Lutzenkirchen’s father preserves son’s legacy
On June 30, 2014, former standout Auburn tight end and fan favorite Philip Lutzenkirchen made a decision.
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On June 30, 2014, former standout Auburn tight end and fan favorite Philip Lutzenkirchen made a decision.
The Auburn baseball team picked up their seventh win of the season 7-1 over No. 27 Georgia Tech behind a stellar performance from sophomore pitcher Keegan Thompson.
Excited was not a word commonly used to describe the crowd inside Auburn Arena when Tony Barbee was at the helm of Auburn’s basketball program.
The women’s basketball team put forth a ferocious defensive effort Sunday, finally ending their 14-game winning streak by way of a 44-26 victory over Georgia in Athens.
In a season that has seen much inconsistency, the tallest test of Auburn’s basketball season stands in front of them.
The Auburn softball team continued its hot start this weekend, improving to 17-1 on their way to winning the University of South Florida Tournament
Players not named Antoine Mason or KT Harrell didn't do much to help Auburn Tuesday. Mason and Harrell combined for 45 points in the Tigers 79-68 loss to Alabama, Mason with 24, Harrell with 21. If you add in Cinmeon Bowers, the three Tigers put up all but 9 of Auburn's points. "That just is an example of our roster and our limitations and our lack of depth and the things that we've struggled with all year long" said head coach Bruce Pearl. "Sometimes it gets exposed and sometimes it doesn't. It's disappointing when it gets exposed against your rival." While Bowers did add 14 points, three of which came from a late three-pointer, the forward also had a few mistakes, which Pearl said proved to be costly. "We rely heavily on Bowers," Pearl said. "When (he) doesn't play as well as he's capable of, it's hard for us to win. Unfortunately, some of his mistakes were obviously really magnified." Only two other players found the basket for Auburn on the night. Jordon Granger had four points, and TJ Lang, who was averaging less than two points a game coming into tonight, added five. KC Ross-Miller, Malcolm Canada, Trayvon Reed and Devin Waddell all saw time on the court, and all combined for zero points. Even with the lack of production from his team, head coach Bruce Pearl said he takes full responsibility for the loss. "That's about as bad as we've played this year," Pearl said. "I told the players you've got to be accountable, and it starts with me. I did not have a great game plan tonight." Overall, the Tigers shot 39.3 percent from the field, while the Crimson Tide shot 52.9, with a 59.3 mark in the second half. "You can't let a team shoot 60 percent," Pearl said. "Alabama is very athletic, very strong, very quick and very powerful. We looked slow and poorly prepared, and that's my responsibility." Auburn led by three at half, but Alabama caught fire in the second half, and Antoine Mason said that defense had more to do with the loss than lack of offensive firepower. "It's not about the offense, it's our defense," Mason said. "We didn't stop anybody in the second half." As it has been all season, Auburn's lack of size was a problem again Tuesday. Alabama out-rebounded the Tigers 40-26, and had 16 second-chance points. "(Jimmie) Taylor, (Michael) Kessens and (Shannon) Hale, those three guys are bigger than anybody we have," Pearl said. "They did a good job of taking advantage of their size and athleticism. Pearl added that while all the losses hurt, losing to a rival for the second time in a season stings a little more. "It's a game that sticks with you all summer long and all year long," Pearl said. "I talked about it being a must-win for our team and I felt like it was. I think if you're going to be successful anywhere, you've got to beat your rival, and I couldn't beat them this year. It's a real negative mark on this team and this program as we're trying to rebuild." The loss drops Auburn to 12-14 overall with a 4-9 record in SEC play, and things won't get easier from here. Saturday, the Tigers will travel to Lexington to take on John Calipari and the No.1 Kentucky Wildcats (26-0). That game will tip off at 6 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN.
Since his arrival on the Plains, head coach Bruce Pearl has spoken several times about building a foundation and changing the way Auburn basketball is seen around the country. "I want to be open and honest with them and let them know what is at stake," Pearl said. "We need to build that foundation, make a mark and change the culture. At the end of the season we can look back and say we did that a few times, but this is not the end of the season." To do that, Pearl said they have to start with beating their rivals, and for Auburn, that means one thing. "You have to beat Alabama if you are going to be able to build that foundation," Pearl said. "You have to be able to beat your rival. Alabama is really good, and I know they have won 15 games and they are not above .500 in SEC play, but that has a lot more to do with the league than it does with Alabama." Leading scorer KT Harrell said the last time the teams met, a 57-55 loss to the Tide in Tuscaloosa, still lingers with the Tigers. "I think it's going to make us play even harder because there's nobody in the locker room that doesn't think we shouldn't have won the game we played at Alabama," Harrell said. "I think it's just going to make us play even harder, with a lot more energy. We're going to execute the things that coach talks about because we really want to beat them." Harrell, a Montgomery native grew up around the rivalry, said he knows what it means when these teams meet, but the senior guard said he's approaching it like he does every other game. "I try to take it a game at a time," Harrell said. "I am conscious and aware of where we are in the standings and how if we win this game how it could affect us as far as where we would be in the standings but you just have to take it a game at a time and just focus on Alabama. It is a must win game. I don't think that makes you put a lot more pressure on yourself. I just think that you got to go out there and execute and do all the things we talk about doing in preparation. Harrell said everyone, not just the players from within the state borders, wants to win Tuesday. "Even though we've got a lot of guys on this team who aren't really familiar with the rivalry and aren't from Alabama, we got guys who understand what it means and they want to win just as bad as I do," Harrell said. "Everybody does so it's not really something you have to talk about. We all want to win and we really want to beat them." Harrell and the Tigers will tip off against the Tide tonight at 8 p.m. at Auburn Arena. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPNU.
#ICYMI: This Week in Sports | 2.15.15. Check out the full VIDEO at ThePlainsman.com. (Video by Kris Sims | Multimedia Editor, Eric Wallace | Sports Editor, Lauren Christopher | Sports Writer, David McKinney | Assistant Sports Editor and Kenny Moss | Assistant Photo Editor)
The woes continued for the Auburn women's basketball team Sunday. After starting 9-3, the Tigers now sit at 9-16 (0-12 SEC) after a 54-36 home loss to Arkansas. Overall, the Tigers shot just 23.7 percent in the game, their lowest mark of the year. Tra'Cee Tanner was the Tigers' leading scorer with 12 points, and also grabbed seven rebounds, but it wasn't nearly enough. The Tigers kept it close early on, but found themselves down nine at the half, and would be outscored by the Razorbacks 24-15 in the second half. Next up, Ole Miss will come to town to take on the Tigers at Auburn Arena Thursday at 8 p.m.
Big changes are coming to Auburn. Namely, a massive video board for Jordan-Hare Stadium and two giant oak trees for Toomer's Corner. For Jay Jacobs, Auburn's director of athletics, these changes are the product of the desire to give Auburn students, fans and alumni exactly what he thinks they deserve. "Our students, student athletes, fans and Auburn people deserve the best," Jacobs said. As far as the video board goes, Jacobs said that as soon as he knew the opportunity to have the biggest board in college football was on the table, he jumped on it. "I asked the video board people, 'With our current structure that we have in the south end zone, how big of a board can we put in that structure'?" Jacobs said. "They came back and said we can do one approximately 190-200 feet, 50-60 feet tall. They said it would be the biggest in college football, so I said let's do that." The behemoth board was approved last week by the Auburn board of trustees, and will cost an estimated $ 13.9 million, which will be paid first by the University, then reimbursed by athletics. Even with the steep price, Jacobs said he hasn't received any negative feedback. "Nobody has said [the board isn't a necessity]," Jacobs said. "The SEC did a survey, and there were 60 different criteria and Auburn met or exceeded expectations from fans on all but four." Those four that did not meet or exceed fan's expectations included the video board and public address system in Jordan-Hare, which Jacobs said the installation of the new board will take care of. "That price tag addresses both of those," Jacobs said. "It's not just a video board, but it's also a new sound system, so we're responding in a proactive way to the requests and desires of the Auburn Family. We're doing exactly what the fans have asked to do." Jacobs added that with the Auburn Family staying so loyal to the program, the program owes them everything they can give them. "It's really not an expense," Jacobs said. "It's an investment. We're one of the few schools in the nation that played in front of a sold out crowd every ball game. We don't have a problem like some of these other schools do about begging our students to come to games and stay. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make sure that continues to happen." That board will be up by next fall for the start of the 2015 football season. In more immediate changes, two oak trees will be placed in Toomer's Corner Saturday, to replace the ones that stood as an iconic image of Auburn until 2010, when they were poisoned by Alabama fan Harvey Updyke. "These trees exemplify what Auburn is all about," Jacobs said. "We took something that someone meant for evil and we turned in to something great. We took something that someone tried to destroy, and we're actually making it even more attractive than it's ever been." The planting ceremony will take place Saturday, Feb. 14, at 8 a.m. and is open to the public.
Runs came in bunches for the Auburn softball team Thursday. In game one of the day, the Tigers scored seven runs in the first inning and didn't score again, eventually beating Mercer by a score of 7-3. In game two, Auburn plated six in the first inning, but so too did Georgia State. Auburn answered right back, taking a 10-6 lead in the second, and GSU plated one more of their own in the bottom of the inning. The Tigers broke the game open in the third inning, putting six runners across to take a lead over the Panthers that would prove to be insurmountable. The game would be called in the fifth by the mercy rule, and Auburn would take the win 20-8 and improve to 8-0 on the season. Head coach Clint Myers said that even with the 8-0 record, the Tigers still have kinks to work out heading into the rest of the season. "It's early in the season," Myers said. "There are a lot of things we've still got to improve on. " On that day, the Tigers totaled 27 runs on 23 hits, including six homeruns. "We've got to understand that a homerun is nothing more than a byproduct of a good swing," Myers said. "Making good contact, and getting people in from third base, that's crucial." With the blowout win in game two, several non-starters saw time on the field for the Tigers, which Meyers said is incredibly valuable down the stretch. "In Minnesota, we had nine pitch hitters and got seven hits," Myers said. "That's because they got a whole bunch of opportunities to experience that pitch hitting. Everybody that gets experience is one at bat better." The undefeated Tigers will play four more games before weekend's end: two Friday, and one each on Saturday and Sunday. After that, they'll take on Georgia State again next Wednesday, Feb. 18, before heading to Tampa, Florida, to participate in the University of South Florida tournament. \0x200B
A total of 53 fouls were committed in the game between Auburn and Arkansas Tuesday Feb.10, a game that lasted almost two and a half hours. When it was finally over, Auburn was on the wrong end of a 101-87 loss, marking the first time Auburn has surrendered 100 points to an opponent since November 2013. "This is as well as (Arkansas) has shot the ball in a while," said head coach Bruce Pearl. "Particularly on the road. They're better from two then three, but tonight they were terrific from three." The Razorbacks were 11 of 23 from three-point land, but they still got their points down low, outscoring the Tigers 44-20 in the paint. The loss was Auburn's third game in six days, and Pearl said he thinks fatigue may have been a factor. "We didn't contest and we didn't defend," Pearl said. "I think the Thursday-Saturday-Tuesday showed a little bit, in the sense that I don't know that we were as aggressive, and obviously weren't very effective defensively." KT Harrell and K.C. Ross-Miller tied for the scoring lead on the night with 21, with Ross-Miller coming off the bench to replace the injured Tahj Shamsid-Deen. Shamsid-Deen has been battling a shoulder injury all season, but Pearl said this time it may be more serious. Even with 44 points from the bench, Auburn still couldn't find an answer for the Hogs. Ross Miller said lack of execution ultimately led to the Tigers' downfall. "We didn't compete enough defensively," Ross-Miller said. "We scored 87 points. That should be enough to win." It seemed as if there was a foul called on every possession Tuesday nigt, but Pearl said he agreed with the calls, and the referees were simply doing their job. "The game was chippy," Pearl said. "The officials had to take control of the game, and I thought they did a good job. If the players are going to play like that, then the officials have no choice. They've got to take control. There was a lot of talking right from the jump." The loss drops Auburn to two games under .500 at 11-13, with a 3-8 mark in SEC play. Next up is a trip to Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, Feb. 14, for a matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs, who currently boast a 15-7 record.
Per reports, Auburn announced Tuesday Feb. 10 that Kalvaraz Bessent, a freshman cornerback, left the football team. Bessent was arrested last spring on marijuana possession charges, but was eventually cleared. Bessent arrived in Auburn in the fall and was redshirted for the 2014 season.
The first stab at something can be tough. The first time you rides a bike, you'll probably fall off. You probably burned the first batch of cookies you tried to make. Bruce Pearl's first year at Auburn has told a story similar to the one of the first-time biker or baker. Granted, it's not Pearl's first go at coaching, not even his first in the SEC. But it is his first time at Auburn, a place where basketball has been taking a back seat for a long time. But programs with Pearl driving don't stay in the back seat for long once he takes the wheel. "I have never had a losing season, but I have had more difficult teams in winning seasons than this team," Pearl said. "I am not having fun losing, and I am not going to have fun losing. This is a good team. This has been a good team to coach and they still are. We have to keep competing." One thing that Pearl's arrival did immediately turn around was fan support. The crowd at Auburn Arena, namely the student section, has gone through a complete transformation through the course of the season, and Pearl said that he hopes the team can catch up. "We have to keep doing something to deserve the support we are receiving," Pearl said. "The support we are receiving is way more than we deserve based on the outcomes." That reason for support may eventually come, but it will be no easy task. Still looming on the schedule is a matchup undefeated No.1 Kentucky Wildcats at the famed Rupp Arena. Pearl isn't sure his team has what it takes to de-claw the Cats. "With the exception of Kentucky, I have said there isn't a team on our schedule we can't beat," Pearl said. "I don't know if we can beat Kentucky at Kentucky. Can we (go on a run)? Yeah. Some of our extended run, we weren't playing the teams we are playing right now. I think in this league, because you don't get one doesn't mean you won't get the next one. It is about matchups and preparation." Even with the no losing seasons qualification in danger, Pearl said he isn't concerned with personal achievements. "Given that as a coach and as a teacher, I have won more, but I have had much more difficult times with other teams than I have here," Pearl said. "I am not worried about my record. I am worried about Auburn's record, and I am worried about trying to get the most out of them. As I said, at one point early on in the conference season, we won't be favored for another game."
Plainsman sports editor, Eric Wallace, and assistant sports editor, David McKinney, discuss National Signing Day and other big news this week in Auburn sports.
It didn't look good in the beginning. Troy put up four quick runs in the top of the first, and Auburn's softball season was off to a nightmare of a start. Then the Tigers came to the plate. In a first inning that lasted just minutes shy of an hour, 14 runs crossed the plate. 10 of them belonged to the Tigers, including a grand slam from second baseman Emily Carosone. After that, the onslaught of runs continued for the Tigers, and the Trojans only notched one more run. The game was called by way of the mercy rule at a score of 15-5. "It feels good to get any win," said head coach Clint Meyers. "They all feel good. The nicest thing is, we gave up four in the first and then answered back with 10. That says a lot about character." The winning pitcher on the night was Lexi Davis, who pitched three innings and gave up four runs, all in the first inning. "I think I just came out a little excited, a little tight," Davis said. "I just took a breather and went back and threw a little bit more and settled down and told myself 'I don't need to do too much.'" Davis said it's comforting for her to see that she can get run support when she needs it. "It means the world," Davis said. "We have one of the best offenses in the country. Knowing that we can come out and answer right back with 10 runs just makes my life a lot easier. Overall, the Tigers totaled 15 runs on 12 hits, and only left three players on base. Next up, the Tigers play host in the season's first tournament, the Plainsman Invite. "You're going to face one good pitcher from every ball club," Meyers said. "We've got some pretty good teams coming in. The most important thing is getting some experience, and getting as many people to play as we can."
It was an eventful signing day for Gus Malzahn and his staff.
Byron Cowart committed to Auburn at 8 o'clock this morning, but that was not the end of his recruiting process. Cowart's national letter of intent did not arrive in Auburn until 3 p.m. Cowart, who narrowed his choices down to Auburn and Florida, is a five-star defensive end and has been named by some recruiting outlets as the number one player in the country. There was much speculation during the time between Cowart's commitment and the arrival of his letter, with conflicting reports being put forth on who was holding the letter, Cowart or his high school coach, whose son is employed by the Florida football program. On the field over the last two seasons, the six-foot-four strong side defense end has recorded 24 sacks, along with 36 tackles for loss and 140 tackles.
One goal will be on the mind of Auburn's softball team as they walk on to Jane B. Moore Field for the first time this season Thursday, Feb. 5: A trip to Oklahoma City and a berth in the College World Series. "Everybody understands," said head coach Clint Meyers. "We're on the same page with the same goal, and that's to get to Oklahoma City and play for a national championship." In year two under two-time national champion Meyers, the Tigers enter the season with all the confidence in the world. "We believe this year," said returning All-American sophomore Kasey Cooper. "This year, everybody knew, 'Hey, we're going to Oklahoma City, so work your tail off in the beginning cause it's going to happen this year.' I believe our outlook on the game and way we approach the game has changed." Even though the World Series is the ultimate goal, the team understands it has to take things as they come and work through the season one game at a time. "Right now, we feel confident," said fellow All-American senior Branndi Melero. "We're ready to go. (Meyers) has prepared us mentally and physically to the best of his ability, and all it turns out to be is 'Are we ready for that first game?' I believe we are." That first game will be Thursday, Feb. 5, against Troy. Meyers pointed out before the first pitch of the 2015 campaign is thrown, the Tigers have already accomplished something no other Auburn softball team ever has, coming in at No. 19 in the preseason rankings. Motivation for the Tigers will likely come from some of the disappointments the team was faced with last year. "Getting deeper into SEC play really showed us how good we were and how good we could be," Cooper said. "I remember we faced some of the top teams that went to Oklahoma City and won the World Series. Just seeing that we competed with them, and if we would have done the little things right we would have won the games, taking that into consideration in practice, we focused more on the minute details and the little things so that won't happen this year." Melero said while last year may provide some motivation, the team also needs to realize the past is over. "It'll always be in the back of my head, but as a player you've just got to flush it," Melero said, speaking about the team's final game last season, a loss in NCAA regionals. "You've got to let it go. It's in the past, and when we get there this year, than it can come back and you can say, 'This how we're going to do it. This is how we're going to win." The first 13 games of the season will be at home for the Tigers, as the play host to the Plainsman and Tiger Invitational. After that, they'll head to Tampa, Florida, to take part in the USF Tournament. SEC play will begin with a series against Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, on March 15.