Weekend Review - Northeastern Series

Well this is different…

Northeastern @ #16 Auburn

Friday: 6-0 W (No-Hitter by Casey Mize)

Saturday Game 1: 14-8 W

Saturday Game 2: 2-1 L

What a weekend of ups and downs for the Auburn Tigers. First came the comeback win over UAB Tuesday night in Birmingham. Follow that up with one of the most dominate pitching performances in Auburn history from Casey Mize (don’t worry; we will hit his numbers from Friday in a second). Saturday started off great with the offense going off to the tune of 14 runs to take yet another series this season against a good Northeastern team. Then the bats went quiet for game 3. Tanner Burns was really good, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 5 Ks with 4 walks sprinkled around in 4.1 innings of work, but that proved to be too much as Sean Mellen was dealing for the Huskies. Mellen went 8 and gave up 1 run on just 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8. Mellen had the kind of arm that the Tigers will see throughout SEC play so this is a storyline to continue to watch, hopefully it was just a blip on the radar and the bats were due for an off game after 15 games of dominating anyone the opposition threw at them.

Pitching Performance of the Weekend

AuburnTigers.com

I don’t think there will ever be a slam dunk more so that giving this one to Casey Mize. The junior went complete game no hitter with no walks and a career high 13 Ks on just 105 pitches, 77 of which were strikes. The surprising thing after you dive into this one is who he did it against. Northeastern came in swinging a very hot bat after spending their entire season to this point in Florida and were held to only 1 base runner on a grounder that hand cuffed Will Holland in the 4^th that was ruled an error. This was a fantastic thing to witness and a huge lift to the Auburn baseball program. Anytime you can run from the dugout and mob a teammate, good things are happening.

Batting Performance of the Weekend

AuburnTigers.com

We will just make this a Batting Performance of the Week and the award goes to Brett Wright. The JC transfer was absolutely on fire and it started in Birmingham. Wright only had one AB at Regions Park but it sure was a big one. With the Tigers down 8-7 in the 8^th inning, Wright crushed a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall to put the Tigers up for good and get the big road win. Friday night, all he did was go 1 for 2 with a HR, his 5^th of the year and 2 walks. Then somehow he out did even himself in game 1 of the doubleheader, going 2 for 3 with 2 more Home Runs (6^th and 7^th of the year) and accounted for 3 RBIs. Game 2 was much more maligned going 0 for 2 with a walk and was the lone run the Tigers scored. All in all, an outstanding week for the Tiger catcher.

Around the League

#1 Florida vs Rhode Island, FRI 9-0 W, SAT G1 9-2 W, SAT G2 3-2 W

Good bounce back wins after a rough midweek outing at Central Florida.

#5 Arkansas vs Kent State, FRI G1 7-2 W, FRI G2 10-4 L, SUN 11-4 W

That Arkansas didn’t sweep is a touch of a surprise but Kent State is one of the better teams north of Kentucky and should never be taken lightly.

#6 Kentucky vs #3 Texas Tech, FRI 10-7 W, SAT 11-6 W, SUN 5-3 L

To be honest I thought Kentucky would get a game and make Sunday the game to watch. Solid series win by the Cats as they get set for the SEC slate.

#9 Ole Miss vs Eastern Illinois, FRI G1 7-2 W, FRI G2 4-0 W, SUN 7-3 W

Nothing to see here, nothing was ever in doubt.

#10 Texas A&M vs Long Beach State, FRI 3-1 W, SAT 19-1 W, SUN 5-1 W

The Dirtbags have had a rough start to the season but that Saturday game may be a low point. Impressive series sweep by the Aggies.

#15 Vanderbilt @ The Dodgertown Classic (Los Angeles, CA)

• vs #10 UCLA, FRI 6-3 W
• @ Southern Cal, SAT Cancelled (RAIN)
• vs #8 TCU, SUN 7-4 W

This is exactly what Tim Corbin wanted to see. Excellent effort on the West Coast by the Dores.

#21 Mississippi State vs Utah Valley, FRI G1 2-1 L/11, FRI G2 4-2 W, SUN 5-3 W

Good bounce back by the Bulldogs in their first weekend series in the new Dude. Looking forward to the Vandy-State series this weekend.

#22 LSU vs Hawaii, FRI 4-2 L, SAT 5-1 W, SUN 14-1 W

A wrinkled eyebrow at this one as LSU continues to confuse. Good series win, no question but dropping that Friday game is interesting…

Alabama vs New Mexico State, FRI G1 3-0 L, FRI G2 3-1 W, SAT 5-2 W

Really don’t know how Alabama is doing it but they just keep winning. Don’t worry about that Friday night loss, the Tide’s M-O this year is to win series or just not get swept and they have done that so far. They are closing in on a Top 25 ranking.

Tennessee @ Cincinnati, FRI 3-2 W/12, SAT 7-5 W, SUN 2-1 W

Good road series sweep for Tennessee.

Georgia vs Toledo, FRI 7-0 W, SAT G1 8-3 W, SAT G2 7-6 W/10

Dawgs get things back on track.

South Carolina vs Princeton, FRI 9-2 W, SAT G1 7-3 W, SAT G2 6-4 W

Solid series win against a team that gets into the big tournament every now and then.

Missouri vs La Salle, FRI 8-5 W, SAT G1 7-1 W, SAT G2 7-0 W

Tune-up!

On Deck

Alright, now it gets real. The Tigers will continue this 8 game home stand with a pair of mid-week games as Georgia Tech comes calling on Tuesday. The Jackets are coming off the broom as Clemson swept them to open ACC play this past week. Wednesday will see the Memphis Tigers come in to Plainsman Park for a 6 pm first pitch. The other Tigers are 6-10 so far this season and are coming off a series loss to Little Rock. This weekend opens SEC play as the Aggies of Texas A&M head in to Plainsman Park. So far this season they are 16-1 and, as noted above, are just coming off a series sweep of Long Beach State. The real season begins Friday and the Tigers look as ready as anyone!