Auburn baseball: Scouting the USC Trojans

Here's what Auburn baseball can expect this weekend.

Butch Thompson and the Auburn baseball team are staying home instead of heading west to take on the USC Trojans.

Due to weather concerns, the series was moved to Auburn earlier this week.

In a three-game series that adds some excitement to both squad's non-conference slate, this will be an important game for the Tigers and Trojans.

We wanted to get a scouting report from the USC side of the matchup and we reached out to Shotgun Spratling of D1Baseball and USCFootball.com. 

Auburn Daily: How has the USC perspective been on the location change this weekend?

Spratling: It obviously isn’t ideal to lose a marquee non-conference home series, especially as a new coaching staff trying to build interest for a program that has been in the doldrums for a decade and a half. That’s only doubled by the fact that SEC schools (outside of Vanderbilt) rarely travel to the West Coast. This was going to be Auburn’s first scheduled trip west of Texas since playing at Arizona in 2012.

But Andy Stankiewicz has always been a coach that wants to play first and foremost, even if it means giving up an advantage, so the players and coaches are looking forward to their first trip to Plainsman Park.

AD: Which USC pitcher do you think poses the biggest threat to Auburn’s lineup? 

Spratling: USC’s Sunday starter, Eric Hammond, is the most talented arm on the staff, but he’s coming off Tommy John surgery after missing his true freshman season last year. The big right-hander is being brought along slowly, so he’ll be on a pitch count. He threw 41 pitches last week, allowing one hit and one run in three innings. Also, keep an eye on Jaden Agassi on Saturday. The son of tennis greats Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Jaden spent a good amount of time as USC’s Friday starter last season. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but he knows how to let hitters get themselves out. 

AD: Which USC hitter should Auburn fans be most aware of this weekend?

Spratling: The most exciting hitter in the lineup is probably USC’s nine-hole hitter, Austin Overn. He’s also a receiver on the football field and has terrific speed and elite athleticism. But the two hitters Auburn has to corral are first baseman Nick Lopez, who homered in all three games opening weekend and is hitting .500 on the young season. Marist head coach Lance Ratchford, who has spent time coaching in the prestigious Cape Cod summer league, called Lopez “a special player.” Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, son of former big leaguer Mark Grudzielanek, is also off to a strong start hitting .313 with three extra-base hits and seven RBIs.

AD: What needs to happen for USC to win the series? 

Spratling: Embrace the opportunity. The Trojans don’t go on the road for another weekend series until conference play begins, so this will be our only opportunity to really see how mentally tough a green USC squad is. Are they rattled by the crowd and the energy or can they block out any distractions and play their game?

AD: Series prediction?

Spratling: Even though the Tigers lost a number of key pieces from last year’s College World Series squad, they still have enough returners from that team to consider them battle-tested. Playing at home will be a definite advantage, so I’m picking Auburn to take the series.

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