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Yet another sweep for the Tigers!
BYU @ #25 Auburn
Friday: 4-3 W
Saturday Game 1: 21-4 W
Saturday Game 2: 9-5 W
What a week for the Auburn Tigers! A win over a solid South Alabama team (sure they got swept by Texas Tech on the road but that’s nothing to be ashamed of) and then a quality series sweep of an improving BYU team. The offense came alive again on the weekend and the pitching staff buckled down when it had to. Overall this was a fantastic win over the best weekend competition the Tigers will see until SEC play gets here in a short 2 weeks. Auburn also took a jump in the national polls with their prosperous week, ranging anywhere from #9 to #20 in the country. Are there still holes that the Tigers need to fill up (middle innings pitching to get the game to either Greenhill or Coker), sure, but for right now the Tigers are pressing all the right buttons.
Pitching Performance of the Weekend
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Getting it done for the Tigers was Calvin Coker. Not only did he shut down South Alabama in the midweek but Calvin came in for 3.2 innings of work on Friday, allowing no hits and only two batters to reach (one by error and 1 with a walk) while striking out three. This season Calvin seems to be learning for a solid freshman year and has also benefitted from having Greenhill help out in closing situations, preventing over use of him and having a bit more of a leash to close out games without fear that its him or nothing. On the season, Coker touts an excellent 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings of work.
Batting Performance of the Weekend
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How could you not give the Batting performance to Brenden Venter? The young man holds a 9 game hitting streak where he has gone 20 for 38 with a HR, 8 runs scored along with 6 RBIs. This weekend alone, Venter went 8 for 13 with 3 runs score and 2 RBIs with a walk. He is been better than Coach Thompson could have hoped for, replacing Daniel Robert (who also had a similar hitting streak last season) and filling in for Dillion Ingram in spot duty after Ingram got banged up in the first series of the year vs Longwood.
Around the League
#1 Florida vs Stony Brook, FRI 12-5 W, SAT 8-0 W, SUN 3-1 W
Just another tune up for the champs.
#5 Arkansas vs Southern Cal, FRI 4-0 W, SAT 3-1 L, SUN 7-6 W/8
You might be shocked at the Saturday result until you realize that this was Arkansas’s 4th game in 4 days. That in turn makes the Sunday win that much more impressive as the Hogs go 4-1 in 5 days, they are for real folks.
#7 Kentucky @ Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic (Houston, TX)
- vs Houston FRI 14-2 W/7
- vs Sam Houston State SAT 7-2 W
- vs UL-Lafayette, SUN 10-4 W
Fantastic weekend for the Bat Cats as they sweep the Shriners Classic.
#9 Ole Miss @ Long Beach State, SAT G1 4-3 L, SAT G2 4-3 W, SUN 12-1
Great road series win on the Left Coast for the Rebs. The Dirtbags aren’t off to the greatest start but a 12-1 drubbing in the rubber match is always impressive against the Beach.
#10 Texas A&M @ Frisco College Classic (Frisco, TX)
- vs Louisiana Tech, FRI 4-2 L
- vs Baylor, SAT 5-4 W
- vs California, SUN 9-5 W
Hard fought positive weekend for the Aggies after getting taken down on Friday night.
#12 Vanderbilt @ Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic (Houston, TX)
- vs Sam Houston State, FRI 7-6 L/10
- vs UL-Lafayette, SAT 3-0 L
- vs #24 Houston, SUN 9-4 W
Rough weekend for the Dores, however those are quality losses so they won’t hurt too bad at the end of the year.
#21 Mississippi State @ Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic (Houston, TX)
- vs UL-Lafayette, FRI 3-1 W
- vs #24 Houston, SAT 3-2 W
- vs Sam Houston State, SUN 4-1 W
What a story State is turning into. Since losing their head coach, the Bulldogs are 6-2 facing a different opponent each time and all on the road. State opens the New Dude this weekend against a tough New Mexico State team. If it weren’t for Kentucky and Texas Tech, that would be my weekend series to watch.
#22 LSU @ LSU Baseball Invitational (Baton Rouge, LA)
- vs Toledo, FRI 8-1 W
- vs Sacred Heart, SAT 7-0 W
- vs SE Louisiana, SUN 4-2 W
Nice of LSU to invite teams to come take a whipping from them. CUPCAKES FOR EVERYONE!
Tennessee @ Tri-Star Classic (Knoxville, TN)
- vs East Tennessee State, FRI 10-9 L
- vs Memphis, SAT 2-1 W
- vs Middle Tennessee State, SUN 7-5 L
The Vols had the same plan as LSU except…they aren’t LSU…
Alabama @ Oklahoma, FRI 2-1 L/11, SAT 16-4 L, SUN 13-1 W
This is about what you could have hoped for if you were an Alabama baseball fan (if so what are you doing here?!) Maybe not win the series but take a game and look competitive in another. Saturday was bound to happen so why not on the road when it doesn’t hurt too bad.
Georgia @ College of Charleston, FRI 5-2 L, SAT 6-0 L, SUN 6-4 L
Georgia was my other hot team to watch and MAN did they cool off. CoC isn’t bad by any stretch but you have got to win at least one game!
South Carolina vs #14 Clemson, FRI 3-2 W, SAT 5-1 L, SUN 8-7 L
This is what it should have been but those are very encouraging results against a very good Clemson team
Missouri vs UMBC, FRI 7-1 W, SAT 6-5 W, SUN 5-0 W
Pat on the back Mizzou, Saturday was scary but you held on.
On Deck
It’s a repeat of last week, sort of, as the Tigers take to the road before a home series as they tune up for the open of the SEC slate. Auburn will head to Regions Park Tuesday for a matchup against UAB. The Blazers started off hot at 4-1 before going 1-4 and having an entire series against Arkansas State rained out. This past weekend, they dropped a home series to Iowa but took the Sunday game by a 4-0 margin. This weekend Auburn will host Northeastern for a Friday-Sunday series.