The Auburn Tigers baseball team will hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Charleston, S.C., to compete in the College of Charleston Tournament.
The Tigers will compete against the New York Institute of Technology Friday, College of Charleston Saturday, and Western Kentucky Sunday.
The New York Tech Bears, who will play its season opener against Auburn, finished the 2010 season with a 26-29 overall record and are predicted to finish fourth by baseball coaches in the eight-team Great West Conference.
While Tech is waiting to start its season, the No. 18 College of Charleston Cougars defeated Jacksonville University 9-5 to improve to 8-0 and match its best start in program history.
Key players for the Cougars include junior outfielder Jose Rodriguez, who is hitting .394 and has a team-high four home runs, and junior infielder Matt Leeds, who is in close second with a .394 batting average.
Although the Tigers have not been an offensive powerhouse so far this season, they have been getting help from their pitching staff.
Auburn's pitching staff has allowed only 26 earned runs heading into the Bethune Cookman game (67 innings pitched) for a 3.49 ERA, which is more than a run lower than it allowed through seven games in 2010 (4.57).
The Tigers have also recorded two shutouts in seven games, matching what the team did in 60 games last season.
Auburn has also allowed only one home run this season, which came in the top of the 13th inning against Radford Feb. 25.
Auburn will close the tournament against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (5-3), who fell just short of an upset against No. 2 Vanderbilt on Tuesday after taking a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
The Hilltoppers have lost three in a row following a 5-0 start to the season.
The 5-0 start is the best for a Western Kentucky University team under head coach Chris Findwood and the best for any team since 1985, when the Hilltoppers started 7-0.
Key players for Western Kentucky University include senior catcher Matt Rice and junior infielder Ivan Hartle.
Like the 2010 season, Rice leads the team in batting average (.457), hits (16) and RBI (12).
Hartle comes in second, hitting an average of .387 with 12 hits and eight RBI.
The game against New York Tech will start Friday at noon.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
