC including a how-to-watch guide, pitching matchups, and key players to watch.

RELATED: Auburn-USC baseball preview with Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire

How to watch this weekend's series

Here’s when you should tune in to see Friday’s game:

• Date: Friday, Feb. 24

• Time: 6 p.m. CT

• TV Channel: None

Here’s when you should tune in to see Saturday’s game:

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 25

• Time: 2 p.m. CT

• TV Channel: SEC Network+

Here’s when you should tune in to see Sunday’s game:

• Date: Sunday, Feb. 26

• Time: 12 p.m. CT

• TV Channel: SEC Network+

How to listen to the weekend's series

Listen to Auburn Baseball all season long on the official Auburn Athletics app for Apple and Android, as well as your local Auburn Sports Network affiliate

Auburn	93.9 FM
Abbeville	98.7 FM
Andalusia	93.7 FM
Birmingham	100.5 FM
Columbus, Ga.	94.7 FM
Conway, Ark.	92.7 FM
Florence	94.9 FM
Gulf Shores	106.5 FM
Huntsville	800 AM
LaGrange, Ga.	96.9 FM
Montgomery	740 AM
Roanoke	94.7 FM
Scottsboro	1050 AM
Selma	1490 AM
Tupelo, Miss.	99.9 FM
Tuscaloosa	99.5 FM
Vernon	106.5 FM

Projected Pitching Matchup

Friday

• [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] (0-0, 9.00) vs. Tyler Stromsburg (0-0, 5.06)

Saturday

• [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] (1-0, 0.00) vs. Jaden Agassi (1-0, 1.42)

Sunday

• TBA vs. Eric Hammond (0-0, 3.00)

Projected Starting Lineup

• 😄Nate LaRue

• 1B: [autotag]Cam Hill[/autotag]

• 2B: Caden Green

• 3B: [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag]

• SS: Cole Foster

• LF: [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag]

• CF: Kason Howell

• RF: [autotag]Justin Kirby[/autotag]

• DH: Ike Irish

Players to Watch

AUBURN

• Ike Irish

• Justin Kirby

• Bryson Ware

• Bobby Peirce

• Joseph Gonzalez

USC

• Nick Lopez

• Carson Wells

• Ryan Jackson

• Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek

• Jaden Agassi

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

[AUBwins 10,075]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

 

Wow! So we can essentially practice against the opposing starters before playing them?  Thats incredible tech.

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2 hours ago, AUBwins said:

Wow! So we can essentially practice against the opposing starters before playing them?  Thats incredible tech.

i am glad we are doing more like this. it always seemed that when it came to football lsu's receivers caught more balls and a brief clip of their receivers showed them with some kind of goggles on which i assume was to improve their pass catching skillz. we should always look for any advantage because the other teams are looking for an advantage as well.