Auburn baseball hosts South Carolina for alumni weekend

The 2nd half of the conference slate starts off with Auburn at 2nd place in the SEC West.

Auburn baseball is excited for the challenge of the back half of the SEC schedule, kicking off this weekend with a three game series against South Carolina in Plainsman Park. "Now that you start that sixth weekend, you can really start sensing that every game becomes so precious," head coach Butch Thompson said. "The first thing I think about is how much is on the line for everybody.”

South Carolina is the warmup for a gauntlet of a back half for Auburn, who faces West-leading Arkansas at home and East (and nation) leading Tennessee on the road, sandwiching a home series against rival Alabama. But Auburn’s not looking past a South Carolina squad that’s 6-9 in conference at the midpoint. "There's real respect for an opponent when you start talking about, they beat Texas in a series, Vanderbilt in a series, Ole Miss in a series," Thompson added. "I think you can just make that statement and have enough respect for your opponent."

South Carolina’s a team that’s coming into this series a little banged up, with injuries in the pitching rotation taking out some key contributors and 1st baseman Josiah Sightler suffering an ankle sprain last Friday against Ole Miss. He played the next day and again in the Tuesday win against non-con opponent Winthrop, but was laboring when rounding the bases on a home run. “I’d say he’s probably at a 7 out of 10,” South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston said, when asked about Sightler’s health. “You can see it. He felt better today than he did on Saturday, and he had a double and a home run on Saturday. He’s just willing himself through this right now. He’s a tough kid, a competitor.”

The injury is clearly affecting him at the plate, as he went 0-5 against Winthrop, lowering his batting average to .250 on the season. South Carolina’s determined to keep him in the lineup, however. “When he pops up, we’re telling him to slow down and don’t hurt yourself on pop ups and fly balls. He’s too important for us right now. He can help us. He hit that ball to the wall late. It’s not that he can’t do it, it’s just a matter of him having to fight through it.”

Injuries have become a fact of life for this South Carolina squad, who has seen their pitching staff decimated by injuries and are starting multiple true freshmen in the field. “With everything we’ve gone through adversity wise, no team in the country has battled more adversity this year than we have, but we’re still alive,” Kingston said. “That’s the key. That’s what I’m proud of this team for right now. It’s a team that needs to continue to battle, how to learn the pitchers we have and what our strengths and weaknesses are.”

None of South Carolina’s starting pitchers they lost at the start of the season have been able to make a return, and so they’re relying on players thrust into unfamiliar roles. As it sits, USC’s team ERA of 5.28 is 2nd worst in the conference ahead of only Georgia. USC is hoping that a relatively unproductive offense can find a spark as the youngsters in the lineup acclimate to life in the SEC. USC’s offense sits towards the bottom of the conference in most offensive metrics, coming in last in the SEC in batting average (.262), on-base percentage (.365), and slugging (.394). One particular skill they seem to have, however, is not striking out, with a league-best 279 on the season. (Auburn is third-worst, at 322). 

It’ll be a test for Auburn starters Hayden Mullins and Trace Bright, two pitchers that excel at generating swings and misses, to get this South Carolina team to chase pitches and end at-bats without putting the ball into play. South Carolina is susceptible to hitting into double plays, currently 2nd worst in the SEC with 23 on the season. Auburn’s mantra of “dominate to routine plays” on defense could possibly be a key to this series, especially for Game 3 starter Joseph Gonzalez, who excels at forcing weak contact with his sinkerball.

Offensively, Auburn continues to be led by 1st baseman Sonny DiChiara, who continues to lead the SEC in batting average (.434), on-base percentage (.588), and slugging (.858). He is 2nd in doubles, with 15, and total bases, with 97. As discussed on Wednesday, he continues to lead the SEC in walks, with 39. Cleanup hitter Brooks Carlson is starting to heat up, with multiple hits in two straight games and three of the last five (good for a .368 batting average during that stretch of games). Ahead of both, Auburn leadoff hitter Blake Rambusch continues to lead the SEC in hits, with 59, and has reached base in 94 of his last 95 games, dating back to the end of his freshman season at Grayson College. He leads Auburn with 19 multi-hit games this season, including 13 of the last 22. 

Probable starters

Friday – Jr. LHP Hayden Mullins (2-1, 3.58) vs. Jr. RHP Brett Thomas (0-0, 6.75)

Saturday – Jr. RHP Trace Bright (2-4, 4.17) vs. JR RHP Noah Hall (2-4, 4.91)

Sunday – So. RHP Joseph Gonzalez (5-0, 2.01) vs. So. RHP Will Sanders (5-1, 3.51)

Probable lineup

3B Blake Rambusch

CF Kason Howell

1B Sonny DiChiara

LF Brooks Carlson

SS Brody Moore

DH Cam Hill

2B Cole Foster

RF Bobby Pierce

C Nate LaRue

Stats that exist but do not matter
Auburn leads the SEC with 29 double plays turned, while South Carolina is 2nd worst at grounding into double plays with 23 on the season. O/U of 3.5 double plays turned by Auburn this weekend?

Schedule

Friday’s game one starts at 6PM, with Saturday’s game two scheduled for 2PM and Sunday’s game three at 1PM. All three games are available for streaming on SEC Network+. The radio broadcast with Voice of the Tigers Andy Burcham, alongside Brad Law, can be heard locally on 93.9 FM or online on the Auburn Sports Network. This weekend is Alumni Weekend for Auburn baseball, with on-field recognition of the 1997 College World Series team prior to game two, giveaways every day, and events scheduled for the entire weekend.

---

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