3/12/23 Baseball and Softball Articles

[aubiefifty 16,791]

 

[aubiefifty 16,791]

Takeaways from Auburn's double-header with Southeastern Louisiana

Andrew Stefaniak

~3 minutes

---

What did we learn from Auburn's series loss to Southeastern Louisiana?

Auburn loses both games of the Saturday double-header with Southeastern Louisiana leading to the Tigers first series loss of the season. 

The injury bug hit the Tigers as Cole Foster wasn't able to go in either of these ball games with an abdominal injury. 

So the question is what can we take away from these ball games? 

Well there are a few positives and a few negatives. 

Positives

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Zach Crotchfelt had another excellent outing for the Tigers. The freshman threw five scoreless innings, only allowing three hits and striking out five. His changeup looked great in this ball game, helping him to change speeds well and throw off the hitter's timing. Crotchfelt will be great for the Tigers this season and the rest of his Auburn career. 

Ike Irish will not stop mashing baseballs. Irish was 5-9 in the two games of the doubleheader to go with three rbi's. He has been constant offense for this team so far this season. Irish has 31 hits and is batting .477 this year. This freshman has been special and will be for a very long time. 

Chris Stanfield showed the power and speed on Saturday. Stanfield hit his first career home run in game one of the doubleheader and also beat out an infield single. Stanfield was 3-6 on the day driving in four over the two ball games. He is the Tiger's center fielder of the future but has firmly secured himself in the starting lineup with his play. 

Negatives

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

The Auburn bullpen struggled mightily on Saturday as the Tigers had to throw a lot of young arms. Drew Nelson and Trevor Horne had good outings, but aside from these two, it was a rough day. Auburn will have to find some more consistent arms out of the bullpen if they want to have a good record in conference play. 

Auburn isn't healthy heading into SEC play. Bobby Peirce is still dealing with a nagging injury, and Cole Foster got banged up during batting practice before the doubleheader. Joseph Gonzalez's health is still up in the air. With Arkansas on the schedule for next weekend, the Tigers need these players healthy, and they need it fast. It could be a rough weekend if these guys aren't in the lineup. 

[aubiefifty 16,791]

247sports.com

 

Late rally falls short as Auburn baseball swept by SELA in Saturday doubleheader

Jason Caldwell

6–8 minutes

---

 

AUBURN, Alabama—It was a day to forget for the No. 11 Auburn Tigers as they blew a 3-0 lead after five innings in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader to fall 8-3 and were never in game two as the Southeastern Louisiana Lions won 8-7 to sweep both games to take the series from coach Butch Thompsons’ club. With the losses the Tigers fall to 12-3-1 on the season while the Lions improve to 11-5 on the year. The sweep ended a seven-game winning streak for the Tigers.

The story of the day was the lack of production from Auburn's offense. Already without senior outfielder Bobby Peirce (hamstring) and first baseman Cooper McMurray (ankle), the Tigers played both games on Saturday without starting shortstop Cole Foster. With four hits in each of the last two games entering Saturday, the junior strained an abdominal muscle late in Friday's win and was held out on Saturday.

"Anything you can say would be an excuse," Thompson said. "It’s tough when it’s not just a starter, but your hottest player. Bobby kind of reaggravated some things at Jacksonville State. This is our team and we’re going to have to figure out how to play with what’s on the field. That’s no excuse for us dropping two ballgames. There have been moments when it’s close lately where you’re going to have to be able to do things. There’s a lot of little dings and bangs as we get to the end of spring break. We’ll just keep pushing with the players that we have. Hopefully we’ll get a good report and get those guys back."

That meant the Tigers were without three of their top hitters, and it showed at the plate. Ike Irish led the way with five hits and three doubles on Saturday while Auburn got three hits each and a home run from senior Kason Howell and true freshman Chris Stanfield, but that was the extent of the excitement swinging the bat on a tough day for the Auburn offense until a late rally in game two that saw the Tigers leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, falling 8-7.

"I just think our approaches," Thompson said of the story of the day. "I thought we played a very competitive ball club that knew their identity and what they’re trying to do and thought they stayed after it from beginning to end in Southeastern Louisiana. I thought their approaches were better.

"Our guys are going to continue to fight but the pop ups and strikeouts are pretty easy to defend. Just couldn’t link up any consistency with offense."

In game one, Auburn got all it could ask for from true freshman LHP Zach Crotchfelt. Pitching five innings for the Tigers, Crotchfelt allowed just three hits and no runs to set up his team with a great opportunity thanks to an early big swing from classmate Stanfield. With one out in the second inning and Bryson Ware on first following a walk, the true freshman outfielder jumped on a pitch and sent it over the wall in left field for his first career home run.

In the fifth inning, the Tigers would add another run to take a three-run lead. Leading off, Caden Green doubled off the wall in left before Howell’s single put runners on the corners with nobody out. Up next, Mike Bello’s fly ball to right field scored Green easily from third to make it 3-0 Auburn. That would be the last positive news of the game and the day for Auburn until well into game two.

Going to the bullpen to bring in Chase Allsup, Auburn’s move didn’t work out as he allowed two runs on four hits to give a taste of what was to come out of the bullpen for the Tigers. Following a scoreless inning from Chase Isbell in the seventh, SELA came back for more in the eighth inning to break the game open.

A pair of singles led to a run off Isbell before Will Cannon would be next up for the Tigers. Coming in with runners on first and second and one out, Cannon allowed back-to-back singles to make it 5-3 Southeastern Louisiana. They tacked on three more runs in the ninth to win 8-3 and even the series heading into the second game of the doubleheader to wrap up the series.

"I thought Crotchfelt got us off to a good start and then the guys we used in the bullpen, they’ve been used a lot but we felt pretty good about Allsup, Isbell and Cannon, and they just kept grinding through those guys," Thompson said of game one. 

In game two it was much of the same as Southeastern Louisiana scored two runs in the first inning off Auburn starter Christian Herberholz and never looked back with starting pitcher Andrew Landry cruising against the depleted Auburn lineup.

Adding a single run in the second inning to go up 3-0, Southeastern Louisiana dodged a bullet in the bottom of the third. With one out and Howell on first following a walk, Stanfield bounced a ball down the left field line and into the corner. With the left fielder having issues, Howell cruised all the way around to score from first, but Stanfield was thrown out at third trying to stretch it to a triple.

With the lead at two, Southeastern Louisiana added single runs in the fifth and sixth to push the lead to four, but Howell would again be in the middle of the offense for the Tigers. Leading off the inning, the senior smoked a pitch to deep left-center that appeared to bounce off the scoreboard. Not taking any chances, Howell never slowed down and slid into the plate for an inside-the-park home run. That cut the Southeastern Louisiana lead down to three and gave Auburn some life. 

But it wouldn't last long as the Lions broke the game open with three runs in the top of the eighth to put game two out of reach. Auburn got runners on second and third in the eighth inning thanks to a double from Irish, but couldn't get them in.  The Tigers then loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but looked like they would come up empty again as Brody Wortham and Josh Hall both struck out before a Howell walk forced in a run with two outs. That cut the lead to five to bring Stanfield to the plate. 

Another walk forced in a run to bring Irish to the plate. Continuing his clutch play, the freshman blasted a double to left field to score all three runs and make it 8-7. An intentional walk to Ware and a walk to Kirby loaded the bases with two outs for Ryan Dyal, but his pop up to center ended the Auburn rally one run short.

Auburn returns to action on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. when Georgia Tech comes to Plainsman Park for midweek showdown. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

[aubiefifty 16,791]

247sports.com

 

'Simple, relaxed and smooth' Foster powers Tigers past SELA in series opener

Jason Caldwell

5–6 minutes

---

 

AUBURN, Alabama—Going 4-6 with three home runs and nine RBI in last year’s NCAA Regional game against Southeastern Louisiana, Auburn shortstop Bryson Ware picked up where he left off on Friday night with four hits and three runs batted in as the Tigers won for the seventh straight time, beating the Lions 7-1 to take the first game of the series.

Scheduled to play single games on Saturday and Sunday, Auburn and SELA will now play a doubleheader on Saturday because of expected weather on Sunday. Game two will still be at 2 p.m. with the second game coming 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one. Both games can be seen on SEC Network+.

Foster was again the hitting star for the Tigers, collecting four hits for the second-straight game after doing it Wednesday night in a win over Jacksonville State. He also added his second home run of the season and leaves with a batting average of .442 on the year. Auburn also got a pair of hits each from true freshmen Ike Irish and Chris Stanfield to lead the offense.

"My thing is simple, relaxed and smooth," Foster said. "Those are kinda like my three words that I try to play by and I think that’s really been showing. That’s what I’ve been working on the most and I want to stay with it all year.

"I think it goes back to the approach of not trying to do too much, staying within myself, getting my pitch early in the count and trying to do damage. I’m not seeing a beach ball or anything. We’re facing good arms and it just happens that I’m trying to stay short and simple and it’s been showing out lately."

Getting the start on the mound for the Tigers, junior LHP Tanner Bauman gave Auburn a shot to win despite not having his best stuff. Pitching into the fifth inning before giving way to Parker Carlson, Bauman allowed one run on seven hits and struck out three. Coming on with a runner on second and no outs, Carlson struck out two in his only inning of work. Trevor Horne got two outs in his only inning of work before John Armstrong came on to finish the sixth. He would go the rest of the way to finish off the night for Auburn.

"I don’t think it can be overstated how good of a job John Armstrong has done for this team early on," coach Butch Thompson said. "It’s tremendously early, but four wins and now he’s picking up a save. He’s been the Swiss Army Knife for this pitching staff and has done an amazing job. He’s helped us secure some series, but really helped us in the first game of a series to stay competitive and not have to use anybody else with what looks like a long day tomorrow."

Following a pair of scoreless innings to open the game, Auburn’s offense finally got untracked in the bottom of the third to get the Tigers going. With one out, Kason Howell walked to bring Foster to the plate. Not trying to do too much, Foster pulled one through the right side for a single to put runners on first and second for the heart of the order.

Patient at the plate, Justin Kirby walked to bring Irish to the plate. Already with a single to his credit on the night, Irish with the other way for a double to score two and put the Tigers on th board. A Bryson Ware fly ball pushed across Kirby to make it 3-0 Auburn.

Getting through four innings without allowing a run, Bauman ran into big trouble to open the fifth when Tyler Finke singled and scored on a Jake Killingsworth double to the gap. Entering the game with a runner in scoring position, Carlson got a ground ball for the first out before back-to-back strikeouts ended the frame and kept Auburn in front by two.

"Parker Carlson did a nice little job for us and got a couple of big outs in that vulnerable situation from the starter to the first reliever," Thompson said. "We were about to get out of that inning."

One inning later the Tigers would extend the lead thanks to one big swing of the bat from Foster. First, Auburn would get some help from Lion pitching as walks to Nate LaRue and Howell put a pair of runners on base for Foster. Getting a 1-0 pitch over the heart of the plate, Foster hammered it deep over the right field fence for his second home run of the season. That gave Auburn a five-run lead, but he wasn’t done.

In the bottom of the eighth, Howell led things off with a double to left. When the throw from the SELA left fielder got away at second, the senior advanced to third. Foster needed just one pitch to add to the lead with a single to center field making it 7-1 Tigers.

Armstrong would finish things off to earn his first save of the season. He didn’t allow a hit in the final three and one/thirds innings to secure the victory.

6COMMENTS

BOX SCORE

 

">247Sports

[aubiefifty 16,791]

247sports.com

 

Big hits, one big throw lift Auburn to win over Georgia in SEC softball opener

Phillip Marshall

3–4 minutes

---

  Lindsey Garcia had a two-run homer and a double in Auburn victory.

No. 18 Auburn’s softball bats awoke with a roar on Saturday at Jack Turner Stadium in Athens. The Tigers answered every Georgia surge and claimed a 6-5 victory over the No.19 Bulldogs in the  Southeastern Conference opener. It was defense that ended it. Centerfielder Makayla Packer cut down the potential tying run at second base for the final out.

The Tigers who had some struggles at the plate last weekend and last Wednesday at Georgia Tech, got big hits when they needed them, including three home runs and three doubles. Nelia Peralta started it all with a leadoff home run. Bri Ellis hit a solo homer. Aubrie Lisenby hit a run double to give Auburn the lead. The offensive hero was Lindsey Garcia, who hit a two-run homer to give her team the lead for good in the fifth inning and also hit a double and scored a run.

But there were other heroes.

In the seventh inning, after catcher Ally Kurland doubled off the wall in left-center to drive in a run, Packer cut her down at second base to end the game.

In the third inning, with the bases loaded and three runs across. Annabella Widra struck out two straight to end what could have been a much bigger inning. After relieving starter Shelby Lowe, Widra pitched 1 2/3 innings to get the win and improve her record to 7-0.

Ace Maddie Penta watched the first four innings before getting the call with Auburn leading 6-4 in the fifth. She was not her sharpest, but two of the four hits she gave up did not leave the infield. She struck out four and earned her second save.

Auburn improved to 21-3. Georgia fell to 17-6. Auburn will try to secure a series win Saturday at 11 a.m. on the SEC Network.

After Georgia took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third, Auburn quickly answered. Ellis led off with her eighth home run. Garcia doubled. After Makayla Packer beat out a bunt for a base hit and stole second, Lisenby laced line-drive double to left-center to give Auburn a 4-3 lead. Georgia answered quickly on Sara Mosley’s one-out solo homer.

In the fifth, Ellis drew a two-out walk, and Garcia drove the first pitch she saw over the left field fence. With two out in the seventh and a runner on second, Kurland’s drive to left center hit the top of the wall. Packer fielded the ball cleanly and threw a strike to Peralta covering second to end the game.

3COMMENTS

Because of the often strange SEC scheduling procedure, the trip to Athens was the first for Dean, in his sixth Auburn season.

“This place was loud. I mean loud,” Dean said. “That made that one hell of a play on Makayla’s part. The was huge. … It was a great game. We knew they had a great team. Plus, coming here for the first time ever. I guess because their stands are so high is why it’s so loud. I thought our kids handled it well.”

">247Sports