Tag: Blake Rambusch

Season Preview: Auburn Baseball’s top returning hitters from 2022 season

Here’s a look at the top sluggers that return from Auburn Baseball’s 2022 College World Series roster.

The Auburn Tigers are set to open the 2023 season on Friday, Feb. 17 against Indiana at Plainsman Park. While we count down the days, here’s a brief look at what to expect this season.

The first chapter of Auburn Wire’s baseball season previews will take a look at Auburn’s returning hitters from last season’s College World Series roster.

Auburn returns plenty of contributors to last season’s lineup and will see a lot of new faces at the plate as well. However, the caliber of bats that have since moved on to the professional ranks leaves a few questions for Auburn to answer.

The biggest void on this season’s roster is [autotag]Sonny DiChiara[/autotag], who was drafted 148th overall by the Los Angeles Angels and was immediately delegated to Double-A Rocket City. In his lone season on the Plains, DiChiara smashed 22 home runs and was responsible for 59 RBI.

Auburn will also be without [autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag], [autotag]Brooks Carlson[/autotag], and [autotag]Brody Moore[/autotag], who finished the season in the top-five of batting average last season behind DiChiara.

There are some familiar faces, however, who will return to the Auburn lineup this season including [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag], [autotag]Cam Hill[/autotag], [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag], and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag], who all hit over .250 last season.

Here’s a look at the top returning bats to Auburn’s roster ahead of the 2023 season, based on last season’s batting average.

Auburn Baseball misses out on top 25 preseason ranking

Despite earning a bid to the College World Series in 2022, Auburn Baseball misses the cut in D1Baseball’s preseason ranking.

The Auburn Tigers had an incredible run to the College World Series in 2022.

Following an early exit from the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Auburn went on a tear through the Auburn Regional by outscoring Southeastern Louisiana, Florida State, and UCLA 51-18 in three games to set up a weekend slate at Oregon State. Auburn was able to knock off the Beavers in the Super Regionals to clinch a berth in the College World Series for the second time in three seasons.

Despite such a strong end to the 2022 season, it seems that Auburn will need to prove its worth to the voters this season.

D1Baseball recently released its preseason top 25 rankings. Nine SEC teams made the cut, with seven of those being placed in the top 10. Out of those nine teams, Auburn was not one of those.

While it is not known why Auburn did not make the preseason top 25, it may be due to the uncertainty surrounding Auburn’s roster. Pitching-wise, the Tigers will look to replace [autotag]Trace Bright[/autotag] and [autotag]Mason Barnett[/autotag] in the rotation and [autotag]Blake Burkhalter[/autotag] in relief. Auburn will also be missing the bats of [autotag]Sonny DiChiara[/autotag], [autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag], [autotag]Brooks Carlson[/autotag], and [autotag]Brody Moore[/autotag].

Auburn will need to replace many key pieces of last season’s College World  Series team but is off to a great start as the incoming freshman class ranks No. 10 according to D1Baseball.

Auburn opens the season on Friday, Feb. 17 at Plainsman Park against Indiana. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.

Here’s a look at the initial top 25 from D1Baseball.com.

1 LSU
2 Tennessee
3 Stanford
4 Ole Miss
5 Texas A&M
6 Wake Forest
7 Florida
8 Arkansas
9 Oklahoma State
10 Vanderbilt
11 East Carolina
12 North Carolina
13 Maryland
14 Virginia Tech
15 TCU
16 Louisville
17 UCLA
18 Southern Miss
19 Virginia
20 Alabama
21 NC State
22 Miami
23 South Carolina
24 Texas Tech
25 Oregon

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Baltimore Orioles agree to terms with Trace Bright

Contract details have emerged for RHP Trace Bright and the Baltimore Orioles.

Another key piece of Auburn’s rotation is officially going pro.

Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline has reported that the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to terms with their fifth-round selection, Auburn RHP [autotag]Trace Bright[/autotag].

Bright, who recorded 17 starts for Auburn in 2022, was taken with the 137th overall selection and has signed a contract worth $400,000, which is below slot value, but still considered a pretty hefty payday.

The Montgomery product ends his three-year stint at Auburn with an ERA of 6.01 in 139.1 innings of work. He struck out 149 batters and issued just 63 walks in 40 total appearances, posting a 10-9 record.

In 2022, Bright got the nod in 17 weekend games, and making one additional appearance as a reliever. In 18 appearances, Bright struck out 94 batters while issuing just 38 walks. His longest outing of the season was 6.0 innings, which he accomplished in three straight starts in nonconference weekend action.

His best outing came in the Auburn Regional against Southeastern Louisiana, where he struck out ten batters in Auburn’s 19-7 win over the Lions at Plainsman Park. Bright also got the start against Stanford in the College World Series, where he struck out eight batters in five innings of work in Auburn’s lone win in Omaha.

Bright becomes the fifth draft pick from Auburn to sign with an MLB Organization. Details have yet to emerge for [autotag]Brody Moore[/autotag] (517th overall pick by Cardinals), [autotag]Hayden Mullins[/autotag] (369th pick by Red Sox), and [autotag]Carson Skipper[/autotag] (326th pick by Rockies). It is expected that all three will sign with their respective organizations.

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Blake Rambusch inks rookie deal with Seattle Mariners

Another Auburn baseball player has officially signed with their MLB team.

Another former Tiger has made the decision to take the next step in their baseball career.

Just a day after the official announcements that Blake Burkhalter and Sonny DiChiara had signed their rookie contract with their respective clubs, it was reported that a third MLB Draft selection from Auburn had reached a deal.

Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline reported Saturday the Seattle Mariners have agreed to terms with their 15th-round selection in the 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, Auburn’s [autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag].

Rambusch, who was the 468th overall selection, has signed a rookie contract valued at $125,000.

In just one season on the Plains, Rambusch made an impact in both aspects of the game. At the plate, Rambusch had the team’s second-highest average with .327, fourth in RBI with 37, and stole 16 bases in 21 attempts.

In the field, Rambusch fielded at a .957 clip, committing just seven errors in 115 fielding attempts. He was also joins [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag] as the only two players to start all 65 games of the 2022 season, staring primarily at third base.

Five of Auburn’s eight draft picks have yet to agree to terms with their respective franchises. MLB teams have until 4 p.m. CDT on August 1 to reach a deal with their draft picks.

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A look at Auburn Baseball’s top prospects ahead of MLB Draft

Six Tigers are among College Baseball’s top 150 draft-eligible prospects according to D1Baseball.com

Auburn’s unexpected run to the College World Series in 2022 had its perks, which included added exposure for members of the team.

Due to their success, Auburn baseball’s top batters, fielders, and pitchers were able to show their talents to fans far and wide as well as Major League Baseball scouts.

Ahead of the 2022 MLB Draft, D1Baseball released their picks for the top 150 draft-eligible college prospects, where six Tigers were listed.

Auburn’s top prospects are headlined by pitchers, beginning with the SEC’s save leader, [autotag]Blake Burkhalter[/autotag].

Burkhalter struck out 71 batters over 46.1 innings of work, and went on to record 16 saves in 2022. Next are weekend starters [autotag]Trace Bright[/autotag] and [autotag]Mason Barnett[/autotag], followed by reliver [autotag]Carson Skipper[/autotag].

Both position players to make the list made an impact at the plate, as they finished the season sitting atop the team’s batting average leaderboard. In his first season after transferring from Samford, Sonny DiChiara led Auburn in three major categories… home runs (22), RBI (59), and average (.383). Not far behind him was [autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag], who stole 16 bases and recorded a .327 average.

All six players have a great shot to hear their names called during the MLB Draft that is set to begin Sunday, July 17. Where do they stack up against College Baseball’s best prospects? Here is where the top Tigers are listed according to D1Baseball’s top 150 list:

PHOTO GALLERY: Auburn outlasts Stanford to advance in College World Series

Relive Auburn’s 6-2 win over Stanford on Monday afternoon with the gallery below:

Despite the temperature reaching the high-90s in Omaha, Nebraska on Monday afternoon, the Auburn bats needed a little time to heat up.

But when they finally got going, it was hard to slow down the Tiger offense.

Down 2-0 heading to the sixth inning, Auburn broke through to score six runs on six hits to defeat Stanford, 6-2 to advance in the College World Series, earning their first win in Omaha since 1997.

[autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] helped Auburn take the lead on a three-run double in the sixth inning, which complimented a bases-loaded walk to [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] just two at-bats prior.

In the 7th, [autotag]Brody Moore[/autotag] scored [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] on a sacrifice fly, and Peirce earned his 2nd RBI of the game on a double to score [autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag], extending the Tiger lead.

Auburn will now await the winner of Ole Miss-Arkansas. The game will be played on Tuesday at 5 p.m. CDT, and can be seen on ESPN.

Auburn’s bullpen collapses in series finale loss to Kentucky

Auburn’s offense was unable to get going Saturday against Kentucky as the Tigers lost 6-3 to the Wildcats.

Auburn took an early lead against Kentucky but was unable to add on and the bullpen collapsed to drop the final game of the regular season 6-3 Saturday.

With the loss, Auburn ends the regular season with an overall record of 37-18 and 16-13 in the SEC. The loss means the Tigers missed out on the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament next week.

[autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag] led the game off with a single and came around to score on a Brooks Carlson two-out double to take a 1-0. Those were the only Tigers to reach base until the seventh inning.

The offense’s inability to score kept Kentucky in the game despite a strong start from [autotag]Joseph Gonzales[/autotag]. The sophomore pitched five shutout innings before leaving after a weather delay paused the game after the fifth inning. The right-hander gave up just three hits and two walks while striking out three Wildcats.

The rain delay forced Auburn to turn to the bullpen and the Wildcats took advantage of the change. Scoring five runs in the sixth inning to take a commanding 5-1 lead.

Carson Skipper came in to pitch the sixth inning after the delay and gave up a lead-off double. A strikeout and a walk gave the Wildcats their best scoring opportunity of the game and they took advantage, tieing the game at one run a piece on a throwing error by Nate LaRue. Skipper walked another batter before being pulled for John Armstrong.

It was the same results for Armstrong, who walked the first batter he faced to load the bases with two outs. Kentucky made Auburn pay for the mistakes, hitting three consecutive singles to take a 5-1 lead, that they would not relinquish.

The Tigers were not done yet as Bobby Pierce smacked a solo home run in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 5-2. Sonny DiChiara hit a solo shot of his own to lead off the ninth to make it a 6-3 Kentucky lead but that was it from Auburn’s offense. The Tigers managed just five hits and did not record a walk in the loss.

Auburn will now be the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament and is set to play Kentucky Tuesday night in Hoover.

Auburn baseball rallies in full-game comeback to take second Alabama game

Auburn took six innings to complete a four-run comeback and beat the Tide in game two of its rivalry series.

Baseball legend Yogi Berra put it best — it ain’t over ’till it’s over.

The Auburn Tigers lived that creed on Saturday when they came back from a four-run deficit in the first inning to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide 6-4 in their second victory of the rivalry series. Auburn now has an opportunity to sweep the series when they play the Tide again on Sunday.

Alabama wasted no time kicking off proceedings. Tide catcher Dominic Tamez hit a blistering ground ball to left field to knock in an RBI in the top of the first, and with two men on, outfielder William Hamiter blasted a ball over the right-center fence to put Alabama up 4-0.

That would be the last run they scored.

Auburn managed to keep things stagnant until the bottom of the fourth when it began to chip away. Tigers outfielder [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] hit a solo shot to center field to cut the deficit down to three. The bottom of the fifth was kind to the Tigers, too — a grievous error on a routine throw to second by the Tide allowed infield player [autotag]Garrett Farquhar[/autotag] to score and infielder [autotag]Blake Rambusch[/autotag] subsequently knocked in an RBI single to cut the deficit down to one. Auburn got the run to tie in the bottom of the sixth when [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] hit an RBI single as well.

It was Peirce, who kicked off the scoring for Auburn, that put them back ahead.

His RBI single brought the Tigers up 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh. He wasn’t done scoring, though — after an errant pitch, Peirce ran home from third and made it 6-4 Auburn, a score that would stand at the end of the game.

After the impressive comeback, the Tigers will look to complete the sweep on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT.