The Auburn Tigers snapped a six-game conference losing streak last weekend and aim to stay the course as they face Louisiana State University for a three-game series this weekend at Alex Box Stadium.
"It's a long season and a long journey with a lot of baseball still left to be played," said head coach John Pawlowski. "We know that one series is not going to make or break us at this point in the season, but each series continues to get more and more important."
After starting the season 16-1, LSU struggled, losing its next 10 of 15 games including a series sweep at Arkansas last weekend.
At home, however, the Bayou Bengals continue to post strong performances and hold an 18-6 record.
"LSU will play at their park and is a very good baseball team," Pawlowski said. "We will have to play well, perform well and at a high level this weekend in order to be successful."
Key players for LSU include freshmen right-handers Kurt McCune and Kevin Gausman and junior shortstop Austin Nola.
McCune has a 5-1 record this season with an 1.80 ERA and has allowed opponents to hit .176.
McCune pitched 7.2 innings against the Hogs last Friday and had a career-high nine strikeouts while allowing just one earned run on four hits.
Teammate Kevin Gausman followed up by pitching eight shutout innings with five strikeouts the next day.
On the offensive end, Nola recorded one grand slam, 6 RBIs and three runs while batting .462 during four games last week.
After losing eight out of the last nine, Auburn seems to have once again found its stride after recording its first sweep of Kentucky since 2003.
"A lot of different players stepped up this past weekend," Pawlowski said. "Offensively, from Tony Caldwell and Casey McElroy to our relief pitching, but I thought overall one of our biggest keys this past weekend were our relievers."
Freshman Dillon Ortman was part of this reliever group and recorded the first two saves of his career, earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Week.
Ortman recorded a save Friday and in Sunday's sweep-clinching win, throwing for a combined three and a half innings.
The Huntsville native has appeared in 10 games this season and has a 4.34 ERA in 18.5 innings, allowing 10 runs on 20 hits while striking out 15.
Junior Casey McElroy, senior Tony Caldwell and senior Kevin Patterson finished with two hits each Sunday while the team finished with 12 hits, recording a hit from at least every spot in the batting order.
Auburn finished the series with 35 runs on 48 hits.
"We had a lot of quality at bats," Pawlowski said. "I thought our approach at the plate was very good. Even when we were struggling, we hit some balls hard. But whether the other team makes plays or whether you're hitting it right at them, you can't control that.
"What you can control is your work ethic and have a good approach at the plate, and I thought we did a really good job of that this weekend."
Friday's game will be played in Baton Rouge, La., and starts at 7 p.m.
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