Auburn has not had the start to SEC play it was hoping for but after a 7-3 win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday the Tigers are hoping to turn things around against rival Alabama.
Auburn (13-16, 1-11) heads into the series losers of five straight SEC games while Alabama (20-12, 5-7) is riding a four-game win streak that consists of a sweep at Texas A&M and a 19-3 win over Samford. The series represents a golden chance for the Tigers to pick up their first SEC series win.
“There’s no lack of motivation,” Head Coach Butch Thompson said of facing Alabama. “This just takes it to a higher level of needing it now because it’s your rival and because of the last month it’s a requirement, basically. How can we handle that? I can’t lessen that but, I can keep the guys focused on (the fact) that we’re here to continue to grow and get better as a ball club. We all know there’s sincere urgency right now. We created that and we can also do something about it because of the opportunities that are presented to us each and every day.”
Senior leader Steven Williams thinks with the team getting healthier and players sliding into roles they are comfortable with it is time for the Tigers to start winning games.
“We battled injuries early and I think we are finally starting to take full shape as a team and in that bullpen,” Williams said. “We have experienced it all and I don’t think anything is going to scare us away. We know what we have got to do and know we have to be better.”
Thompson announced that the Tigers would use the same starting rotation they did last weekend with senior right-handed pitcher Cody Greenhill (3-0, 1.83 ERA) pitching on Thursday, senior left-hander Jack Owen (0-2, 9.53) on Friday and freshman right-hander Joseph Gonzalez (0-3, 8.57) on Saturday. The trio will have to contend with a Crimson Tide offense that is hitting .273 and has 42 home runs.
Williams did not shy away from the importance of the game, acknowledging the rough start but is confident they can close the season strong to end the season where they wanted to.
“Yeah, it’s extremely crucial,” Williams said. “Everybody knows that we haven’t had the start to conference play that we wanted, but, I mean, I don’t think we’re out of it yet. I’m really confident in what we have. We have to go out and win a bunch of ball games, but we’re confident we’re going to be able to do that.”
The series will start on Thursday at 6 p.m CT. with game two scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. and the series finale slated for Saturday at 4 p.m.