Auburn opens the SEC Tournament with a single-elimination game against last weekend's foe, Kentucky

If one thing was different, we wouldn’t be here.

If play wasn’t halted (and never resumed) with bases loaded and a 2-2 count to cleanup hitter Bobby Pierce in the final game against Alabama, or even if the lightning strike is five minutes later, after Auburn has presumably already taken the lead and the game result can stand versus being ruled a no contest.

If inclement weather doesn’t require Thursday’s game one vs Kentucky to become a doubleheader on Friday, messing with starting pitcher routines and forcing lineup changes – most catchers can’t do two games in one day.

If lightning and rain doesn’t halt game three in Kentucky for over 90 minutes, with Joseph Gonzalez having made it through five innings with only three hits and no runs but being unable to return after sitting on the bench for so long and “getting cold”.

But all those things happened, and here we are. Auburn needed two wins versus Kentucky to ensure entering the SEC tournament as the #4 seed, giving them a bye through the first day’s single elimination round and setting them up to take on the winner of the #5-vs-#12 matchup on Wednesday’s Day 2 in the double elimination round.

They only got one, so now they’re the #5 seed and face a “win or go home” matchup on Tuesday night against the #12 seed, Kentucky. Yes, the same Kentucky team that just won the series against them last weekend in Lexington. The same Kentucky team that jumped on Auburn’s pitchers for 17 runs, while holding the offense to 7. The same Kentucky team that is the only team that won a series versus national #1 Tennessee.

Auburn head baseball coach Butch Thompson is well aware of the stakes, and what his team has to do on Tuesday. "We have to do everything we can to enter the double elimination portion of this deal," Thompson said to AuburnTigers.com. "We get another chance against a team we just played that we feel like they didn't see our best and we can do more. We have to execute some things at a higher level."

Part of “doing everything” to win includes unconventional strategies – Auburn is starting lefthanded reliever Carson Skipper, the senior who has been operated as a tandem with closer Blake Burkhalter for the entire season, in Tuesday’s tournament opener. The senior, who sports a 4.81 ERA on the season, with 44 strikeouts to 9 walks in 43 innings on the season, hasn’t started a regular season game at Auburn since his freshman year in 2019. He can go deep into games, though, having gone 5.2 innings of relief against Middle Tennessee on April 11th and giving up 6 hits and only 2 earned runs, with no walks and four strikeouts across 71 pitches.

Thompson was clear that he thought Skipper’s veteran experience and familiarity with the environment was invaluable to this year’s team, “I want somebody that has experience and has pitched well in Hoover before and is on our legacy team as one of the leaders of our ball club." Thompson explained that Skipper wasn’t being asked to throw a complete game or anything, just shorten the innings the bullpen needed to cover. “Get through the lineup one time and get to our bullpen, which we’ve used a lot here lately. Hopefully, they are ready. Skipper will be kind of a darkhorse call, but one we’re excited to throw out there.”

The spot start is a necessary adjustment for an Auburn rotation that’s seen injuries and ineffectiveness crop up at the worst time. After settling into a routine of Hayden Mullins, Trace Bright, and Joseph Gonzalez on the weekends and Mason Barnett handling midweeks, injuries have thrown a wrench into that plan. Friday night Hayden Mullins exited in game one against Tennessee with an injury to his throwing arm; it would later come out that he would need Tommy John surgery and is done for the year. With Mason Barnett moving to Friday night to replace Mullins, Auburn’s pitching plans took a hit when new midweek starter Jordan Armstrong scuffled against Samford, not getting out of the 1st inning after allowing two runs on two hits and a walk and being victimized by non-competitive pitches in the strike zone.

After the short turnaround from the weekend series, Auburn’s weekend rotation is unavailable for Tuesday’s game against Kentucky, as is reliever Chase Allsup. The freshman from Dothan appeared twice in Lexington, giving Auburn three total innings out of the bullpen with three hits and two runs allowed on 42 total pitches, with two strikeouts and no walks. Every other reliever, including closer Blake Burkhalter, are available and ready to support Skipper. “I think our players are going to be excited for Skipper to open this ball game.”

Various lineup adjustments were made to protect 1B Sonny DiChiara, with the lineup settling on Sonny DiChiara at 2 flanked by 3B Blake Rambusch at leadoff and RF Bobby Pierce at 3rd. The changes didn’t seem to have much impact, as DiChiara drew five walks on the weekend (giving him 62 on the year and continuing his NCAA-leading pace of 1.22 walks per game) and leaving him in striking distance of MLB Hall-of-Famer Frank Thomas’s single season record of 73. The hope is that the move away from the turf of Kentucky Pride Park to a natural playing surface can bring back Auburn’s offensive prowess. “Some of our best guys didn’t have the hits or the type of at-bats that we wanted. Now we’ll move to a natural surface and what we hope is a home game for us even though it’s a neutral site.”

AWARD RECOGNITION

DiChiara continues to rack up the accolades for his performance on the season. He was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, given out by the National College Baseball Writers Association to the most outstanding player in college baseball. He also, on Monday, was named as Co-SEC Player of the Year, an honor he shares with LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, and was named First Team All-SEC.

DiChiara finished the regular season as the league leader in on-base percentage (.561) and slugging percentage (.782) while ranking second in batting average (.382). His on-base clip is also good for the national lead, while his slugging percentage is the fifth best in the country. He is tied for third among active Division I players with 58 career home runs and has homered 17 this year, matching Edouard Julien's total from 2018 for the most by an Auburn player since 2010. He reached base in all but one game, including multiple times on 43 occasions.

Joining him in All-SEC recognition is closer Blake Burkhalter, earning a Second Team All-SEC honor. He earned a win or save in 17 of his 25 appearances on the season, and led the conference with 13 saves, including 10 in league play. 3B Blake Rambusch, who led the SEC with 80 hits, batted .351 on the season, and was 3rd in the SEC with sixteen stolen bases, was snubbed from both All-SEC teams but did get named to the SEC All-Defense Team. Starting 51 of 55 games at third base, the transfer had a .961 fielding percentage and started twelve of Auburn’s 44 double plays.

PROBABLE STARTER

Tuesday – Sr. LHP Carson Skipper (5-3, 4.81) vs. Gr. RHP Sean Harney (5-4, 2.93)

PROBABLE LINEUP

3B Blake Rambusch

1B Sonny DiChiara

RF Bobby Pierce

DH Brooks Carlson

SS Brody Moore

CF Kason Howell

2B Garrett Farquhar

C Nate LaRue

LF Mason Land

INJURY UPDATE

Auburn continues to be without the services of switch-hitting second baseman Cole Foster, who suffered an oblique injury in the opening game of the Alabama series. A game-time decision for the series last week, there is a possibility he could play on Wednesday if Auburn advances past the opening round of the tournament tonight. Senior Garrett Farquhar will play 2nd in his absence.

SEC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

(“TBD” games are tentatively scheduled to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the previous game)

Game 1 (9:30 a.m.) - #6 Georgia vs. #11 Alabama [SEC Network]

Game 2 (TBD) - #7 Florida vs. #10 South Carolina [SEC Network]

Game 3 (4:30 p.m.) - #8 Vanderbilt vs. #9 Ole Miss [SEC Network]

Game 4 (TBD) - #5 Auburn vs. #12 Kentucky [SEC Network]

Wednesday, May 25

Game 5 (9:30 a.m.) - #3 Arkansas vs. Winner Game 1 [SEC Network]

Game 6 (TBD) - #2 Texas A&M vs. Winner Game 2 [SEC Network]

Game 7 (4:30 p.m.) - #1 Tennessee vs. Winner Game 3 [SEC Network]

Game 8 (TBD) - #4 LSU vs. Winner Game 4 [SEC Network]

Thursday, May 26

Game 9 (9:30 a.m.) - Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 [SEC Network]

Game 10 (TBD) - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 [SEC Network]

Game 11 (4:30 p.m.) - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 [SEC Network]

Game 12 (TBD) - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 [SEC Network]

Friday, May 27

Game 13 (3:00 p.m.) - Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11 [SEC Network]

Game 14 (TBD) - Winner Game 10 vs. Loser 12 [SEC Network]

Saturday, May 28

Game 15 (Noon) - Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 11 [SEC Network]

Game 16 (TBD) - Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 12 [SEC Network]

Sunday, May 29

Game 17 (2 p.m.) - Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 16 [ESPN2]

Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!

Join the Discord

Follow Auburn Daily on Twitter

Like Auburn Daily on Facebook

Subscribe to Locked On Auburn on YouTube

Add us as a preferred source on Google