The Auburn Baseball team ended its first Inaugural Auburn Classic Tournament the same way they started it, with a statement.
This past weekend, the baseball team took on Boston College, Missouri and Florida Atlantic in Plainsman Park for a 3-game series facing three out of conference power houses. After defeating BC with a Brian Fletcher walk-off homerun in the tenth inning, the Tigers lost its Saturday duel with the Tigers from Missouri.
However, the final match in the tournament showed some of that Auburn
Tiger spark fans have been seeing a glimpse of so far this season.
In the 17-4 slugfest Sunday vs. FAU, the Tigers came out with their second win of the weekend, and fourth on the year.
The Auburn pitcher Cole Nelson, a junior JUCO transfer, earned his second win for the Tigers and did it by only allowing 6 hits and 2 runs while striking out 12. The lefty said he felt good about his second start and is looking forward to the season continuing. "The slider was working really well; it was pretty much my go-to pitch and it came through for me," Nelson said. "I was throwing it exactly where I wanted to and people were swinging over the top of it."
Head coach John Pawlowski said his dominate pitcher threw the ball extremely well.
"When you can pitch like that it makes things a little easier,"
Pawlowski said.
The offense was no exception when it came to making things easier for the team, and junior outfielder Brian Fletcher made sure to make a statement with his bat.
In just six games, the power hitter has already hit 4 homeruns and batted in a remarkable 17 runs. Four of those RBI's and 1 homer were produced in the FAU game Sunday.
"We were up 8-1 and they intentionally walked (Fletcher) and that's a tribute to what he's done," Pawlowski said. "He's seeing (the ball) real well right now and he needs to continue to learn the strike zone even more, and he's maturing as a hitter, I think that's the biggest thing." Fletcher said he loves to contribute. "It's one of those mentalities I have, guys get on base and I want to be that guy who's going to drive them in," Fletcher said. "It's really just knowing my role and seeing the ball well."
With 17 runs for the Tigers though, it is no secret that Fletcher wasn't the only offensive contributor.
Creede Simpson, a sophomore transfer who is originally from Auburn, has continuously made an offensive impact for the team. The shortstop turned center fielder, went 3-4 Sunday and had three RBI's on the weekend.
Simpson has received attention for his athletic ability that allows him to play several different positions on the field, which has been a big help to the team while starters Trent Mummey and Casey McElroy are temporarily out due to injury.
Other players with two RBI's Sunday include freshman Mitchell Self, who made his collegiate debut Sunday, Hunter Morris, Dan Gamache and
Caleb Bowen. Bowen, a sophomore, also hit his first career homerun as a
Tiger.
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