3/18/23 Baseball Articles

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Takeaways from Auburn baseball's game one loss at Arkansas

Originally posted on FanNation Auburn Daily
By Lindsay Crosby  |  Last updated 3/17/23

Auburn opened conference play on the road at #3 Arkansas, dropping the contest 7-2 in Fayettville. Here's what we can take away from the contest:

The margins are smaller in conference play

Auburn moved grad transfer Tommy Vail from midweek, where he had excelled the last month, to Friday night. 

The step up in quality of the opposition was evident - Vail was cruising early, taking only 18 pitches to get through the first two innings and allowing only one walk through three before coming unraveled. 

Arkansas took a mound visit at the end of the 3rd inning and pitching coach Matt Hobbs had some words for the home plate umpire, Scott Cline. 

They appeared to have an impact. 

The strike zone was a LOT tighter in the bottom of the 4th and Vail never really got settled - after two leadoff walks, first baseman Brady Slavens put a 2-2 pitch pitch off the scoreboard in right field and staked Arkansas to a 3-1 lead they wouldn't relinquish. John Armstrong eventually came into the game to staunch the bleeding, but Auburn walked four total hitters in the inning and all four came around to score. 

Tommy Vail's final line: 3.1 IP with 2H, 4ER, 4BBs and 4 Ks in 63 pitches (34 strikes)

The big inning will get you every time 

Among head coach Butch Thompson's points of emphasis early in the season were freebies (walks and HBPs) and who gets the "big inning" - the coaching staff believes giving those up is a path to lose, and today provided some evidence to that. 

Arkansas put up only two runs outside of the "big inning", the five-run fourth inning. And that big inning was made possible by two leadoff walks and four in the inning. 

Just days after discussing Auburn's success at moving past the free passes and focusing on the need to minimize the hard contact, Auburn backslid against a veteran team with SEC-quality batting eyes. 

Said Thompson after the game, "the two walks and then getting your barrel in position one time - this is an offensive ballpark, the way it's setup. We hung in there both times, but they were opportunistic and [...] in those two pressure points right there, they got their stuff done."  

"That was the difference in the ballgame today." 

For the game, Auburn's pitchers struck out eleven batters, but gave up seven free passes with five of those runners coming around to score.

Auburn's hitters struggled to get it going

The combination of starter Hunter Hollan and staff ace Hagen Smith, working in relief this weekend for reasons known only to head coach Dave Van Horn, held Auburn to seven hits with eight strikeouts, albeit with five walks.

The lefties Hollan and Smith, despite having the same handedness, presented different profiles for Auburn hitters that kept them off-balance and never let them get comfortable. The 2022 Freshman All-American Smith was particularly effective, not allowing a hit and only walking two with five strikeouts in his three innings of work.

Auburn only twice had consecutive hits in the contest, with one of them resulting in only a solo run when Kason Howell homered after Nate LaRue was picked off in the 3rd and the other resulting in a sac fly RBI by Caden Green in the 4th.   

You (mostly) saved the arms

When Tommy Vail was knocked out of the game early, Auburn, as they often do, went to sidearmer John Armstrong. 

The sophomore finished off the 4th, albeit it after two base hits that scored two runs (one charged to each pitcher), but took 51 pitches to get through two full innings, departing for Chase Isbell with one out in the 6th. 

Final line for John Armstrong: 2 IP with 5H, 3R (2ER), 1BB and 2Ks on 51 pitches (32 strikes)

Isbell worked 2/3rds of an inning and threw only 8 pitches, so he ostensibly should be available again this weekend. Armstrong could theoretically come back for a game three, but only in a limited capacity, while Parker Carlson threw only seven pitches to finish off the 8th inning.  

Drew Nelson strikes out the side in the 7th, finishes with 5Ks 

Before Parker Carlson finished off the 8th, however, it was Nelly Shove Day. 

The true freshman, who opened the season as the Sunday starter but was replaced in the rotation after two rocky outings, looked much more comfortable in his 1.2 innings of work. 

The lefty struck out the side in the 7th before coming back in the 8th and giving up one walk, but notching two more strikeouts. He was lifted with two outs in the 8th for Parker Carlson, who walked the first batter and got a groundout to finish the outing. 

For an Auburn team potentially still without Joseph Gonzalez, any sort of reinforcements among the pitching staff are welcome and it's good to see the true freshman succeeding against SEC opposition. Nelson's time "in the garage" was obviously valuable, and he stands to be in line for a larger role going forward. 

What's next? 

Auburn's back in action tomorrow as they look to even the series at one game apice. Start time is at 2PM, and Auburn's sending true freshman lefty Zach Crotchfelt to the mound against redshirt junior Will McEntire. The game is available for streaming on SEC Network+, and the radio call with Brad Law is available on 95.9FM and online at AuburnTigers.com as well as the Auburn Athletics app.  

This article first appeared on FanNation Auburn Daily and was syndicated with permission.

Edited March 18, 2023 by aubiefifty

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