2/25/23 Auburn Articles

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auburntigers.com

 

‘Everybody competed’: No. 17 Auburn takes series opener vs. USC

Auburn University Athletics

4–5 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. – No. 17 Auburn used a four-run fourth inning to catapult itself to a 5-3 win in the series opener against USC Friday night at Plainsman Park.

  Seven of the nine starting position players recorded a hit, including two apiece from Ike Irish and Cole Foster, and four arms combined to hold USC to its lowest offensive output of the season.

  "I thought our guys did a nice job," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We hung around, had a couple of big hits. Everybody competed. Everybody played their role and gave us something. It was just a good team win for us tonight."

  John Armstrong (1-0, 0.00) recorded the final out of the fourth inning and got the win, while Will Cannon pitched the final 1.1 innings and earned his first save.

  Chase Allsup made his second start of the season and pitched a career high 3.2 innings, and Tanner Bauman ate up an important 3.2 innings in the middle of the game to help the Tigers maintain the lead.

  "I just love it, man," Bauman said of the competitive atmosphere. "I'm ultra-competitive, and I live for it. When I get up on the mound, I just want to go to work for the guys that are behind me and make it as quick as possible so they can get back in there and get some runs."

  USC (3-2) threatened in the early going with a pair of baserunners in the second and three more in the third, but Allsup worked his way around the traffic to hold the Trojans in check. A single, hit batter and walk loaded the bases with nobody out to start the third, but the sophomore righty buckled down and got out of the inning unscathed with a strikeout, foul out and flyout to left.

  An inning later, the Trojans started the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center, but Auburn (4-1) answered immediately with a four-run bottom of the frame. Justin Kirby and Irish started the inning with a walk and hit-by-pitch, and Bryson Ware sacrificed both into scoring position. Foster then ripped a two-strike pitch back up the middle to score both and put the Tigers ahead. Later in the inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Bobby Peirce hit a two-RBI single to left to extend the lead to 4-1.

  "The last week I haven't been hitting the way I've wanted to, and just coming out early and working with Coach Gross has been crucial for us," Foster said. "We're just trying to keep it simple, stay within ourselves and not do too much."

  "I thought Foster did an amazing job offensively," Thompson added. "He's been a little slow these first four games, but he came up big for us tonight."

  Bauman entered the game in relief of Armstrong to start the fifth and set USC down in order to get his outing going.

  The Trojans cut the deficit to 4-2 after a leadoff walk ultimately scored on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, but Bauman retire the side again in the seventh and the Tigers got the run back on a solo homer from Kirby in home half of the frame to increase the lead back to three. The long ball was Kirby's team best third of the season.

  USC drew within two again in the eighth when a two-out walk came in to score on a RBI triple, but Cannon entered in relief and induced a ground ball to end the frame.

  The Trojans started the ninth with a leadoff single, bringing the tying run to the plate with nobody out, but Cannon got a popup and strikeout to get within an out of ending the game. A two-out single put the tying run on base, but a groundout to Foster at short put the finishing touch on the series-opening win.

  Game two between the Tigers and Trojans is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. It will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and SEC Network+.

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247sports.com

 

Auburn takes 5-3 Friday night win over USC

Jason Caldwell

5–7 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama—Cole Foster had two hits and two RBI and the No. 17 Auburn Tigers got a strong relief performance from Tanner Bauman as coach Butch Thompson’s team beat USC 5-3 on Friday night in the first of three games vs. the Trojans this weekend at Plainsman Park. Coming on in relief for the Tigers, Bauman allowed just one hit in three and two/thirds innings and gave up two earned runs thanks in large part to three walks. It was part of a six-walk night for Auburn pitching as the combination of starter Chase Allsup, John Armstrong, Bauman and Will Cannon combined to allow three runs on nine hits. Armstrong picked up the win for the Tigers, retiring the only batter he faced to end the fourth inning. Cannon earned the save, the first of his career.

"Obviously, you don’t want to give up six freebies," Bauman said. "That’s something we can always work on, but we pulled through and got the dub. We were all competing out there. You saw a different type of energy on the mound with the four guys that threw. We all came in there and had a job to do and had confidence we were going to get these guys out.”

The win was an important one for the Tigers because of a change in pitching plans for Saturday. Limited in his first outing after missing time early in the spring with a tight shoulder, Auburn junior Joseph Gonzalez won't go on Saturday while dealing with some tightness again following his bullpen this week. The Tigers could go with junior college transfer Christian Herberholz in his place.

At the plate the hitting start was Foster, who came into the game batting just .100 with one hit in the first four games. For a player that is expected to be one of the top options for the Tigers at the dish, Foster said Friday night was a big one for him from a confidence standpoint.

“It felt awesome," he said. "Obviously it didn’t start the way I wanted to with the slow start, but nights like these with a barrel and a dink, it just gets your mindset right. Doing early work with coach Gross has been huge for me the last two weeks. It finally paid off tonight and it felt good. I was happy to have that.”

Getting his second start of the year, Allsup allowed just one run in three and two/thirds innings, but pitched through trouble throughout his outing on Friday night. Giving up five hits, walking two and also hitting a batter, the Dothan native had one of the key moments in the game in the third inning with the game still scoreless.

Allowing a single to open the frame, Allsup hit the number nine hitter before walking leadoff man Johnny Olmstead to load the bases with nobody out. Bearing down, Allsup struck out Carson Wells on three pitches before getting Ryan Jackson on a pop up. With top power threat Nick Lopez at the plate, Allsup got a fly ball to left field to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.

"I thought we got something out of everybody on the mound," Thompson said of his pitchers. "Allsup competed his heart out. What could of happened in that inning when they showed bunt and affected us with the HBP, the walk. They get the bases loaded, nobody out and they’re at the heart of the lineup. He absolutely showed another gear and getting out of that inning was huge."

One inning later the Trojans would break on top. Following a one out double, Austin Overn’s bunt single put runners on the corners with one out. Coming through for the first of two sacrifice flies on the night, Connor Aoki put USC up 1-0 going to the bottom of the fourth.

With just one hit in the first three innings off USC starter Tyler Stromsborg, Auburn got some help of their own when Kirby was hit by a pitch to start the inning before a walk to Ike Irish gave the Tigers some life for the first time. 

Following a sacrifice bunt by Bryson Ware to move both runners up, Foster laced a double to right-center to put Auburn in front 2-1. With two outs, catcher Nate LaRue walked before a Kason Howell infield single loaded the bases for Bobby Peirce.

(Photo: Jason Caldwell/Auburnundercover, 247Sports)

One of Auburn’s top hitters early in the 2023 season, Peirce jumped on the first pitch and dumped a single into left field to score Foster and LaRue to make it 4-1 Tigers after four innings.

Coming on in relief, Bauman retired the Trojans three up and three down in the fifth before he would run into some trouble of his own in the sixth thanks to free bases. Walking the first two USC hitters in the inning, Bauman got a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to limit the damage to just one run.

Now up 4-2, Auburn got a big run on one swing of the bat in the bottom of the seventh when Kirby blasted his third bomb of the season to push the lead to three for the Tigers. But walks would again haunt Auburn pitchers as Bauman walked Cole Gabrielson with two outs and nobody on to bring Overn to the plate. Continuing his strong night, the freshman roped a triple over the head of Kirby in right field to cut the Auburn lead back to just two. 

Coming in to finish off the eighth inning, Cannon allowed a leadoff single in the top of the ninth before getting a pop up for the first out. Allowing a two-out single, the junior college transfer got a ground ball to short to secure the win for the Tigers.

9COMMENTS

Game two of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Plainsman Park and can be seen via streaming on SEC Network+.

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TAKEAWAYS from Auburn baseball's game one victory over Southern California

Lindsay Crosby

5–6 minutes

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Auburn baseball hung on to defeat Southern California in game one of the series, moved to Auburn from Los Angeles due to weather, by a final of 5-3. Here's what you need to know: 

Auburn's got some real weapons out of the bullpen 

Chase Allsup got another turn as the Friday night starter, and even though he struggled to consistently land the first pitch for a strike, he did enough to keep Auburn in the game. Head coach Butch Thompson was happier with this week's effort from Allsup. 

"Allsup competed his heart out. What could have happened, in that inning where they showed bunt and affected us, got the HBP and the walk to get bases loaded with nobody out and they're at the heart of that lineup again, he absolutely, I thought, showed another gear. He absolutely got out of that inning, (it) was huge."  

"So Chase got through something (the 3rd inning jam) and came back out and gave us a little bit more." 

(Allsup's final line: 3.2 IP, 5H, 1R, 2BB, 2K. 72 pitches w/46 strikes) 

Righty John Armstrong was called on in the "fireman" role to work out of a jam in the 4th - two runners on and two outs - and it took just two pitches for the sidearmer to get a weak groundball that Nate LaRue easily scooped and fired to 1st to end the inning. And with Auburn's offensive explosion coming in the 4th, Armstrong earned the win, too.  

Auburn turned to Tanner Bauman, the junior out of St. John's River State, to start the 5th and he "grinded" out a victory for Auburn. Said Bauman, "You obviously don't want to give up six freebies (walks) [...] We're all just competing out there. You saw a different type of energy on the mound. I think the four guys that threw, we all knew we got a job to do and we have confidence that we're going to get these guys out." Bauman went 3.2 IP with one hit, two runs, and three walks to three strikeouts in the contest. 

With a two-out RBI triple in the 8th cutting the lead to two runs, Thompson went ahead and made the change to Cannon for a four-out save. 

"I really thought Bauman would squeeze out the eighth, but after the triple, we absolutely wanted to get to Cannon. [...] I wanted to get Cannon back out there and treat him like that (the closer), get him the feel of that role and he absolutely grinded it out."

Thompson marveled about how much the team has taken to Will Cannon in the closer's role. "Will absolutely just did enough, but I think there's confidence that when those eight guys are sitting out there with him, he's won those guys over at this point. He's absolutely won our guys over and that's who they want out there. [...] I think they believe that Will's gonna absolutely compete his heart out for them and I think that's what's tracking really well for Will right now."    

The offense did enough

Auburn had only eight hits in the contest, with only two of them coming back to back, but found ways to win. Whether it was back to back sacrifices to move runners from 1st to 3rd, or executing a perfect bunt, the offense put up four runs in the 4th inning and the bullpen made it work. 

Justin Kirby has the wildest statline of the season

The transfer outfielder from Kent State added insurance in the 7th via a homerun over the Monster, his third hit of the season. All three hits have been solo homeruns. It's a statline that some of his fellow players are amazed by. 

Said Foster, "When it happened and Bobby told me, I didn't believe it at the time. When the scoreboard came back on, it said three hits, three homeruns or something. That's crazy. Interesting. Good stat line." 

On the season, Kirby is 3-14 with 3 HRs, 6 runs scored, 4 RBIs, 7 walks to 4 strikeouts. 

Auburn's hitters struggled to square the changeup tonight 

We spotted tonight's USC pitcher, Tyler Stromsborg, warming up with a football and it helped craft the scouting report. 

The changeup was indeed working for Stromsborg - he notched seven putouts in his 5.2 innings, consistently inducing weak groundball contact that he could easily scoop and fire. Said Thompson, "It's kind of like Joseph's set last week - you knew what they were trying to do. We talked about setting our sights and making adjustments. Eventually wound up getting four on a pretty good arm."  

Saturday's game

First pitch is at 2PM, but there's going to be some changes. RHP Joseph Gonzalez is unavailable due to a recurrence of the shoulder soreness that held him out spring practice - and so Auburn will have transfer RHP Christian Herberholz for game two as they try for a series win. 

The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and the radio call, with Brad Law and Paul Ellen, will be available locally on 95.9FM and online at AuburnTigers.com.

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Four-run fourth propels Auburn to series-opening win over USC - The Auburn Plainsman

 

6–8 minutes

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In an unexpected home game, one that was supposed to take place over 2,000 miles away, Auburn took a series-opening 5-3 win over the USC Trojans.

“That felt like it’s going to feel in our league,” said head coach Butch Thompson. 

Despite the late announcement about the series being played at Plainsman Park, 2,809 fans showed up for Friday night’s opener.

“Fans showed up today even though we weren’t supposed to be in Auburn,” said Auburn shortstop Cole Foster. “And I think that was awesome.”

Chase Allsup started Auburn’s Friday night game for the second straight week. After going just two innings against Indiana, Allsup pitched 3.2 innings against the Trojans. Though Allsup got into trouble in each of the second, third and fourth innings, he allowed just one earned run on five hits.

In both the second and third innings Allsup worked himself into and out of trouble. In the second frame, he allowed a lead-off single and a double. A double play and a strikeout got him out of trouble.

The third inning was far more dramatic. A single, a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases for USC with no outs. Allsup was not fazed, retiring the Trojans’ second, third and fourth batters in the lineup to preserve a then-scoreless tie.

“Allsup competed his heart out,” Thompson said. “The HBP, the walk to get bases loaded, nobody out in there at the heart of that lineup and he absolutely, I thought, showed another gear and absolutely got out of that inning.”

After a scoreless first three frames, both teams broke through in the fourth inning. USC plated a single run as a double and a bunt single put Connor Aoki in position for a sacrifice fly. 

Allsup was pulled for John Armstrong, whose only two pitches of the game got the Tigers out of the inning.

Trailing 1-0, Auburn erupted for four runs in the frame, set up largely by mistakes made by USC starter Tyler Stromsborg. 

Justin Kirby was hit by a pitch and Ike Irish took a walk to give Auburn two free baserunners before an out was recorded. Foster made Stromborg pay for those mistakes by bringing both home on a double into center field. Auburn had the lead, but it was not done yet in the frame.

Bobby Peirce brought home Foster and Nate LaRue, who reached on another walk by Stromsborg, to increase Auburn’s lead to 4-1, Auburn did not look back, leading by multiple runs the rest of the way.

In the seventh, right fielder Justin Kirby hit a home run over the monster in left field. It was Kirby’s team-leading third homer of the season — accounting for each of his three hits.

“That’s an interesting, but good stat line,” Foster said.

USC added just two additional runs despite bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings. In both instances, Will Cannon was able to work out of trouble.

“I really wanted to get Cannon back out there,” Thompson said. “Get him to fill that role, and he absolutely grinded through that.”

Foster, after starting the season just 1-for-10, had two hits in the game, including his two-run double in the fourth. Foster was one of two Tigers to reach multiple hits, along with freshman Ike Irish.

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“It felt awesome,” Foster said. “Obviously, I didn’t start the way I wanted to, slow start, but nights like these…just kind of get your mindset right.”

Much like the series opener against Indiana the Friday before, four Auburn pitchers combined to hold the Trojans at bay: Allsup, Armstrong, Tanner Bauman and Cannon.

Bauman, for the second straight week, served as a long reliever for the Tigers. Bauman pitched 3.2 innings, giving up two runs on just one hit, saving Auburn from having to go further in its bullpen.

“It just keeps giving me the confidence that I belong here and that I can compete at this level,” Bauman said. “Obviously, I came here from a smaller junior college…it just shows that I can compete at this level and I can do what it takes to get this team a win.”

Junior college transfer Cannon, for the second consecutive Friday, closed out the game for the Tigers, pitching the final 1.1 innings and earning his first save for Auburn.

Though there were no errors committed in the field, seven free passes were issued by the collection of Auburn pitchers — six walks and a hit batsman.

“I’m glad we played errorless baseball because the biggest thing for me, that’s two of their three runs (reached on walks),” Thompson said. “I don’t think they’re trying to walk anybody, but how precious it when you’re playing a pretty high level of baseball.”

Despite the Trojans having base traffic in six of the nine innings, the pitchers were able to work out of trouble, stranding 11 USC baserunners.

“We’re all just competing out there,” Bauman said. “You saw a different type of energy tonight on the mound, I think, with the four guys that threw. We all came in there. We knew we had a job to do and we had confidence that we were going to get these guys out.”

The Tigers (4-1) and Trojans (3-2) will continue their series on Saturday when Auburn RHP Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) faces USC RHP Jaden Agassi (1-0, 1.42 ERA). The first pitch will be at 2 p.m. CST with a live stream on the SEC Network+.

Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.

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Matthew Wallace | Sports Reporter

Matthew is a junior from Huntsville, Alabama majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.

Twitter: @mattwallaceAU

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How to watch Auburn baseball vs USC

Zac Blackerby

~3 minutes

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Here's how to watch Auburn baseball vs USC.

Auburn baseball hosts the USC Trojans during the second weekend of the 2023 College Baseball Season.

After originally being scheduled as a road trip for the Auburn Tigers, they will host the Trojans in a three-game series at Plainsman Park because of the threat of bad weather in California.

How to watch Auburn baseball vs USC

First pitches at Plainsman Park are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. CT, Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at noon.

All three games will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on 93.9 FM Friday and 95.9 FM Saturday and Sunday. The final two contests of the series will also be streamed on SEC Network+. 

Probable Starters

Friday – So. RHP Chase Allsup (0-0, 9.00) vs. Jr. RHP Tyler Stromsborg (0-0, 5.06)

Saturday – Jr. RHP Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 0.00) vs. Jr. RHP Jaden Agassi (1-0, 1.42)

Sunday – TBA vs. R-Fr. Eric Hammond (0-0, 3.00)

Quick Hitters

Auburn is 3-1 or better through four games for the sixth straight season under Thompson.

Bryson Ware is 10-for-15 with five extra-base hits through four games. He has multiple hits in all four contests and ranks top five in the league in average (.667), hits (10) and doubles (4).

SEC Co-Freshman of the Week Ike Irish is 9-for-16 with three doubles and four RBI in his first four games in an Auburn uniform. He has multiple hits in three of the first four contests.

Auburn’s pitching trio of Konner Copeland, John Armstrong and Chase Isbell didn’t walk a batter and struck out 12 in 7.0 innings vs. North Alabama Tuesday.

Armstrong and Isbell were both named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List.

In five regular season, non-conference starts since the beginning of last season, Joseph Gonzalez is 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched.

This weekend marks the first meeting between Auburn and Southern Cal.

Friday is Auburn’s sixth matchup vs. a Pac-12 foe in the last 12 games dating back to 2022 (4-1).

This was a release from Auburn Athletics.

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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+.

8COMMENTS

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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Widra's no-hitter, power eruption lift Tigers to two softball victories

Phillip Marshall

3–4 minutes

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  Annabelle Widra cuts loose in Plainsman Invite on Friday. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, 247Sports)

 AUBURN, Alabama –Annabelle Widra couldn’t have been much better on Friday. She pitched a five-inning no-hitter in a 9-0 win over Brown in Auburn’s second game in the Plainsman Invite at Jane B. Moore Field. In the first game she started and pitched two perfect innings in a 12-0 Auburn victory over Merrimack.

In seven total innings, Widra gave up no hits, struck out 10 and walked one. She got the win in the second game to improve to 3-0,

But Widra had to share the spotlight with Auburn hitters.

In the opener, Bri Ellis hit a three-run homer to give Auburn a 9-0 lead. In the second game, she hit another three-run homer in the fourth to give Auburn a 9=0 lead.

Icess Tresvik hit a monster two-run homer in the lights in left-center. Nelia Peralta and Carlee McCondichie had solo homers.

In the first game, Nelia Peralta, Tresvik, Kenadie Cooper and Rose Roach hit doubles.

For the day, Auburn had 21 hits in eight innings and gave up one hit in 10 innings to improve to 11-1.

In the second game, Peralta, McCondichie and Ellis had two hits apiece. Ellis hit a run-scoring double over the left fielder’s head and finished with four RBIs.

Widra, who is from Hoover and played as a freshman at Michigan, has been a standout at the plate. But mostly, she has dealt misery to opponents from the circle.

“I was particularly sharp,” Widra said, “but I am trying to make that my thing on a regular basis.”

She has been sharp enough often enough to have an 0.58 ERA.

“For about 95 percent of the game plan, Annabelle stayed ahead of hitters,” Auburn coach Mickey Dean said. “She had great defense behind her. She stayed ahead and was able to hit different quadrants. She did a nice job.”

Ellis, who broke Auburn’s freshman record with 20 home runs last season, struggled early. She is struggling no longer. She has four home runs and has raised her batting average to .433, trailing only Peralta at .556 and McCondichie at .500.

“Really, it’s just mindset,” Ellis said. “If you watch my at-bats I’m breathing a lot. I’m doing a lot of exaggerated breath. I don’t have any nerves.”

Tresvik, a transfer from North Carolina A&T, hit the longest home run of the night. She attributes her power surge to the weight room.

“She has a beautiful swing,” Dean said. “I think (the weight room) is good for all the kids. She has gotten much, much, much stronger since she got here.”

The Tigers play North Dakota State at 3 p.m. Saturday, and that one might not be so drama-free.

The Bison are 4-6, but ace pitcher Paige Vargas, Dean said, is an SEC caliber pitcher. She has a 1.63 ERA and has struck out 31 in 34 1/3 innings.  Opponents are hitting .168 against her.

“She definitely is,” Dean said. “She has beaten ranked teams. She is really good.”

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[Mikey 16,638]

5 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

First pitch is at 2PM, but there's going to be some changes. RHP Joseph Gonzalez is unavailable due to a recurrence of the shoulder soreness that held him out spring practice - and so Auburn will have transfer RHP Christian Herberholz for game two as they try for a series win. 

This is not good news at all. If we're to compete in the SEC, Gonzo has got to be able to pitch.