With another year in the books, the Auburn Tigers finished the 2009 baseball season with a record of 31-25.
Head coach John Pawlowski's first year in command at Auburn started off rocky as the team went 2-4 in its first six games. Having coached in conferences like the Pac 10 and the ACC, Pawlowski had the right experience to deal with this slow start.
"The level of play was what I expected," Pawlowski said.
The Tigers quickly turned that around by going on an 11-game winning streak highlighted by a four game sweep of Brown University at home and a win over the University of Alabama at the Capital City Classic.
The Tigers carried this momentum into SEC play when they took series wins over the University of Tennessee, Mississippi State University and Vanderbilt University.
"We were really productive driving in runs and hitting home runs," said Hunter Morris, sophomore.
However, the season turned as Auburn lost its next five conference series. The team was plagued by injuries throughout the season.
"Unexpected injuries affected the team," Pawlowski said, "but guys really stepped up like Tony Caldwell at catcher and Casey McElroy at shortstop. Austin Hubbard did a great job as our closing pitcher too."
The season ended on a high note as the Tigers won two out of three games against Alabama.
"Our bullpen and our starters played really well toward the end of the season," Morris said.
This off-season brings with it hope for next season, but not without some hard work. The Tigers plan to reinforce their pitching.
"We need more depth at pitcher to compete in this conference," Pawlowski said.
The Tigers have five pitchers signed to play next year to help develop that depth.
Offensively, Auburn was a one-dimensional team at times. It relied on the home run too often. The team is going to have to manufacture runs without the long ball if it wants to make it to the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
Base running is another area that could use some improvement, said the coach.
"We need more team speed on the base paths," Pawlowski said.
With one season in the books as head coach, Pawlowski is excited for the years to come.
"The coaching staff did a great job this year," said Morris. "They are a solid group and made us better players."
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