The Auburn Tigers (7-1) host the UConn Huskies (2-4) in a three-game weekend set at Plainsman Park starting Friday night. This is the first series between these two teams. The only previous meeting came in 2014. The Tigers won that one 7-3.
The Tigers, who are ranked number 23 in the country in the DI Baseball poll, enter the series coming off of a strong start to the season. They suffered their first loss last Sunday in a battle with No. 10 Virginia in the final game of the Jax College Baseball Classic in Jacksonville, Florida. The Tigers’ offense has been explosive thus far, batting .273 as a team and plating 81 runs through just eight games. It's been a unique combination of speed and power for the Auburn offense. Their 15 home runs and 22 stolen bases led commentator Lyn Rollins to call it “smash and dash” baseball before their 12-3 win over Samford Tuesday night.
Across the diamond, the Huskies have struggled out of the gate. They took their first two games over Louisville and South Florida at the USF Baseball Tournament, but have since dropped four straight, one against Indiana State in their final game in Tampa, and three in a sweep at the hands of California in Berkeley. Pitching was the problem last weekend at Cal, as the Golden Bears scored 28 runs in their sweep of the Huskies. Auburn’s lineup looks to be an even bigger challenge for coach Jim Penders’s pitching staff.
Conversely, the Tigers’ pitching has served them well to this point. On the mound this weekend will be righty Chase Allsup Friday night, Tigers’ ace Joseph Gonzalez Saturday, and Carson Myers, the southpaw transfer, on Sunday. Auburn’s pitching staff boasts a combined 3.71 ERA, a number head coach Butch Thompson has to be happy with in comparison to last year’s 5.76.
The Huskies will call on senior lefty Garrett Coe to lead them from the mound Friday night. Junior righty Ian Cooke will start Saturday’s game, and graduate Stephen Quigley will take the mound in Sunday’s matchup. They will look to contain Auburn’s dynamic offense and lower the Huskies 5.54 team ERA.
Auburn’s lineup is scary top to bottom. Even nine-hole hitter Javon Hernandez, a transfer from Jacksonville State who is batting just .050 to start the year, has found a way to get on base every third at bat. Auburn’s team OBP is .455. Combine that with a slugging percentage of .545 and it’s no wonder the Tigers offense has been affective. They get on base with regularity and hit the ball hard. Bobby Peirce, Christian Hall, and Cooper McMurray lead the team with three homers each. Cooper Weiss leads the Tigers with 10 stolen bases, but the threat does not end there. Chris Stanfield, Deric Fabian, and Javon Hernandez have all added multiple bags to that total early in the year.
The series starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 1, at Plainsman Park. Watch on SEC Network + or listen on the Auburn Sports Network.
