Auburn Baseball Stuff

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Auburn baseball earns 30th win with drubbing of Ole Miss

Taylor Jones

~3 minutes

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After outscoring Ole Miss, 24-6 in Friday’s doubleheader sweep, Auburn continued its offensive dominance on Saturday en route to another impressive win.

The Tigers used a 20-hit effort at the plate and a solid defensive day to defeat Ole Miss, 13-5 on Saturday to complete the three-game sweep at Swayze Field in Oxford.

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Auburn (30-19-1, 14-13 SEC) set the tone early by jumping out to a 12-run cushion before the Rebels (25-26, 6-21 SEC) had a chance to answer. Ike Irish and Nate LaRue each plated runs on RBI singles in the top of the 2nd, and Cole Foster smashed a solo home run in the 3rd inning to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.

Auburn would go on to do their most damage in the 5th and 7th innings. The Tigers scored six runs in the 5th to go ahead, 9-0, with a Cooper McMurray grand slam being the biggest blow of the inning.

Auburn added three more runs in the 7th inning to push their lead to 12-0. Irish got the inning with a solo blast, with Cole Foster and Bobby Peirce adding runs with two-out singles.

The Rebels finally cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the 7th by scratching four runs across. Bo Gatlin put Ole Miss on the board with a two-run double, and later scored on a two-run home run by John Kramer to cut the Tigers lead to 12-4.

Each team traded runs in the 9th inning to cap scoring. McMurray again would extend the Tigers’ lead with a sacrifice fly to score Chris Stanfield, and Ole Miss answered with a single by T.J. McCants to score Garrett Wood.

Every player in the Auburn lineup recorded a hit in the game, with five players recording three hits. McMurray led the team in RBI with five, while Foster and Irish each picked up two.

Starting pitcher Christian Herberholz allowed just one hit in 2.0 innings. Drew Nelson earned the win for the Tigers by relieving Herberholz for 2.0 innings, where he allowed two hits and struck out one batter. Chase Isbell led the pitching staff in strikeouts with two.

Auburn returns to Plainsman Park to play one more game at home this season on Tuesday. The Tigers and Jax State will do battle on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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si.com

 

After struggling early, Auburn is the hottest team in college baseball

Lindsay Crosby

6–8 minutes

---

March 19th, 2023 was the low point for the Auburn Tigers. 

The season started well enough - taking two out of three against Indiana, getting a run-rule victory against North Alabama on the road, winning two (and tying the third) in a weather-relocated series against USC, and then a sweep of Lipscomb. 

But the cracks were already starting to show - Indiana scored eleven runs on Auburn in their game three victory. USC scored twelve in game three. Lipscomb put up seventeen over the weeked. 

And then there were the walks. Auburn gave out 46 free passes in those first eleven games, with another sixteen "freebies" from either hit-by-pitch or wild pitches. 

Teams started to take advantage of Auburn's pitching woes, culminating with a seven game stretch where they lost two series (home vs Southeastern Louisiana and on the road at Arkansas), won only two games (one of which was in extras against Georgia Tech) and gave up 49 runs while scoring only 34. Arkansas closed the brutal stretch fr Auburn with a sweep, including a shutout in game three. 

To compound the issue, injuries were mounting. Joseph Gonzalez, the ace of the staff, didn't pitch after Opening Weekend, where he gave up only two hits in five innings against Indiana on a ridiculously effective forty-one pitches. Left fielder (and "Legacy Group" member) Bobby Peirce missed time with a hamstring issue, as did SS Cole Foster (abdominal), 1B Cooper McMurray (ankle), LHP Tommy Sheehan (bone spurs), and RHP Chase Isbell (oblique). 

Auburn's pitchers, at one point, had a combined ERA of 6.45 and a conference ERA of 8.83, worst in the SEC. They had walked 157 batters, and were allowing an opponent batting average of .287 (.326 in conference). Auburn was sitting at .333 winning percentage in the conference, and was projected to barely make the SEC Tournament and completely miss the postseason Field of 64.

This team was left for dead. All of the preseason predictions, that Auburn would be the last-place finisher in the SEC West, looked to be rather prescient. 

What changed?

And then, a few things happened: Tommy Vail and Christian Herberholz entered the weekend rotation, and Auburn's hitters got healthy. 

Auburn's ERA in the last four weeks of conference play, with Vail and Herberholz starting, dropped from 8.83 to 5.02. As the new ace of the rotation, Vail put up a 1.31 ERA over the last four weekends, and lowered that further after eight innings of two hit, one run ball last night. Herberholz entered the weekend rotation and is tied for third in the SEC with a 2.00 ERA the last four weekends. In conference play, "Herbie" leads the team (and is third in the SEC) with a 2.45 ERA. 

Vail and Herberholz keyed a weekend rotation that collected back to back series wins against the #2 team in the nation (South Carolina, on the road) and #1 team (LSU, at home, their first series loss of the season). It was the first time, as far as team records indicate, that the Tigers had ever beaten the top-ranked team in program history. 

The Auburn pitching staff held LSU to a season-low 11 runs in the series, with a collective 3.12 ERA on the weekend. 

Auburn's hitters were the key to the defeat over South Carolina - Vail and Herberholz performed admirably, combining to allow only three runs in nine innings - but Auburn hit ten homeruns in the series and outscored the Gamecocks 24-15. The entire pitching staff did their job, as well: The powerful South Carolina offense, 2nd in the country entering that series with 92 homeruns, hit only two on the weekend. 

That Auburn offense, finally with everybody healthy, has become a juggernaut in recent weeks, scoring 24 runs in the first two games of the Ole Miss series and picking up two run-rule victories in the last three games. Senior Bryson Ware is one homerun away from twenty on the season, which would make him only the seventh player in program history to accomplish the feat. Cooper McMurray has three multi-homer SEC games since April 7th, only the third time an Auburn player has accomplished the feat in modern history (2010, both Brian Fletcher and Hunter Morris).

How they did it

But if you've read anything I've written this season, you know that head coach Butch Thompson has harped on three things: Producing the biggest inning, passing out the fewest freebies, and having the most baserunners. 

Auburn's excelled as of late at all three. 

The team that has produced the biggest inning in Auburn's games is 35-6 on the season entering this weekend, and Auburn did it twice in Friday's doubleheader. 

The team with the fewest freebies is 25-12-1, and Auburn also did that twice in Friday's doubleheader. 

The team with the most baserunners is 33-9-1, and Auburn also did THAT twice in Friday's doubleheader.

(Note: Those don't total up to the same final number because sometimes the teams have tied in one or multiple categories.)

Postseason projections

With the three straight series wins, Auburn's up to 23rd in RPI and sitting at at 3rd in the SEC West, with projections entering the weekend having them as a 3 seed for the field of 64. D1Baseball.com has Auburn traveling to the Storrs Regional as a 3 seed, hosted by 1 seed (and #16 overall) Connecticut, while Baseball America has Auburn as a 2 seed in the Winston-Salem Regional, hosted by overall #1 Wake Forest. 

With a winnable final series against Missouri next weekend in Plainsman Park, Auburn's already punched their ticket to the SEC Tournament. What's at stake now is seeding: The top four teams skip the single-elimination first round. As of now, that projects to be Arkansas (18-7), Vanderbilt (17-8), LSU (17-7), and Florida (16-9). Auburn sits in 8th place at 13-13, behind South Carolina (14-10), Kentucky (14-11), and Tennessee (13-12). Auburn's not going to get a Top Four seeding without a LOT of help, but they've done everything right. 

What's next? 

Auburn goes for the series sweep this afternoon in Oxford. First pitch from Swayze Field is scheduled for 2:00PM, and the game is being broadcast on SEC Network. The radio call, with "Voice of the Tigers" Andy Burcham and Brad Law, is available locally on 93.9FM, online at AuburnTigers.com, or on the Auburn Athletics app. 

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ncaa.com

 

2023 college baseball conference tournaments: Schedules, brackets, auto-bids

NCAA.com

10–13 minutes

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We're tracking all conference tournaments as 30 teams will qualify automatically for the 2023 NCAA DI baseball tournament. Most will earn bids in conference tournaments, while the rest qualify as regular-season champs.

This year's NCAA baseball bracket field of 64 will be revealed at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, May 29 on ESPN2. You can stream it on WatchESPN.

2023 college baseball conference tournament schedules, automatic bids

Click or tap on each conference to go directly to the official tournament site or bracket. Also included are tournament dates, host information and the TV information for the championship games.

all times ET

• America East: May 24-27 | Hosted by Binghamton | 1 p.m. May 27 (if-necessary game follows)
• AAC: May 23-28 | Clearwater, Florida | 12 p.m.  May 28 on ESPNEWS
• ASUN: May 23-27 | hosted by Stetson | 1 p.m. May 28
• Atlantic 10: May 23-27 | Hosted by VCU | noon May 27 (if-necessary game follows)
• ACC: May 23-28 | Durham, North Carolina | noon May 28 on ESPN2
• Big 12: May 24-28 | Arlington, Texas | 6 p.m. May 28 on ESPNU
• Big East: May 24-27 | Hosted by Xavier | 2 p.m. May 27 (if-necessary game follows)
• Big South: May 25-27 | hosted by High Point | noon May 27 on ESPNU
• Big Ten: May 23-28 | Omaha, Nebraska | 3 p.m. May 28 on BTN
• Big West: no tournament
• CAA: May 24-27 | hosted by Charleston | TBD May 27
• C-USA: May 24-28 | hosted by Rice | 2 p.m. May 28 on CBS Sports Network
• Horizon League: May 24-27 | hosted by higher seed | noon May 27 (if-necessary game at 4 p.m.) on ESPN+
• Ivy League: May 19-22 | hosted by No. 1 seed | 3 p.m. May 21 (if-necessary game at noon May 22)
• MAAC: May 24-28 | Pomona, New York | noon May 27 (if-necessary game at 4 p.m.)
• MAC: May 24-27 | hosted by highest seed | TBD May 27
• Missouri Valley: May 23-27| hosted by Indiana State | 2:30 p.m. May 27 (if-necessary game at 6 p.m.)
• Mountain West: May 25-28 | hosted by Fresno State | 9 p.m. May 27 (if-necessary game on May 28)
• Northeast: May 24-28 | Wappingers Falls, New York | 4 p.m. May 27 (if-necessary game at noon May 28)
• Ohio Valley: May 24-27 | Marion, Illinois | 1 p.m. May 27 on ESPN+
• Pac-12: May 23-27 | Scottsdale, Arizona | 10 p.m. May 27
• Patriot League: May 13-21 | hosted by higher seed | noon May 20 (if-necessary game on May 21)
• SEC: May 23-28 | Hoover, Alabama | 3 p.m. May 28 on ESPN2
• SoCon: May 24-28 | Greenville, South Carolina | noon May 28 (if-necessary game follows)
• Southland: May 23-27 | hosted by McNeese | 2 p.m. May 27 (if-necessary game follows)
• SWAC: May 24-28 | Atlanta, Georgia | TBD May 28
• Summit League: May 24-27 | hosted by North Dakota State | TBD May 27
• Sun Belt: May 23-28 | Montgomery, Alabama | 2 p.m. May 28 on ESPN+
• WCC: May 24-27 | Las Vegas, Nevada | TBD May 27
• WAC: May 23-27 | Mesa, Arizona | TBD May 27 (if-necessary game follows)

MCWS: Complete dates, info for this year's event

2023 NCAA baseball tournament schedule

The 64 teams will be placed in 16 different four-team regions, with teams seeded one through four to compete in a double-elimination format. The 16 regional sites will be announced the night before the selection show, Sunday, May 28.

By being awarded a regional, all 16 host institutions have also been selected to the 64-team championship field.

Games start with regionals and continue on to super regionals before the Men's College World Series begins Friday, June 16, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

• Selection show: Noon ET on Monday, May 29, on ESPN2
• Regionals: Friday, June 2 through Monday, June 5
• Super Regionals: Friday, June 9 through Monday, June 12
• First day of MCWS games — Friday, June 16
• MCWS Finals — Start Saturday, June 24 (best out of 3)

Ole Miss won the 2022 Men's College World Series in two games over Oklahoma.

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[aubiefifty 16,822]

 

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si.com

After struggling early, Auburn is the hottest team in college baseball

Lindsay Crosby

6–8 minutes

March 19th, 2023 was the low point for the Auburn Tigers. 

The season started well enough - taking two out of three against Indiana, getting a run-rule victory against North Alabama on the road, winning two (and tying the third) in a weather-relocated series against USC, and then a sweep of Lipscomb. 

But the cracks were already starting to show - Indiana scored eleven runs on Auburn in their game three victory. USC scored twelve in game three. Lipscomb put up seventeen over the weeked. 

And then there were the walks. Auburn gave out 46 free passes in those first eleven games, with another sixteen "freebies" from either hit-by-pitch or wild pitches. 

Teams started to take advantage of Auburn's pitching woes, culminating with a seven game stretch where they lost two series (home vs Southeastern Louisiana and on the road at Arkansas), won only two games (one of which was in extras against Georgia Tech) and gave up 49 runs while scoring only 34. Arkansas closed the brutal stretch fr Auburn with a sweep, including a shutout in game three. 

To compound the issue, injuries were mounting. Joseph Gonzalez, the ace of the staff, didn't pitch after Opening Weekend, where he gave up only two hits in five innings against Indiana on a ridiculously effective forty-one pitches. Left fielder (and "Legacy Group" member) Bobby Peirce missed time with a hamstring issue, as did SS Cole Foster (abdominal), 1B Cooper McMurray (ankle), LHP Tommy Sheehan (bone spurs), and RHP Chase Isbell (oblique). 

Auburn's pitchers, at one point, had a combined ERA of 6.45 and a conference ERA of 8.83, worst in the SEC. They had walked 157 batters, and were allowing an opponent batting average of .287 (.326 in conference). Auburn was sitting at .333 winning percentage in the conference, and was projected to barely make the SEC Tournament and completely miss the postseason Field of 64.

This team was left for dead. All of the preseason predictions, that Auburn would be the last-place finisher in the SEC West, looked to be rather prescient. 

What changed?

And then, a few things happened: Tommy Vail and Christian Herberholz entered the weekend rotation, and Auburn's hitters got healthy. 

Auburn's ERA in the last four weeks of conference play, with Vail and Herberholz starting, dropped from 8.83 to 5.02. As the new ace of the rotation, Vail put up a 1.31 ERA over the last four weekends, and lowered that further after eight innings of two hit, one run ball last night. Herberholz entered the weekend rotation and is tied for third in the SEC with a 2.00 ERA the last four weekends. In conference play, "Herbie" leads the team (and is third in the SEC) with a 2.45 ERA. 

Vail and Herberholz keyed a weekend rotation that collected back to back series wins against the #2 team in the nation (South Carolina, on the road) and #1 team (LSU, at home, their first series loss of the season). It was the first time, as far as team records indicate, that the Tigers had ever beaten the top-ranked team in program history. 

The Auburn pitching staff held LSU to a season-low 11 runs in the series, with a collective 3.12 ERA on the weekend. 

Auburn's hitters were the key to the defeat over South Carolina - Vail and Herberholz performed admirably, combining to allow only three runs in nine innings - but Auburn hit ten homeruns in the series and outscored the Gamecocks 24-15. The entire pitching staff did their job, as well: The powerful South Carolina offense, 2nd in the country entering that series with 92 homeruns, hit only two on the weekend. 

That Auburn offense, finally with everybody healthy, has become a juggernaut in recent weeks, scoring 24 runs in the first two games of the Ole Miss series and picking up two run-rule victories in the last three games. Senior Bryson Ware is one homerun away from twenty on the season, which would make him only the seventh player in program history to accomplish the feat. Cooper McMurray has three multi-homer SEC games since April 7th, only the third time an Auburn player has accomplished the feat in modern history (2010, both Brian Fletcher and Hunter Morris).

How they did it

But if you've read anything I've written this season, you know that head coach Butch Thompson has harped on three things: Producing the biggest inning, passing out the fewest freebies, and having the most baserunners. 

Auburn's excelled as of late at all three. 

The team that has produced the biggest inning in Auburn's games is 35-6 on the season entering this weekend, and Auburn did it twice in Friday's doubleheader. 

The team with the fewest freebies is 25-12-1, and Auburn also did that twice in Friday's doubleheader. 

The team with the most baserunners is 33-9-1, and Auburn also did THAT twice in Friday's doubleheader.

(Note: Those don't total up to the same final number because sometimes the teams have tied in one or multiple categories.)

Postseason projections

With the three straight series wins, Auburn's up to 23rd in RPI and sitting at at 3rd in the SEC West, with projections entering the weekend having them as a 3 seed for the field of 64. D1Baseball.com has Auburn traveling to the Storrs Regional as a 3 seed, hosted by 1 seed (and #16 overall) Connecticut, while Baseball America has Auburn as a 2 seed in the Winston-Salem Regional, hosted by overall #1 Wake Forest. 

With a winnable final series against Missouri next weekend in Plainsman Park, Auburn's already punched their ticket to the SEC Tournament. What's at stake now is seeding: The top four teams skip the single-elimination first round. As of now, that projects to be Arkansas (18-7), Vanderbilt (17-8), LSU (17-7), and Florida (16-9). Auburn sits in 8th place at 13-13, behind South Carolina (14-10), Kentucky (14-11), and Tennessee (13-12). Auburn's not going to get a Top Four seeding without a LOT of help, but they've done everything right. 

What's next? 

Auburn goes for the series sweep this afternoon in Oxford. First pitch from Swayze Field is scheduled for 2:00PM, and the game is being broadcast on SEC Network. The radio call, with "Voice of the Tigers" Andy Burcham and Brad Law, is available locally on 93.9FM, online at AuburnTigers.com, or on the Auburn Athletics app. 

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