Auburn travels to Madison, Alabama, at Toyota Field for the second straight season Tuesday to face the University of North Alabama . The Lions had a 12-41 overall record last season with wins against Cincinnati and Alabama.
The Tigers had an eventful season opener against Indiana with an 8-4 win Friday evening and a 6-1 win Saturday afternoon. Auburn soon fell short to Indiana Sunday with an 11-2 loss to finish the series.
As for the Lions, they played the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee this past weekend — leaving them with a 1-2 record to start their season. North Alabama was able to grab a 14-6 victory to close opening weekend.
Six of North Alabama's nine leadoff hitters reached base during its first game this weekend, but the Lions were unable to close the deal and bring them home.
Key players for the Lions include cleanup hitter Lane Johnson who smacked five home runs last season. Graduate student Kyle Mechado was able to squeeze in three hits against the Panthers, and junior Dominick Mclntyre had three RBIs. Redshirt freshman Gehrig Frei recorded three hits as well to start his career at UNA.
Jacob James, the freshman LHP allowed four runs on five hits through five innings on the mound Sunday. Sophomore Will Morris was able to clean up the last four innings Sunday for the Lions — leaving them victorious.
UNA has solid, reliable pitchers in its bullpen who will take the mound Tuesday. Auburn ran through a total of 15 pitchers its opening weekend but expects to have a full bullpen.
Konnor Copeland is set to start on the bump for the Tigers. Copeland has some tricks up his sleeve, coming to the hill with a 0.00 ERA and nine strikeouts during his two previous starts for Auburn.
“He had a really good start here last year against Kennesaw and has been in the program second year, and he’ll get it started,” said head coach Butch Thompson.
Veteran Joseph Gonzalez had a successful time on the mound with five scoreless innings. John Armstrong, the sophomore from Marietta, Georgia, pitched 3.1 innings and retired the first seven batters — allowing just one baserunner. Freshman Zach Crotchfelt made his Auburn debut this past weekend, pitching 3.2 innings and throwing four strikeouts.
Although the Tigers didn’t end on a win this weekend, freshman Ike Irish was awarded SEC Freshman of the Week after accumulating a double and a hit in all three games. Another newcomer, Justin Kirby made an impact offensively with two home runs. Kirby was one of 11 SEC players to hit homers this opening weekend.
“We're gonna go up there and try and put our best foot forward,” Thompson said.
Auburn's first pitch at Toyota Field against North Alabama is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST. The game will be streamed on the Rocket City Trash Pandas' Youtube channel.
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