Head coach Butch Thompson is looking for consistency from his lineup and bullpen during Auburn’s three-game series against the UConn Huskies (2-4) as the start of the regular season continues.
With SEC play coming into view, these next nine nonconference games will teach the No. 14 Auburn Tigers (7-1) crucial lessons about their club.
“We just need to be a better team a month from now,” Thompson said. “That’s kind of my charge to keep pouring into these guys, like what does that look like and how do we get there and what do we need to be doing on a daily basis to make sure we’re still becoming a better club?”
The depth behind the plate and on the mound for this year’s Auburn team will play a big role, especially in conference.
“I think we have more players that can absolutely help us and play good baseball outside of the nine than we’ve had in the past,” Thompson said. “We do have more depth on the mound than we’ve had since I’ve been here. We’ll start figuring it out in two or three weeks if the rotation that we have is good enough to match the top of our league.”
Thompson highlighted the importance of the defense – especially against a ballclub like UConn – and expressed his growing confidence in his defense as the season continues to unfold.
“I’m getting more and more confidence in our defense,” Thompson said. “That left side of the infield has played very consistently.”
When addressing his defense, Thompson discussed the value Florida transfer Deric Fabian adds to the infield and in the batter’s box – especially filling in the big shoes of former third baseman Bryson Ware.
“He’s gifted,” Thompson said. “He’s a functional runner, meaning he can steal bases and navigate around because he’s good. Fabian was the right guy to bring to our program. He can help us offensively. He’s showing that currently. He absolutely can lock it down defensively.”
The Tigers will stick with their tried-and-true starting rotation on the mound against UConn with Chase Allsup pitching on Friday, Joseph Gonzalez on Saturday and Carson Myers on Sunday.
“We love the depth of our pitching staff we’re about to play,” Thompson said. “Everybody continues to grow, and we believe in them. We believe in those bullpen pieces.”
Even with the growth that Thompson has seen in his defense, Auburn will be tested against head coach Jim Penders’ Huskies – even though UConn has had a rough stretch with a four-game losing streak.
“This is a proud, traditional historic program in baseball,” Thompson said. “The roster I think that they bring to town this weekend will be no different; they’re an extremely athletic team. They wear the uniform the right way; they play a certain brand of baseball that they take a lot of pride in. So they’ll play the game extremely well.”
UConn is a “technically sound and a very athletic club,” according to Thompson that has a .233 batting average with 27 runs, 48 hits – four doubles and nine home runs – and 27 RBIs. Senior Korey Morton leads the Huskies’ offense with six runs, six RBIs and 11 hits, two home runs and one double.
Comparatively, the Tigers have racked up 81 runs, 66 hits – 15 home runs, 11 doubles and five triples – and 72 RBIs with a .273 batting average. Graduate Bobby Peirce leads the charge with 13 runs, 11 RBIs and 11 hits, three home runs and two triples.
The series will begin on Friday, March 1 at 6 p.m. CST, with Saturday and Sunday’s matchups at 1 p.m. CST. The games will be broadcast 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
