For its best start since 2001, Auburn baseball has entered the Baseball America Top 25.
The No. 25 Tigers (8-0) won five games in five days last week, including a walk-off win Tuesday vs. Georgia State and a three-game sweep of Bryant, spanning Friday through Saturday.
In the @BaseballAmerica Top 25, powered by @sluggernation, @GatorsBB remains No. 1. @AuburnBaseball enters at No. 25 https://t.co/sFz4EusbB8
— Teddy Cahill (@tedcahill) February 26, 2018
The team's undefeated start in 2018 is only the sixth time in program history that Auburn has won eight or more consecutive games to start a season. Auburn is outscoring its opponents 74-20, with 55 percent of the team's runs coming with two outs in the inning.
Offensively, Auburn is led by junior infielder Brendan Venter. The Flower Mound, Texas product leads Auburn in batting average (.462), on-base percentage (.611) and hits (12).
Venter was electric in Auburn's 5-0 week, finishing 10-for-18 at the plate with five runs scored, one homer and two RBI.
Venter joins Steven Williams and Brett Wright atop the offense, as the trio boasts a pair of home runs apiece, accounting for six of the team's seven long shots in 2018. Auburn didn't reach seven home runs last season until 20 games in.
On the mound, the Auburn bullpen has posted a 1.30 ERA thus far in the year. Top MLB prospect Casey Mize serves as the Game 1 ace, while Davis Daniel and Tanner Burns round out the normal series starting lineup.
Burns, a freshman from Decatur, Alabama, continues to impress early on, turning in a season-high seven innings pitched in Game 3 vs. Bryant. In the win, Burns allowed only a single run on two hits with eight Ks.
“I just feel like we’ve played solid in all three facets and that’s probably why were getting off to a solid start,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said about his team’s undefeated start. “It hadn’t just been pitching, it hadn’t just been hitting, it hadn’t just been defense. All three have been very solid.”
Auburn will face an immediate Top 25 test Tuesday night at No. 21 South Alabama. First pitch between the Tigers and Jaguars is set for 6:30 p.m. CT in Mobile, Alabama.
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