After losing 6-5 to UAB Tuesday night, Auburn returns to SEC play against the Texas A&M Aggies (18-11, 3-6 SEC) for a three-game series.
“I’m trying to set everybody up. The game doesn’t always allow you to do that, and our guys, you know, we were at it yesterday — the best we can be — but you know, that game came down to (UAB) scoring four runs on two singles in the first,” said head coach Butch Thompson. “We’ll hang in there — stay in the fight. We all get tired of hearing that too, but we will.”
The Tigers and the Aggies have been competing with each other since April 5, 2013 with Texas A&M leading this matchup 15-14. Auburn won the recent matchup, taking two out of three in College Station.
On the stat sheet, Auburn and Texas A&M’s offenses share several similarities, with the Tigers having a slight edge over the Aggies. Texas A&M has 212 runs and 264 hits — 54 doubles and 30 home runs and a .273 batting average. Meanwhile, Auburn has recorded 211 runs and 291 hits with a .294 avg — 65 doubles and 39 home runs.
Junior RHP Nathan Dettmer starts on the mound for the Aggies. Freshman LHP Justin Lamkin pitches on Friday, while Saturday’s starting pitcher remains undecided. In 35 innings pitched, Dettmer has 34 strikeouts, 16 walks and 22 earned runs. Lamkin has 35 strikeouts, 13 walks and 15 earned runs in 27.2 innings.
Junior Hunter Haas leads the Aggies offense, recording 28 runs, 44 hits, nine doubles, four home runs and 19 RBIs with 113 at-bats and a .389 batting average. Following Haas, junior Jack Moss has 26 runs, 42 hits, six doubles, three home runs and 24 RBIs with 114 at-bats and a .368 batting average.
“What’s important now is taking care of some stuff on the mound to not create offense for that offense. If we can get better at that, we’re gonna have a great chance to win this series,” Thompson said. “There’s not a lot of time to pout or to question. It’s kind of, you know, buckle up, talk about the adjustments, so we’ll try to keep focused on the things (Auburn) can control.”
RHP Will Cannon will start the Texas A&M series on the mound, and LHP Tommy Vail will wrap up the series on Saturday. Friday’s pitcher is still undecided.
After leaving game three of the Florida series with discomfort, Chase Isbell is out for this series. Isbell has a “promising” report on his oblique injury, but he will sit in the dugout to prevent it from lingering.
The series opens on Thursday at 7 p.m. CST on the SEC Network. Friday’s game will begin at 6 p.m. CST, and Saturday’s game will start at 3:30 p.m. CST on the SEC Network+.
Thompson mentioned the possibility of Saturday’s game being moved to Friday for a doubleheader because of adverse weather conditions.
“We’ll evaluate the weather as soon as starting tomorrow. I think everybody’s getting together,” Thompson said. “With everything going on campus, and an SEC weekend, games are paramount. We’re trying to find a way to get a three-game series in, so we’ll meet Thursday at 11 o’clock to get multiple sources of expectation for the three days to give us the best chance.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Caitlyn Griffin is a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @caitlyngrif99
