After suffering an 8-7 loss to Troy, the Auburn Tigers (23-17-1, 7-11 SEC) have a golden opportunity to prove themselves as they head to Columbia, South Carolina, to face the No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks (34-6, 13-4 SEC).
“I think it’s the best team in the country, with a chance to prove ourselves,” said catcher Nate LaRue. “Coach (Butch) Thompson says always stay in the fight. You know, we’re trying to not necessarily shift that mentality, but kind of add something to it — attack the fight, want the fight — so that’s really just been our message.”
South Carolina is on a four-game winning streak after sweeping No. 3 Florida. The Gamecocks will be a big challenge for the Tigers with their heavy depth chart throughout the batting rotation and in the bullpen.
“I like the word opportunity for this series, and really at a point where, you know, you have to play a certain level of baseball to continue, so opportunity to build resume,” Thompson said.
The Gamecocks have one of the strongest offenses in the country. South Carolina is nationally ranked ninth in runs (374), second in home runs (92) and seventh in on-base percentage (.431), while Auburn sits at 80th with 295 runs, 65th with 54 home runs and 82nd with a .393 on-base percentage.
Freshman Ethan Petry is lethal in the batter’s box with 41 runs, 61 hits, seven doubles, 20 home runs and 64 RBIs. The young Gamecock is nationally ranked third in home runs (20), fifth in RBIs (64), and 11th in batting average (.427).
Petry has already been named SEC Player of the Week, SEC Freshman of the Week, Collegiate baseball National Player of the Week and Perfect Game midseason Freshman of the Year.
Following Petry, sophomore Cole Messina has recorded 48 runs, 48 hits, 12 doubles, 13 home runs and 48 RBIs with a .314 batting avg. Senior Braylen Wimmer has 51 runs, 47 hits, eight doubles, 11 home runs and 35 RBIs with a .303 batting avg.
On the mound, RHP Will Sanders will open the series, and RHP Jack Mahoney will start on Saturday for the Gamecocks. LHP Matthew Becker will wrap up the series on Sunday.
Pitching is a notable weakness for the Tigers, but over the past few weeks, Auburn’s bullpen has made some small improvements. Like the Mississippi State series, LHP Tommy Vail will start, and RHP Christian Herberholz will pitch on Saturday. Sunday’s starting pitcher is still to be decided.
“You just gotta trust your stuff and let your defense work behind you. Everybody knows they're one of the better hitting teams in the country,” Herberholz said.
Facing another setback, RHP Joseph Gonzalez will be unavailable for the rest of the regular season.
“I don’t see how we can get back in the timeframe of the regular season,” Thompson said. “(Gonzalez) feels like he’s let teammates down… I think you’d have to continue to realize how much these guys love to play the game. It’s been hard on him.”
Zach Crotchfelt will not appear on the mound this weekend for the Tigers as he nurses a back injury.
“Everything with Crotchfelt is muscular and back, so I think we’ve crossed all that out,” Thompson said. “That’s really good. We need him strong for the rest of the year, so I think he’ll sit this series.”
The Auburn and South Carolina series begins on Friday at 6 p.m. CST on the SEC Network+.
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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
