Tag: Butch Thompson

Auburn baseball vs. Florida A&M: How to watch/listen to Wednesday’s game at Plainsman Park

Auburn welcomes Florida A&M to Plainsman Park on Wednesday for their midweek home opener.

Auburn baseball plays Florida A&M on Wednesday evening, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

After an impressive week that saw the Tigers go 3-1-1, Auburn begins a new week by welcoming in Florida A&M to Plainsman Park for a midweek tilt. The Rattlers enter the contest with a 3-6 record, but won two of three games last weekend in New Orleans, defeating Prarie View A&M and Southern at the Andrew Dawson Classic.

Auburn’s game with Florida A&M will kickoff a marathon for them, as they will play nine games in a span of 12 days. In the stretch, Auburn will play Lipscomb and Southeastern in a three-game weekend series with Florida A&M, Jax State, and UAB mixed in for midweek contests.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] hopes to see his team continue its hot streak.

“We have to start making adjustments, finding solutions, and seeing these guys continue to grow,” Thompson said Tuesday.

Below, you will find everything you need to know ahead of Wednesday’s game between Auburn and Florida A&M, including a broadcast guide, a projected lineup, and a weather forecast.

‘It is not supposed to look this easy.’ Ike Irish fuels Auburn baseball’s hot start

Freshman Ike Irish is wise beyond his years, and he is proving it at the plate.

Auburn baseball entered the season unranked in four of the six major polls due to what is believed to be a lack of experience in several areas.

Two weeks into the season, the Tigers appear to be in a strong position to have another strong season. Freshman Ike Irish is one of the main reasons why.

Irish, a true freshman from Hudsonville, Michigan, was Auburn baseball’s top signee of the 2022 recruiting cycle as by being the No. 2 overall player from Michigan, and the No. 39 overall prospect. Through seven games, he has more than lived up to expectations.

He currently bats .586 with 17 hits and six RBI. The most eye-popping stat of the young season is that he has recorded a hit in every game, with all but one being a multi-hit affair. In Auburn’s most recent series against USC, Irish went 8-for-13 at the plate with two RBI. In addition to Auburn baseball fans, his early success at the plate is impressing his teammates.

“After his second hit in (Friday’s) game, I looked at somebody and said, ‘it is not supposed to look this easy,” Auburn sophomore [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] said following Auburn’s 12-6 win over USC on Saturday.

When asked about his assessment of the talented freshman, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] cites his maturity not only in his actions but also in his physique and at-bat approach.

“A lot of times, guys come to school and it’s like ‘they need to grow, they need to fill out and get in the weight room to get a little stronger.’ Those boxes are already checked,” Thompson said of Irish. “He is physical, he’s confident, that’s another one that is sometimes not readily available with a first-year player. He has a couple of things there. I haven’t seen him give an at-bat away. He always seems interested. I’m pretty excited that he is on our team.” 

You can sense the “seasoned veteran” mindset of Irish in the way he speaks about the game as well. When it comes to his at-bat mentality, he says that he takes a very simple approach, and does not think too much about what needs to be done.

“I think that it is just (being) as simple as possible,” Irish said Saturday. “In the few at-bats that I’ve had this year, especially with the double I hit (on Saturday), I was just thinking ‘just see it up.’ It is small thoughts like that. I think hitting is all mental. So it is just being able to use my thoughts in a good, positive way, but keeping them short so that they don’t interfere with my body doing its’ job.”

His efforts in last week’s action earned him his second SEC Freshman of the Week award in as many weeks. In three wins over North Alabama and USC, Irish went 11-for-17 at the plate, recording multiple hits in every game, with three RBI. His quest for a three-peat begins Wednesday when Auburn faces Florida A&M at 6 p.m. CT.

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Auburn Baseball vs. USC: How to watch, stream, listen to this weekend’s series at Plainsman Park

Auburn welcomes the 12-time national champion USC Trojans to Plainsman Park for a three-game series. Here’s everything you need to know.

The series that almost never was is set to take place at Plainsman Park beginning Friday night.

Auburn welcomes USC to the Plains for a three-game set after cold weather and rain forced administration from both Auburn and USC to call an audible. The series originally planned for Los Angeles was changed in a matter of 6-8 hours according to Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag].

“I hate it for our guys not being able to make that trip (to Los Angeles), but I tip my hat to a lot of people in administration, our travel people, Southern Cal’s administrators,” Thompson said Thursday. “It’s tough to pick up a college baseball team and travel across country, so I tip my hat to both administrations for going, ‘This is the right thing to do. How do we get there?”

USC has arrived, they have practiced at Plainsman Park, and they have their hotel. So now reality has set in that one of college baseball’s “blue bloods” is coming to Auburn for the first time in history.

“We’re going to have a 12-time national champion at Plainsman Park for the first time. It keeps getting neater,” Thompson said. “I appreciate (USC). I appreciate our fans for how they’ve jumped on the tickets. I’m just thankful this series is about to be pulled off.”

Auburn and Southern Cal each enter the series with 3-1 records. The Tigers took two-of-three from Indiana in last weekend’s season-opening series and defeated North Alabama, 13-1 on Tuesday in Madison. As for the Trojans, they swept Marist last weekend but dropped a midweek contest to UC-Irvine.

Below, you will find everything you need to know ahead of this weekend’s series between Auburn and USC including a how-to-watch guide, pitching matchups, and key players to watch.

RELATED: Auburn-USC baseball preview with Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire

Auburn vs. North Alabama: Stream, injury report, broadcast info for Tuesday’s game in Madison

Auburn hits the road for the first time this season to face North Alabama at Toyota Field, home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Auburn Baseball plays North Alabama on Tuesday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

Ahead of this weekend’s trip to Los Angeles, the Auburn Tigers will travel to Madison to face North Alabama at Toyota Field, home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Tigers are looking to build on last weekend’s success after taking two-of-three games from Indiana at Plainsman Park.

Auburn got solid production at the plate from players such as [autotag]Justin Kirby[/autotag], [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag], and [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag]. Now that the first series is in the rear-view, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] says that it is now time for the players to dictate their place in the starting lineup

“We’ve got so many adjustments and things we can make moving forward. I think it’s good that the process has started for this team,” Thompson said.

The Lions enter the game with a 1-2 record after dropping their season-opening series to Milwaukee last weekend in Florence. After falling short in the first two contests of the weekend, North Alabama won Sunday’s game, 14-6 behind a three-hit, three-RBI game from leadoff batter Dominick McIntyre.

Here’s a look at everything you need to know ahead of Tuesday’s game in Madison… including a how-to-listen guide, pitching matchup, and a projected lineup.

Auburn vs. Indiana: How to watch, stream, listen to this weekend’s series at Plainsman Park

Auburn Baseball kicks off the 2023 campaign with a three-game series against the Indiana Hoosiers at Plainsman Park. Here’s everything you need to know.

Auburn Baseball welcomes Indiana to Plainsman Park this weekend, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

Auburn Baseball has had many questions surrounding its’ club heading into the 2023 campaign, which explains the lack of national recognition as Auburn is ranked in just two of the six national polls, with Perfect Game giving the Tigers their highest ranking at No. 17.

Auburn lost five pitchers from last season’s team in the first 12 rounds of the MLB Draft, which include closer [autotag]Blake Burkhalter[/autotag] and weekend starters [autotag]Mason Barnett[/autotag] and [autotag]Trace Bright[/autotag]. The Tigers will be missing some notable power from [autotag]Sonny DiChiara[/autotag] as well.

Even though Auburn has brought in some talent to hopefully fill those needs, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] still says there are plenty of questions left to answer.

“Even if you do bring in a top 10 class, even if you have five freshmen in the top 100, (there is) still guesswork,” Thompson said Thursday.

Auburn has played many intrasquad scrimmages this winter and has held practices against one another leading up to the season opener. Thompson feels that this weekend’s series against the Hoosiers will erase the guesswork that he and his staff have had to use.

“I’m excited for the season and for our players to play somebody else, the guesswork goes away tomorrow,” Thompson said ahead of Auburn’s series with Indiana. “We will know more come next Monday than we’ve known for months (about) who we are.”

Thompson says that this weekend’s opponent, Indiana, will match up well with his club, and that they have pieces that will truly test his mostly inexperienced squad.

“They have seven of their nine position players back. They have real power, they have an 18-home run guy (Matthew Ellis), a 19-home run guy (Carter Mathison), they have two or three guys that can steal a base if you are not aware of how to stop the run game, or slow it down a bit,” Thompson said. “Big swings if you make cripple pitches and do not get into some good sequencing of quality pitches, you’ll pay for it.”

You will find key information about this weekend’s series below, including a how-to-watch guide featuring links to all three games, a how-to-listen guide, weekend matchups, and a projected starting lineup.

Butch Thompson reveals Auburn’s opening day starter, weekend rotation

This pitcher is set to make his first collegiate start on Friday afternoon when the Tigers open the season against Indiana.

The season-opening series is a great time for a head coach to test several aspects out in order to construct the perfect strategy before SEC play begins in mid-March. Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag]’s first item on the agenda is finding his perfect weekend rotation.

Auburn returns just one weekend starter from last season’s College World Series squad, [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag]. He is expected to be the anchor of the staff, but will not get the opening day start on Friday when the Tigers host Indiana to kick off a three-game series, but instead will be used on Saturday.

“(Gonzalez) threw game three for us on Sundays last year. He seems like the starter, at least in the past because of not having enough starters back, that can go the longest. We might like the second spot anyway,” Thompson said of Gonzalez’s role within the staff.

If Gonzalez’s slot is on Saturday, then who will throw the first pitch of the 2023 season? Thompson will hand the ball to sophomore right-hander, [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag].

Allsup was used in a relief role last season. In 23 appearances, Allsup struck out 36 batters and built an ERA of 3.38 in 29.1 innings of work. Thompson says that Allsup earned a starting role due to his efforts in the fall scrimmage with Alabama.

“He started our fall exhibition game against Alabama and was great,” Thompson said of Allsup. “He’s been hunting to get back there and I thought he was this past weekend.”

Thompson has announced that freshman left-hander [autotag]Drew Nelson[/autotag] will close out the weekend by starting Sunday’s game. Other pitchers that could see time in relief include [autotag]Tommy Sheehan[/autotag], [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag], and [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag]. Thompson shares what he hopes to see out of his first time starters, Allsup and Nelson.

“Maybe Allsup goes four or five innings max. I would say the same thing about Nelson,” Thompson said. “I think it’s the way baseball pitching has grown at all levels.”

Auburn will be looking to replace the production of [autotag]Trace Bright[/autotag] and [autotag]Mason Barnett[/autotag] in the weekend rotation, Gonzalez and Allsup should slide into their roles easily. Both were members of the D1Baseball Top 200 starting pitchers list alongside freshman [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag], who is expected to start next Tuesday’s game against North Alabama at Toyota Field in Madison.

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Auburn baseball narrowly misses top 25 in USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll

Eleven teams from the SEC were either ranked or received votes in the preseason poll.

The start of the college baseball season is nearly upon us and the SEC is once again loaded with talented teams. In the USA TODAY Sports coaches preseason poll five of the top six teams are from the SEC.

Auburn, fresh off their second run to the College World Series in three seasons, is not one of those teams as they just missed the top 25. Their 72 votes were just behind the 74 that the No. 25 Oregon Ducks received.

LSU will start the season as the No. 1 team with Tennessee (No. 2), Texas A&M (No. 4), Florida (No. 5), Arkansas (No. 6), Ole Miss (No. 7), and Vanderbilt (No. 9) all right behind them.

The Tigers will look very different than last year’s team. They will need to replace starting pitchers Trace Bright and Mason Barnett and key reliever Blake Burkhalter. The lineup will also need to be shuffled as Sonny DiChiara, Blake Rambusch, Brooks Carlson, and Brody Moore have all moved on.

[autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] will have some talented newcomers as the Tigers signed D1baseball’s No. 10 ranked freshman class.

The Tigers will have a chance to climb into the top 25 on Feb. 17 when they host Indiana for a three-game series in Plainsman Park to open the season.

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Auburn set to honor Frank Thomas with statue at Plainsman Park

Auburn Baseball will honor the SEC’s lone member of the Baseball Hall of Fame with a statue this upcoming season.

When college sports fans associate legends with Auburn University, their minds usually go to the three B’s… Bo, Barkley, and the Big Hurt.

[autotag]Bo Jackson[/autotag], who won the Heisman Trophy in 1985, has a statue at the entrance of Jordan-Hare Stadium alongside the program’s other two winners, [autotag]Pat Sullivan[/autotag] and [autotag]Cam Newton[/autotag].

Soon after Jackson’s statue was unveiled, a statue was constructed to honor [autotag]Charles Barkley[/autotag]. That statue now welcomes scholarship donors to Neville Arena on Auburn Basketball game days.

The only statue missing is one honoring [autotag]Frank Thomas[/autotag]. Those days are now numbered.

Thomas, who played baseball and football at Auburn in the late 1980s before enjoying an MLB career that spanned from 1990-2008, will have a statue unveiled at Plainsman Park in his honor on April 8, 2023, according to officials with Auburn Baseball.

Thomas was selected No. 7 overall by the Chicago White Sox during the 1989 Major League Baseball draft and would play for the White Sox from 1990-2005. He spent the final three seasons of his career with the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays.

During his 19-year career, Thomas hit 521 home runs and drove in 1,704 runs while batting .301. He was also a five-time all-star and a two-time winner of the Most Valuable Player award. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a first-ballot selection in 2014, and remains the SEC’s lone member.

Auburn Baseball head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] says that Thomas’ statue is a testament to the strong history of the program.

“I think it just gives another degree and shows how good our history is with Auburn baseball,” Thompson said in a recent interview with Auburn Undercover. “There are so many other players that I’m not mentioning, but none are bigger than Frank Thomas. For him to get our first statue, I think it’s in line with the other amazing Auburn men and women that have gotten statues.”

Thomas’ statue will be unveiled during a crucial SEC weekend for Auburn Baseball. The Tigers welcome fellow 2022 College World Series participant, Texas A&M, from April 6-8, and the statue reveal will be the icing on the cake.

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Josh Donaldson, New York Yankees advance to ALCS

Former Tiger Josh Donaldson’s World Series hopes are still alive after the Yankees’ win over Cleveland on Tuesday.

Auburn’s lone representative in the Major League Baseball postseason advances to the next round.

[autotag]Josh Donaldson[/autotag] and the New York Yankees returned to the Bronx on Tuesday to face the Cleveland Guardians in a winner-take-all Game Five of the American League Division Series. Behind a three-run home run by Giancarlo Stanton in the bottom of the 1st inning, the Yankees were able to take care of the Guardians, winning 5-1 to win the series.

Donaldson went 1-for-4 in the game and finishes the ALDS with a .250 average (4-for-16). His best game in the series came in game one of the series when he went 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk in the Yankees’ 4-1 win at Yankee Stadium.

Donaldson and the Yankees will have a quick turnaround, as they meet the Houston Astros for game one of the American League Championship Series beginning Wednesday. The best-of-seven series begins at 6:37 p.m. CT at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The game will be broadcasted live on TBS.

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Auburn Baseball earns first fall win thanks to epic comeback

Auburn scored six runs in the final frame to defeat Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Plainsman Park

Fresh off of their second trip to the College World Series in three tries, Auburn Baseball is picking up where they left off.

The Tigers hosted Louisiana Tech for a fall exhibition game on Saturday and needed an epic comeback to finish off the Bulldogs. Newcomer [autotag]Brody Wortham[/autotag] hit the go-ahead home run in the 10th inning to cap the six-run comeback, which ultimately lifted Auburn to a 12-11 win.

The home run was the second hit of the day for Wortham, who doubled in two runs earlier in the inning to begin the comeback.

Pitching was key in overcoming the deficit as well. Auburn relievers [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag], [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag], [autotag]Tommy Vail[/autotag] and [autotag]Chase Isbell[/autotag] did not allow a single Bulldog to reach base over the final five frames. Vail struck out all three batters faced in his one inning of relief work.

Joining Wortham in collecting two hits on the day were [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag], [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag], [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag], and [autotag]Gavin Miller[/autotag].

Auburn’s next fall exhibition game will take place on Friday, Oct. 18, when they welcome archrival Alabama, led by former [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] assistant Brad Bohannon, to Plainsman Park. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.

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