Takeaways from Saturday's game three loss vs Georgia
Auburn baseball dropped the series finale against Georgia, 24-7, inside a packed Plainsman Park on Saturday afternoon. Here's what you need to know about the contest:
At some point, counting on a comeback isn't sustainable
We talked about this last night, about how Auburn had sixteen wins on the season and nine of them were come from behind.
The way it unfolds seems to be with Auburn's starter getting in some sort of hole early, Auburn's bats coming alive in the middle innings after the bullpen shuts down the opposing offense, and Auburn taking the lead sometime between the 5th and extra innings to win the game (usually right after John Armstrong has entered the game, so he can get the win).
Well, the scripts for this weekend came in the mail.
After getting into an 8-2 hole early to Georgia, thanks in part to a couple homeruns, Auburn's bats started to come to life in the 6th inning. Kason Howell led off the inning with a walk, Cole Foster doubled into the deepest part of the left-center canyon to put runners on 2nd and 3rd, and then Bryson Ware did Bryson Ware things.
That home run, the 11th of the season for Ware, was hit to the deepest part of the ballpark but was somehow also a no-doubter - 105mph off the bat, it went 427 feet and brought it to a one-run game.
Another short start for Auburn's pitcher
Tanner Bauman lasted 2.2 innings on Friday night, allowing four hits but only two runs.
On Saturday, true freshman lefty Zach Crotchfelt went 2.1 innings with six hits, five runs (four earned), and three extra base hits - a double and two home runs.
We're not panicking yet, but it's definitely not a great trend. Auburn's gotten great relief outings from their bullpen - from not only the regular suspects, like Chase Allsup, John Armstrong, and Will Cannon, but also from other starting options like Drew Nelson and Christian Herberholz.
If the starters can't consistently execute their pitches early, it's not a guarantee that this offense can come back to win the game. In conference play, you've got to have better execution than you've gotten so far.
Again, it's the freebies
Four times in this game, Georgia got the leadoff hitter on. All four times, that runner came around to score.
And then the 8th inning happened.
Georgia put up sixteen runs in the inning, with three Auburn pitchers cycling through in an attempt to find someone to throw strikes. Georgia batted around twice, collecting eight hits (including a three-run homerun), six walks, and two HBPs (both by Cameron Keshock).
It was a collapse that I can't remember seeing in quite a long time - just nothing Auburn could do to get out of the inning, and Georgia's potent offense did not let up.
Said Thompson after the game, "It was everything - free runners, base hits, all that. We were just down to the bottom of the barrel with our pitching to win the first two games of the series. [...] This is an example of where you've won three games in a row and tried to have the piggyback going, but we still know we have things to work on."
"Guys gotta start going longer, doing better. We've gotta start piecing this together to give us a chance to be successful in game threes."
Injured players are coming back
Captain Bobby Pierce, slowed by a hamstring strain, was the DH for all three games of the series, his first game action since aggravating the injury three weeks ago. First baseman Cooper McMurray, the transfer from Kansas that's been out with a foot injury, pinch-hit twice over the weekend (and went 2-2). He stayed in the field in Saturday's game after pinch-hitting in the 5th and played a few innings defensively without incident.
McMurray coming back to 1st gave us something we hadn't yet seen before - Ike Irish at his natural position of catcher. The true freshman was a bit amped up - his first throw down to second after Parker Carlson's warmup tosses got down there in a hurry, but sailed the bag - but Irish looked every bit the Top 100 recruit he was made out to be. He framed well, flashed the arm, and even made a great defensive play on throw from centerfield to receive and tag the runner (despite it being overturned for obstruction on review.)
(NOTE: We have reached out to the SEC offices in Birmingham for comment.)
UPDATE: The SEC responded on Sunday morning that Irish violated rule 8-7-c, but did not detail what specifically was seen in the review that prompted the SEC replay center in Birmingham to overturn the initial ruling of "out".
Provided Peirce's hamstring is healthy enough for him to return to defensive duties - and he had a few chances to turn on the jets on the basepaths, including beating out an infield hit in the 5th - your optimal lineup seems to be Stanfield, Howell, and Pierce in the outfield with Justin Kirby at DH, Cooper McMurray at 1st, and Irish behind the plate.
Kirby had a few moments this series where his initial read or route to the ball was off, causing him to need to lay out for some balls (and allowing two or three to drop for hits), so it feels like a defensible move to make for Butch Thompson. Similarly, it's hard to bench a captain in catcher Nate LaRue, but much has been made over the offseason of his new batting stance and yet despite that, his batting average is a paltry .106 - which isn't going to cut it in conference play - and the struggles have seemingly leaked into his usually expert defense, with opposing baserunners having uncharacteristic success on LaRue lately.
What's next?
Auburn's back in action on Tuesday night, looking to defend their perfect midweek record (6-0) against North Alabama, who they run-ruled 13-1 in February. First pitch is at 6PM, and is available for streaming on SEC Network+. The radio call, with Brad Law and Andy Burcham, is available on 93.9FM, auburntigers.com, and the Auburn Athletics App.
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