Riding a six-game winning streak, No. 11 Auburn hosts Southeastern Louisiana for a weekend series. Although the Tigers have had a long week with back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, Auburn is ready for this weekend’s matchup.
The last time Auburn faced Southeastern Louisiana was last summer during regionals, and the Tigers claimed a 19-7 win over the Lions. Auburn took an early 11-run lead in the first inning with a dominant performance from Cole Foster, who had three home runs and nine RBIs.
“They were here last year and to speak on them a little bit, man, we just didn’t see their identity, and we didn’t allow them to do what they normally do, and that’s one way to attack it, but if you look for things that jump out to you about Southeastern Louisiana, they already have 10 wins in the season,” said head coach Butch Thompson.
Southeastern Louisiana already has 138 runs, averaging 10.6 a game, and 117 hits, averaging nine. The Lions are ranked 13th in runs and fourth in stolen bases with 47. Whereas Auburn has collected 109 runs, averaging 8.4, and 141 hits, averaging 10.8. The Tigers are ranked 24th in hits and 27th in fielding percentage with .983.
The Lions are a strong offensive team and will capitalize on any mistake the Tigers make on the field. Auburn must contain Southeastern Louisiana's offense to secure the win and minimize errors, especially on the mound.
“Usually when somebody is that good at running the bases, they’re probably pretty good at picking up signs and doing things of that nature. So they got a lot of cat and mouse going on. They get a lot of action,” Thompson said. “As long as they’re in the ball game, that’s their identity, so we’re gonna have to be able to pitch good, keep those baserunners off, and keep ownership of home plate is big for us in this series.”
Leading the Lion’s offense, fifth-year Tyler Finke has 22 runs, 15 hits, four doubles and one home run with a .375 batting average and a .550 slugging percentage. Senior Shea Thomas has 13 runs, 13 hits, three doubles and two home runs with a .310 avg and .524 SLG%. Sophomore TJ Salvaggio has 11 runs, 12 hits, two doubles, one triple and two home runs with a .293 avg and .537 SLG%.
Thompson has already announced two of the three starters for the series. Similar to the Lipscomb matchup, Tanner Bauman opens for the Tigers on Friday, and Zach Crotchfelt will start on Saturday. Sunday’s starter is undecided.
Joseph Gonzalez is throwing again, but Thompson decided to continue to keep him in the dugout until SEC play. Cooper McMurray will not play because of an ankle sprain and will be out for two-to-three weeks.
The series starts Friday at 6 p.m. CST. Because of the weather, Sunday’s baseball game may be moved to Saturday, but Thompson stated that the decision will not be made until late afternoon Friday.
“We’ll wait 24 hours to make any decisions. We might be forced to look at a Saturday doubleheader, which will be tough, but we always try to do the right thing,” Thompson said.
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Caitlyn Griffin is a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @caitlyngrif99
