Listen up, Auburn fans. Although this baseball season has seen its fair share of ups and downs, don’t count the Tigers out for years to come.
The Tigers currently sit at the bottom of the SEC West with a 5-13 conference record and have an overall record of 18-22, but think about what this team has had to deal with.
Auburn fired its old coach, Sunny Golloway, on Sept. 27 and hired Butch Thompson almost a full month later on Oct. 22. Because of this delay, Thompson missed all of fall practice and didn't get to see his full team in action until Jan. 29.
This team has been learning on the fly and the improvement through the season has been astronomical. For example, in the first game of the season the Tigers recorded seven errors. They then lost the next two games against Sacramento State.
They have since beaten ranked teams such as Georgia Tech and Texas A&M and have had other ranked teams such as Ole Miss and Mississippi State on the ropes, just one play away.
This team is on the brink of success, they just need an extra push to get them over the hump. This has been one of those seasons where every 50-50 bounce has gone the other way, but it could all be changing soon.
Last season's recruiting class was ranked 10th in the country, and the addition of Butch Thompson, one of the top recruiters in the country, bodes well for the immediate future. Thompson is someone who is familiar with success, as has spent 23 years as a college coach and has made seven trips to the College World Series.
Thompson spent almost all of his career as a pitching coach and a pretty great one at that. If you look back at this season so far, it is clear that pitching has been the Achilles heel but I urge you to look deeper.
Auburn has played 18 conference games. In the first nine the Tigers allowed an average of eight runs per game. Through the past nine games that number has dropped to an average of five runs a game.
This drop in average opposing runs per game is a testament to the progress Thompson is making with the pitching staff and rotation. Just a couple of weeks ago, Justin Camp pitched the first complete game shutout for an Auburn pitcher since 2014. Camp allowed only two hits and extended his streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 15.
I only expect to the growth of this pitching staff to become even more clear and more overpowering to opposing teams.
My point is, this season has not been what you have been hoping for, but don't give up on this team. You might regret it in the long run.
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