Tag: Joseph Gonzalez

Butch Thompson issues apology for Auburn baseball’s recent struggles

The Tigers fell to 2-10 in SEC play last weekend by dropping a home series to Tennessee, its’ fourth-straight conference series.

Auburn baseball’s rotten start to SEC play continued over the weekend, as the Tigers dropped two of three games to No. 4 Tennessee at Plainsman Park.

After winning Friday’s opener, the Tigers fell in the final two games in run-rule fashion, being outscored 31-7 in 14 total innings. Allowing plenty of runs to score in SEC play is becoming common, as they have allowed opponents to score 9.4 runs each game, compared to the 5.4 runs they score in each SEC contest.

Following Sunday’s 19-5, seven inning loss to the Volunteers, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] addressed the team’s recent struggles, especially on the mound. He took the time to apologize to fans and boosters for the team’s recent poor performance in SEC play.

“It’s my responsibility. We have a long way to go in this season. We knew this schedule was going to be a grind and test us. It has been a little more than that, especially on the mound. It’s my responsibility with us not being competitive on the mound or not being able to do some things. I just apologize to all the fans and stakeholders and everybody who loves, cares and supports our program. We’ll get with the guys and force them to figure out solutions and our staff to get better and meet expectations. We’ve worked hard from the time we got here to build something up and we’ve done this together. We’ll continue to try to get this group refocused. I’m intently asking for some ‘figure it out mentality’ from our coaches and players to show us a roadmap of how we can get better.”

The recent setbacks are not due to Thompson’s lack of coaching or scheming. Last weekend, Thompson attempted to shake up Auburn’s weekend pitching rotation by wiping the usual slate of [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag], [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag], and [autotag]Conner McBride[/autotag] clean and electing to start [autotag]Dylan Watts[/autotag] in Friday’s game before making a game-time decision for Saturday’s and Sunday’s starters.

The plan fell through, as Auburn’s final two starters ([autotag]Conner McBride[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag]) combined to pitch three full innings, allowing 11 earned runs on seven hits while walking four batters. The pitching staff collectively boasts a 9.18 ERA against conference foes and allows opposing batters to hit .341 off of them.

As Thompson said, there is plenty of season left to figure things out. The Tigers have six SEC series’ remaining, beginning with No. 16 Kentucky this weekend at Plainsman Park.

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Auburn announces weekend rotation for series vs. Texas A&M

For the first time in three weeks, Auburn head coach Butch Thompson is sticking with the same pitching rotation he did a week ago for the Tigers’ upcoming series against No. 4 Texas A&M.

For the first time in three weeks, Auburn head coach Butch Thompson is sticking with the same pitching rotation he did a week ago for the Tigers’ upcoming series against No. 4 Texas A&M.

[autotag]Conner McBride[/autotag], [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag], and [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] will toe the rubber against the Aggies. The former will open the series for the second straight weekend while Gonzalez closes things out on “get-away day” on Sunday.

McBride (3-1) has been a revelation for Butch Thompson’s Tigers this season, pitching to a 2.38 earned run average to lead all Auburn starters. The junior did everything he could to earn a win last Friday against Arkansas, but the Auburn bats weren’t able to help him out in a 1-0 loss at home.

As for Allsup, the junior will start on Saturday for the second consecutive weekend after starting every series openers prior. The Dothan, AL native put together his best start in a while last time out, shoving six innings of 3-run ball in a 6-5 loss.

Joseph Gonzalez ( rounds things out for a second consecutive weekend after missing out on the weekend rotation three weeks ago due to struggles to begin the season. He’ll look to secure back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

 

McBride. Allsup, Gonzalez, and the Tigers open up their series against Texas A&M in College Station on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6 PM central.

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Recap: Auburn surrenders late home run, drops game two to No. 1 Arkansas

For the second-straight game, the No. 24 Tigers lose to the nation’s top team by one run.

For the second game in a row, No. 24 Auburn fell short of its goal of earning a win over No. 1 Arkansas.

The Tigers and Razorbacks were tied 5-5 heading into the 9th inning. After recording the first out of the inning, Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick crushed the first pitch of his at-bat over the left field wall to push the Hogs ahead. The solo home run would prove to be the decisive blow, as Arkansas earned the 6-5 win over Auburn on Friday night at Plainsman Park in Auburn.

It marks the second-straight game that Auburn has dropped a one-run decision to Arkansas, as they fell to the Razorbacks 1-0 in Thursday’s series opener.

Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] hopes to see his team continue to give solid effort despite its recent string of tough losses.

“We don’t always have control over the result or outcome, but we do our effort,” Thompson said postgame. “That’s what I have to do the best job I possibly can of right now. Hopefully they’ll bust through and it’ll go their way.”

Friday’s game would see more production from the plate, but it was not enough for Auburn to earn the victory. Each team traded blows before Helfrick’s 9th-inning home run. The Tigers struck first in the bottom of the 1st inning when a groundout by [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] allowed [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] to score, pushing Auburn ahead 1-0.

The Razorbacks answered in the top of the 2nd inning with a solo shot by Ben McLaughlin to tie the game at 1-1. Auburn responded by adding two more in the 3rd inning before the Hogs produced three runs in the 4th to take a 4-3 lead.

A throwing error in the 5th inning followed by a 6th inning RBI single by Weiss pushed Auburn ahead again, 5-4, but Arkansas would score the game’s final two runs to take the win.

Auburn got a solid outing from its pitching staff in Friday’s loss. Starter [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] allowed five hits and three runs in six innings of work. [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] allowed three hits in 2 1/3 innings, and [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] closed the game by recording the final two outs of the game. The trio combined to strike out 11 batters.

At the plate, Cooper Weiss, [autotag]Mason Maners[/autotag], and [autotag]Carter Wright[/autotag] each recorded two hits.

Auburn looks to salvage a game in its series with Arkansas on Saturday. First pitch for the final game of the series is set for 1 p.m. CT, and can be seen on SEC Network+. [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] will battle Mason Molina on the mound.

Runs Hits Errors LOB
No. 1 Arkansas 6 8 2 6
No. 24 Auburn 5 10 2 10

WP: Cooper Dossett (1-0) | LP: John Armstrong (0-1) | S: Will McEntire (2)

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Recap: Auburn baseball explodes for 20-run win against Austin Peay

Recap: Auburn baseball explodes for 20-run win against Austin Peay

After suffering a blowout loss in Saturday’s game two of a three-game home series, Auburn returned the favor to A-Sun opponent Austin Peay by handing the Generals a 24-5 7-inning mercy rule loss.

Unfortunately, the loss on the diamond wasn’t even the worst of the day for Austin Peay, as the school failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament on the hardwood by losing to Stetson in the A-Sun Championship.

As for the baseball game, Auburn scored multiple runs in every inning. An 8-run third highlighted the rout. Auburn scored 7-more in the fifth to put the game completely out of reach.

Infielders Deric Fabian, Cooper Weiss, and Cooper McMurray all contributed 4 RBIs in the lopsided victory, while Gavin Miller led the way with 5 runs batted in. Every Tiger that stayed in the game for at least two at-bats touched home plate.

On the pitching side, Auburn coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] opted to go with a bullpen game instead of starting [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] after his recent struggles. The move worked, as   [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag], [autotag]Cam Tilly[/autotag], [autotag]Drew Nelson[/autotag], [autotag]Ben Schoor[/autotag], [autotag]Konner Copeland[/autotag], combined for 7 innings of 5 run ball.

Auburn may have struggled on Saturday, but it will be happy with another series win heading into a Tuesday road test against in-state rival Troy.

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Auburn splits Saturday twin bill with UConn

After splitting Saturday’s doubleheader, No. 22 Auburn and UConn will battle for the series win on Sunday afternoon.

After rain forced the postponement of Friday’s series opener, The No. 22 Auburn Tigers finally began its three-game weekend set with UConn on Saturday by playing two games at Plainsman Park.

The Tigers and Huskies split Saturday’s action. Auburn dominated game one while UConn got revenge on the Tigers in game two. Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] was pleased with his team’s performance in game one but referenced the first inning of game two as the low point of the day.

“I thought it was the best game we played all year in the first game. It was clean on the mound. Our at-bats were good throughout the ballgame. Defensively we were good. Just all the way around I thought it was our best game. Then I thought we followed that up 45 minutes later with our worst half inning that we’ve had all year. But we got a bunch of guys in two games, and I thought they kept playing. We chased a non-competitive top of the first the entire ballgame and still had a chance.”

Here’s a rundown of how Saturday’s action played out between Auburn and UConn.

Game One: Auburn 8 UConn 1

Runs Hits Errors LOB
UConn 1 6 0 7
Auburn 8 9 1 6

WP- Chase Allsup | LP- Garrett Coe | S- John Armstrong

UConn struck first during the top of the 1st inning when Jake Studley smashed a home run to right field. The Tigers responded by scoring eight unanswered runs to win the first game of the doubleheader.

[autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] each hit a home run and sent three runs home in the game. Peirce put Auburn on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning on a groundout to 2nd base, then later hit a two-run blast in the 5th inning. For Weiss, he gave Auburn the lead in the bottom of the 3rd with a solo home run to push Auburn ahead, 2-1. His final two RBI came off of a sacrifice fly in the 5th, and a single in the 8th.

[autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] earned his first win of the season in game one. He stuck out six batters while allowing six hits and an earned run on 85 pitches.

“I loved how Chase finished the game. I thought he was getting better. I just liked how he finished strong,” Thompson said of Allsup’s outing. “I do want them coming out on the attack, and I thought that’s what Chase did. I thought he settled and we saw some growth with him.”

[autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] struck out two batters while allowing a walk and no hits to earn the save.

Game Two: UConn 8 Auburn 4

Runs Hits Errors LOB
UConn 8 12 1 9
Auburn 4 7 1 14

WP- Gabe Van Emon | LP- Joseph Gonzalez | S- Brady Afthim

Saturday’s start is one that Auburn ace [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez [/autotag]would like to forget. Gonzalez got the nod for his third start of the season on Saturday, and was forced to grab pine after allowing six earned runs on four hits in just two-thirds of an inning.

Auburn cut UConn’s lead in half in the bottom of the 1st inning thanks to two home runs by [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] and [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] to trim the Huskies lead to 6-3. UConn kept its momentum alive by scoring a run over the next two innings to seal the game. Auburn added one more run in the 8th inning on a bases-loaded walk to McMurray.

[autotag]Christian Hall[/autotag] led the team in hits with two while McMurray scored three runs. In relief, Tanner Bauman and Christian Herberholz each struck out five batters.

Auburn will conclude its series with UConn on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Carson Myers will toe the rubber for Auburn while the Huskies will send Stephen Quigley to the mound.

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McMurray’s productive day fuels Auburn’s run-rule win over Wichita State

Cooper McMurray sent home six runs in Auburn’s win over Wichita State

Auburn baseball used a late-inning surge in Friday’s game with No. 20 Iowa to pull off a 7-5 win to open its stay at the Jax College Baseball Classic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Momentum stayed on the side of the Tigers in Saturday’s game with Wichita State as they powered through to knock off the Shockers, 19-8, to move to 2-0 on the weekend.

Auburn (6-0) was bound for greatness from the very beginning of the game. [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] led off the inning with a double, which paved the way for the next two batters to reach base via base on balls to bring [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] to the plate. On the first pitch, McMurray smashed a home run to right field to give Auburn a 4-0 advantage before the first out of the game was recorded.

Auburn outscored Wichita State 15-3 through the first four innings, then would add four more runs in the 6th inning to put the run-rule into effect. The Tigers ended with 10 total hits, with McMurray and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] each recording two.

What is even more shocking is the number of walks that were issued to Auburn batters. Nine Auburn batters had a base on balls as part of their statline, six of those were walked multiple times. [autotag]Cale Stricklin[/autotag] was walked three times in the game while players such as [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag], [autotag]Javon Hernandez[/autotag], and [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] had two.

[autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] picked up his second win of the season after striking out two batters and allowing three earned runs in 4.0 innings of work. [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag] led the staff in strikeouts with three in 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Auburn will play one final game in Jacksonville this weekend, a date with No. 11 Virginia on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. [autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag] will make his second start of the season for the Tigers after earning SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors after an eight strikeout day against Eastern Kentucky last Sunday.

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Auburn clinches weekend series with Saturday win over Eastern Kentucky

Bobby Peirce recorded three RBI while Joseph Gonzalez tossed five innings in Saturday’s 6-1 win at Plainsman Park.

It was a cold day on the Plains, but the Auburn bats were hot.

[autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] recorded two hits as Auburn (2-0) claimed the first series win of the season by defeating Eastern Kentucky (0-2), 6-1 Saturday at Plainsman Park.

Auburn’s offense began, and ended, with Peirce on Saturday. Peirce put Auburn on the board first with a two-out triple in the 3rd inning to score [autotag]Javon Hernandez[/autotag] and [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] to push Auburn ahead, 2-0. He put a cap on scoring in the bottom of the 8th inning with a solo home run to extend Auburn’s lead to 6-1.

Ike Irish was Auburn’s offensive hero in Friday’s opener, and Peirce took control in game two. Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] is pleased with the versatility of his offense through two games and hopes to see the trend continue.

“Two outs, two strikes, and (Peirce) hit that triple to get us going,” Thompson said Saturday. “We really needed that. I hope that this is an offense that we can keep talking about a different guy every night. I hope that’s how we’re built.”

Following Peirce’s triple in the 3rd inning, [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] crushed his first home run of the season over the right field wall to extend Auburn’s lead to 4-0. Auburn’s fifth run of the game came off the bat of Hernandez, who grounded out to the shortstop to allow [autotag]Sam Robertson[/autotag] to score from 3rd base.

Eastern Kentucky’s lone run was scored in the 5th inning when DJ Sullivan doubled home Santiago Peralta. Sullivan led the Colonels in hits with two.

Saturday also marked the return of [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] to the mound after missing 364 days due to a shoulder injury. He struck out two batters, walked three, and allowed an unearned run in five complete innings. [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag], [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag], and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] combined to strikeout seven batters through the final four innings from the bullpen. Every out that Cannon recorded in the 9th inning was a strikeout.

The Tigers go for the sweep of Eastern Kentucky Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Auburn’s [autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag] will battle EKU’s Rian Yates on the mound.

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Auburn earns season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky in run-rule fashion

Ike Irish records four hits as Auburn crushes Eastern Kentucky to open the season.

Friday’s season opener gave the early impression of an offensive slugfest before Auburn ran away late.

Auburn (1-0) led Eastern Kentucky (0-1), 8-5 through five innings before scoring nine runs over the 6th and 7th innings to put the run-rule into effect. The Tigers outhit the Colonels, 11-7 on its way to 17-6 season-opening win Friday night at Plainsman Park.

A sold out crowd watched Auburn earn its first win of the season, and were entertained early as the Tigers scored seven runs in the first two innings.

A bases-loaded walk put Auburn ahead, 1-0 in the bottom of the first. The walk led to a three-run blast by [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] to extend the lead to 4-0. Eastern Kentucky answered in the top of the 2nd inning with two home runs to trim Auburn’s lead to 4-3. The Tigers took control of the game again in the 2nd inning with the highlight being [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag]’s two-run single to extend the lead to 7-4.

That single would provide two of the four RBI that Irish produced on Friday, with the final two scores coming off of a tape-measure solo blast in the 4th and a groundout in the 6th to score [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag].

Auburn solidified the game over the 6th and 7th innings. A groundout, an error, and two bases-loaded walks led Auburn to a five-run 6th inning. Auburn experienced its fourth bases-loaded walk in the 7th inning, which made way for a three-run double by [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] to end the game.

Irish led the way in hits with four, and joined Stanfield by recording four RBI in Auburn’s first win of the season. Weiss was next in line with two hits and three RBI. [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] earned the win in relief by striking out one batter in 1 1/3 innings. Starter [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] went 4 2/3 innings, where he allowed five hits and three earned runs while striking out five batters.

Auburn goes for the series win Saturday. [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] returns to the mound for Auburn, going against Quinton Hall of Eastern Kentucky. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.

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Get to know Auburn’s Opening Weekend pitching rotation

Ahead of this weekend’s opening series, Auburn baseball has announced that the pitchers for the three games will be Chase Allsup, Joseph Gonzalez and Carson Myers.

Auburn baseball is set to open up its 2024 campaign this weekend, taking on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels for the first time ever. Now, just the Tigers have officially announced who the starters will be for the series.

Auburn will throw out juniors [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag], [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] and [autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag]. All three pitchers were starters in 2023, making it an all veteran rotation to start the season.

Allsup returns to the staff this year after making 20 appearances in 2023, with eight of those being starts. The right-hander posted a 1-2 record and a 5.47 ERA in the 49.1 innings that he pitched. He will look to have a better strikeout-to-walk ratio this season after striking out 49 hitters, but giving 33 free passes. As a full-time starter this year, he should have a better sample size to improve his game as the season progresses.

Gonzalez will get back on the bump Saturday after missing nearly all of last season with a lingering shoulder soreness. In his one outing, he threw for just five innings and faced just one batter over the minimum. He gave up only two hits and struck out one batter. Coming off of his medical redshirt, he looks to be a dominant force in the Tigers’ rotation.

Myers will close out the series on Sunday in his first start in an Auburn uniform. The UAB transfer posted a 3-5 record and a 3.52 ERA in 14 appearances last season, with 13 of those being starts. He pitched 71.2 innings last year, striking out 70 batters and walking 34. Myers is also looking to bring down his number in the hit-per-nine category, posting a 7.5 last year. He hopes of being a dominant force in the SEC this year as a new face to the league.

The Tigers’ first game with the Colonels is set for 6 p.m. CST on Friday, Feb. 16. Games two and three will be on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and both will start at 1 p.m. CST.

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Allsup, Gonzalez listed among top MLB draft prospects by D1Baseball

Expectations will be sky-high this season for Auburn pitchers Chase Allsup and Joseph Gonzalez.

Auburn baseball is set on another trip to Omaha this year and will rely on solid pitching to fuel its quest.

[autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] and [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] are expected to anchor the Tigers’ weekend rotation and hope to celebrate another successful season by being selected in the 2024 MLB draft. D1Baseball projects both players to go high in this summer’s draft, as they have included them in their updated Top 200 D1 College Prospects rankings. Gonzalez sits at No. 163 while Allsup checks in at No. 179.

Allsup saw his role change as a sophomore in 2023, going from a solid relief option to a weekend starter. In 20 appearances last season, Allsup struck out 49 batters while issuing 33 walks in 49.1 innings of work. He earned the starting nod in eight games last season, with his longest outing coming against Missouri on April 19, where he struck out seven batters and allowed three hits of shutout baseball over 7.0 innings.

As for Gonzalez, he hopes to make a comeback after missing most of last season due to a nagging shoulder injury. He made one start last season, a winning effort over Indiana on opening day. He tossed 5.0 innings of two-hit baseball while keeping the Hoosiers off the board. He boasts a career ERA of 4.08 with 85 strikeouts and 25 walks issued in 37 total appearances.

The Tigers open the season Friday at Plainsman Park against Eastern Kentucky. First pitch of the season opener is set for 6 p.m. CT.

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