Auburn looks to get its first win in SEC play as the Tigers take on the first of three games against Georgia Thursday at Plainsman Park. The series is Auburn's first SEC home series of the season.
“This is good, tough and hard like every year I’ve ever been a part of this league,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “This team just needs to understand that, embrace it really. We overuse ‘stay in the fight’, that’s kind of our deal, but you have to be in the ring and you have to throw some back. It’s not just cover up and take punches. This league is built around your ability to throw punches back. That’s what I want to see out of our ballclub.”
Historically, Auburn has the edge against the Bulldogs with a 40-29 lead and a 22-11 record at home since 1994. The last series was held in 2021 when the Tigers won two out of three, highlighted by a 14-inning, 10-6 victory.
Coming off a 6-5 win against South Alabama in Montgomery, Alabama, Tuesday night, the Tigers (14-6-1, 0-3) look to grab more momentum. Auburn’s Drew Nelson and Hayden Murphy held the Jaguars (8-13) to six scoreless innings.
“I just like how a young player hangs in there and gets better over five weeks,” Thompson said. “He got us off to a great start.”
From the plate, Auburn’s bats were hot early, scoring five of its six runs before the fifth inning. Senior Kason Howell shined with three hits and four RBIs. Howell is hitting .343 over the last eight games while also recording seven RBIs and three home runs. Howell is also the NCAA active leader in career doubles with 59.
Coming off a 12-1 loss against South Carolina at home Sunday, the Bulldogs look to rebound Thursday. The Bulldogs (14-7, 0-3) are batting .323 as a team which ranks 16th in the nation led by Charlie Condon’s .500 batting average. The redshirt freshman also has nine home runs and plays a large part in Georgia's home run tally of 45, good for sixth in the country.
From the mound Georgia is led by junior Liam Sullivan’s 2.28 ERA while having an ERA of 5.82 as a team. While the Bulldogs' ERA is high, Georgia has struck out 231 batters in 181 innings, the 11th-highest strikeout total nationally.
Auburn has announced it will start two lefties, Tommy Vail (2-1) on Thursday and freshman Zach Crotchfelt on Saturday, while the Friday starter has not been announced. Georgia will start freshman Kolten Smith (1-0), junior Jaden Woods (3-0) and junior Liam Sullivan (3-1), in that order.
First pitch takes place between Auburn and Georgia at Plainsman Park at 6 p.m. CST on SEC Network+.
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