Tag: Plainsman Park

Major upgrades coming to Plainsman Park

Auburn University approved facility and seating upgrades for Plainsman Park, which is set to be completed for the 2024 season.

Auburn Baseball is definitely on the rise following two trips to the College World Series in three NCAA Tournaments, and Auburn University is dedicated to aide the program to build consistent success.

According to Jason Caldwell of Inside the Auburn Tigers, the Auburn University Board of Trustees has approved seating capacity upgrades in three areas of Plainsman Park.

The new project will include seating down the first base line, which will include a space for club seating as well as improved entry access to Plainsman Park from Donahue Drive.

The next area of added seating will be on top of the new Josh Donaldson Hitting Facility that is beyond the right field fence. Included in the right field terrace will be added concessions and restrooms.

Finally, an upgrade that Auburn baseball fans have inquired about for years, seating is coming to the green monster in left field. In addition to seats being added to the large outfield wall, there will be added concessions and restrooms for the area.

“We are thrilled and thankful that the Auburn University leadership approved the next phase of upgrades for Plainsman Park,” Coach Butch Thompson said to Inside the Auburn Tigers. “I believe in our student-athletes and their families, our staff, our fans, and our university, who have all played a role in getting us where we are.”

Earlier this month, Auburn Athletics Director Allen Greene pledged to support upgrades in Plainsman Park to reflect the recent success of the baseball program and to compete with the best facilities in the SEC for recruiting and fan enhancement purposes.

Auburn University architect Simon Yendle says that the funding for new upgrades will come in through donations, as well as bonds and athletic department funds. Caldwell added that if the bidding goes according to plan, construction for the upgrades will begin at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

[listicle id=50896]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=none image=https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Could Plainsman Park see upgrades in the future?

The home of Auburn Baseball could see enhancements that benefit both fans and athletes says athletic director Allen Greene.

Plainsman Park, home of Auburn Baseball, provides an intimate atmosphere for fans while displaying unique features such as the left field monster and the parking deck down the left field line which allows fans to see the game from a unique prospective.

However, the need for stadium upgrades is inevitable due to the recent success of the baseball program. The idea of stadium enhancements has been on the mind of Auburn Director of Athletics, Allen Greene, who says that he has been working on a plan to enhance the atmosphere at Plainsman Park for over a year.

In an interview with Jason Caldwell of Auburn Undercover, Greene says that Plainsman Park deserves upgrades from a fan perspective due to the overwhelming support that the program has received.

“The Auburn family has leaned into our baseball program, giving our student-athletes that extra juice,” Greene said. “The energy in Plainsman Park has been building for several years and we look forward to ratcheting it up a couple notches.”

What could those enhancements entail? Greene did not go into full detail of his overall plan, but mentioned adding premium seating in strategic places around the stadium. One of those spots would be on top of the performance facility in right field.

Auburn was one of four teams from the SEC West to earn a trip to the College World Series in 2022, which was their second trip to Omaha in three NCAA tournaments. Greene says that continued support of the program is instrumental to consistent success, and adding stadium upgrades is one way to show that the athletic department is bought in.

“The ability to be one the best eight teams year in and year out requires a great deal of alignment and support from athletics staff and our fans. Additionally, ensuring continuity on the baseball staff is of critical importance and we have worked with Butch (Thompson) to allow those pieces of the puzzle to stay in place.”

The announcement of stadium enhancements is expected to be made later this summer. Once announced, fans will have the opportunity to invest and play a role in the upgrading process.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=none image=https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[vertical-gallery id=49380]

Auburn to build Frank Thomas statue at Plainsman Park

Auburn legend Frank Thomas will be honored with a statue.

Auburn legend and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame member [autotag]Frank Thomas[/autotag] will be honored with a statue at Plainsman Park. The Auburn University Board of Trustees approved the statue in a meeting on Friday.

“At Auburn I became a man. I was blessed to have Coach Pat Dye and his staff who pushed me to new heights and instilled football toughness and a will to win that I never knew existed,” Thomas said.  “I was also lucky enough to have Coach Hal Baird and his baseball staff to help mold and prepare me for the next level. My Hall of Fame career that followed resulted from hard work, dedication and commitment. I was also taught at Auburn that there are no shortcuts to success, all of which I carry with me to this day. War Damn Eagle!”

Thomas signed with Auburn to play both football and baseball in the 1980s. He played the 1986 season with the football team before deciding to focus on baseball after willing All-SEC honors as a freshman.

He went on to win All-SEC honors as a sophomore and a junior and was a consensus All-American as a junior. He led the team in home runs and RBIs in each of his three seasons. He finished his Auburn career as a .382 hitter with 49 home runs and 205 RBI.

He was taken seventh overall by the Chicago White Sox in the 1989 draft. Thomas played 19 years, including 16 with the White Sox before concluding his career with Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.

He finished his MLB career with 2,468 hits, 521 home runs, 1,704 RBI, 1,484 runs scored, and a .301 batting average. He was a five-time all-star and was named the American League Most Valuable Player twice.

He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 and is the only SEC baseball player in Cooperstown.

[mm-video type=video id=01g0jftyaw9e89hqe9qr playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g0jftyaw9e89hqe9qr/01g0jftyaw9e89hqe9qr-0b45443e8e85d1d986ea9c6abb064cee.jpg]

[vertical-gallery id=7559]

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Auburn welcomes winless Rhode Island to Plainsman Park for weekend series

Auburn hosts four-game set over the weekend against a struggling Rhode Island team.

It’s baseball time on the Plains. The Auburn Tigers return to Plainsman Park to host a four-game set over the next three days as Rhode Island comes to town. The Tigers are 7-2 over their first nine games of the season, while the visitors are still looking for their first win of the 2022 season after starting 0-6.

Auburn will play one game on Friday, a doubleheader on Saturday, and close out this stretch of six games in six days on Sunday. The latter game of the series can be seen on SEC Network+. The starter for Sunday hasn’t been announced at this time.

So far this season, Sonny DiChiara is leading the Tigers offense with a ridiculous slash line of .500/.634/1.179 with 14 runs scored in 28 at-bats. DiChiara also owns half of the Tigers’ eight home runs this season and has driven in eight runs. Bryson Ware and Cole Foster lead the team with 13 RBIs apiece.

Probable Starters

  • Friday: Jordan Armstrong (1-0, 0.00) vs Ryan Twitchwell (0-2, 12.00)
  • Saturday Game 1: Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 3.38) vs Domenic Picone (0-1, 10.12)
  • Saturday Game 2: Trace Bright (1-0, 0.00) vs TBA
  • Sunday: TBA vs Trystan Levesque (0-1, 4.32)

Game Times

  • Friday: 6:00 p.m. CT
  • Saturday Game 1: 2:00 p.m. CT
  • Saturday Game 2: 45 minutes after Game 1 (7 innings)
  • Sunday: 1:00 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)

Auburn Notes

Tigers are 5-1 at home this season. They have outscored the opposition 59-17 at home. They average 9.8 runs per game while giving up just 2.8 runs.

Rhode Island Notes

The Rams have been outscored 21-62 in all six games this year. All of those games have come on the road. They have allowed nine or more runs in five of the six games.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=none image=https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @AuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Auburn to host UAB at Plainsman Park on Wednesday

Auburn baseball will return to action Wednesday night against UAB.

Auburn will continue their busy week with a mid-week game against UAB on Wednesday.

The Tigers are coming off a 13-7 win over Alabama State and won their last matchup with UAB, 6-5 last season.

Auburn scored an unearned run in the second inning and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning. UAB did not go down quietly though. The Blazers scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth on three hits, two walks and two wild pitches to take a 4-2 lead.

The score was the same heading into the eighth inning when Auburn’s offence came alive. The first tree base runners reached for Auburn, and they all scored to give Auburn a 6-4 lead.

The Tigers have won 30 of the 34 games between the two programs and are 16-2 at home against the Blazers.

Auburn is 6-2 this season and will play four more games over the next four days.

Game Details

Auburn set to host Alabama State at Plainsman Park on Tuesday

Auburn baseball is back on the diamond Tuesday as they host Alabama State.

For the first time since the 2016 season, the Auburn Tigers will play Alabama State. The first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. CT.

These two teams have met 10 times since the 2011 season with the Tigers winning nine of those games. Auburn has won five straight since Alabama State’s lone victory in 2014.

The Tigers trailed 4-3 going into the eighth inning on that day when the Hornets struck for five runs on two singles, two doubles. and a throwing error from Terrance Derick. He allowed two runs 0.2 innings of work, both were unearned runs.

Auburn will look to make it six straight against Alabama State after they took two of three against Yale over the weekend. The Hornets and Tigers played two games in 2016, both times Auburn scored 11 runs in each game.

So far this season the Auburn baseball team is 5-2. After dropping the opening game of the season to the Oklahoma Sooners, the Tigers won five straight before their extra-innings loss to Yale in the back half of the doubleheader. The Alabama State game is the first of six games over the next five days.

Game Details

Auburn baseball to host Yale in a three-game set at Plainsman Park

Game details for Auburn vs Yale this weekend at Plainsman Park.

It is time for the first home weekend set at Plainsman Park. The Auburn Tigers opened the homestand for a mid-week showdown with Troy on Wednesday.

Auburn defended the home turf to the tune of a 13-1 drubbing. It was the third-straight win after dropping the season opener to Oklahoma in the State Farm College Baseball Classic.

Now the Ivy Leaguers, Yale come to town for a three-game series that begins on Friday evening. This is the first baseball game of the season for Yale and the first since Mar. 11, 2020.

Pitching Matchups:

  • Friday – Sr. RHP Jordan Armstrong (0-0, 0.00) vs. Sr. RHP Grant Kipp (0-0, 0.00)
  • Saturday – So. RHP Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 0.00) vs. Jr. RHP Mike Walsh (0-0, 0.00)
  • Sunday – Jr. RHP Trace Bright (1-0, 0.00) vs. TBA

Game Details:

  • Friday at 6 p.m. CT
  • Saturday at 2 p.m. CT
  • Sunday at 12 p.m. CT

Broadcast Details

  • Radio: All games are broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network.
  • Stream: All games can be seen on SEC Network+, Watch ESPN.

Rival SEC baseball atmospheres prove Auburn is lagging far behind

While other SEC baseball stadiums have become atmospheres you have to witness, Auburn’s Plainsman Park remains as dull as ever.

If you’ve been watching the NCAA Baseball Tournament during the past week, you’ve noticed quite amazing atmospheres from Starkville to Fayetteville and many other places in the SEC.

It made me jealous. Not because these SEC teams were winning, in fact the complete opposite. I’m rooting for them. Yet what made me jealous was the fact that these baseball stadiums — Dudy Noble, Baum-Walker, Lindsey Nelson — are much better than Auburn has ever had and, possibly, ever imagined of having.

Let that sink in.

The scenes have been phenomenal. The crowd? Noisy as possible. Heck, Mississippi State set a Super Regional record with 14,385 fans on Saturday.

And what do we have at Auburn? It’s rarely filled to the 4,096 capacity that Plainsman Park holds. We have the three or four guys in that one section along the third-base line that continue yelling things that are as funny as the latest Adam Sandler movie. Oh, and that parking deck. Yes, we have the parking deck full of people drinking but too far away — and disinterested in the game — to make any impact on the home-field advantage.

Heck, we don’t even have outfield seating. I’ve seen some people on Twitter mention putting seats on top of the left-field wall and, yes, that would be a great start but when you see 4,000 people (again, more than we average at a game) in the outfield at an Ole Miss game throwing beer in the air after a home run, the Plainsman Park atmosphere looks like a Jefferson-Pilot noon game at Vanderbilt.

It’s not like the Tigers haven’t won. Taking this year out of the equation, the Butch Thompson era has brought back some glory to the program with a trip to the Super Regionals in 2018 and to Omaha for the College World Series in 2019.

We’ve seen the Auburn fan base turn Jane B. Moore Field into a true home-field advantage. Auburn Arena has become one of the most intimidating environments in college basketball.

So what is lacking for Auburn baseball? Why have SEC stadiums at Ole Miss, Mississippi State and elsewhere become so much wild while Plainsman Park resembles a 9 a.m. World History lecture in Haley Center?

I don’t have all the answers but I can suggest some.

Build a section beyond the right-field wall that allows students to bring coolers with their beverages of choice where they can also see the game. It worked to a degree with K Corner but … well … students tend to be more rowdy than alumni in their 50’s.

Make the game more of an experience than it is right now. Besides baseball, what is the really attraction of going to Plainsman Park right now? It’s not for a great atmosphere that you witness across the street at Jordan-Hare Stadium or Auburn Arena.

Of course, this might also just come down to fan indifference. Are Auburn fans truly bought into baseball? Do they even care if the Tigers succeed or not? It’s been some time since the program put out a successful winner consistently but the same can be true for many other sports that are better supported on campus.

Granted, it is hard to compare a regular season series to a Super Regional but, when it comes to attendance, the stadiums are full to almost full in other places where the Tigers are lucky to play in front of 2,000.

Yes, watching the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals have made me extremely jealous of the environments that other SEC teams enjoy and use to their advantage. There’s no reason Auburn can’t make Plainsman Park an atmosphere to fear.

Auburn returns to Plainsman Park for final non-conference series

Auburn will close its weekend non-conference schedule with a three-game series against Arkansas Little Rock at Plainsman Park.  

[mm-video type=video id=01f0m6799q9t5a4n5x playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f0m6799q9t5a4n5x/01f0m6799q9t5a4n5x-91492320bed38731eb8d1fce4e9078aa.jpg]

Auburn will close its weekend non-conference schedule with a three-game series against Arkansas-Little Rock at Plainsman Park.  

Auburn is coming off of a 6-5 win over UAB on Wednesday and will be looking to keep the offence rolling in their first ever matchup with the Trojans, who have won four of their last five games to improve to 5-5 on the season.

The Tigers lead the nation in runs scored (121), is one of just three teams to have seven players with multiple home runs and ranks in the top 10 nationally in eight other offensive categories.

Leading the charge for Auburn has been junior Tyler Miller. The first baseman has been a revelation for the Tigers leading them in hits (18), home runs (3), RBI (18), and ranking top 5 in batting average, OPS, runs and slugging.

Miller admitted he got off to a slow start in 2020 but was unable to break out of the slump due to the season being cancelled. He said he settled in against Alabama A&M.

“Ever since then I’ve just been seeing it well, swinging at the right balls – swinging at strikes mainly, not balls – and when I swing at it, I’m not missing it,” Miller said. “Seeing ‘em fall is a lot better than not seeing ‘em fall.”

The offences hot start has been important as the Tigers will turn to their fourth different weekend rotation through four weeks.

The Tigers will get back one of their original weekend starters back in senior right-hander Cody Greenhill (1-0, 2.89), who is expected to be back in his role as the Friday night starter for the Tigers after missing last week with a foot injury.

However, they will be without Richard Fitts and Jack Owen. Fitts is battling the same injury as Greenhill and could return for the series with Ole Miss to open SEC play next weekend. Owen could also return for that series as well.

Auburn will instead turn to two righthanders in Mason Barnett (1-0, 0.84) and Trace Bright (2-0, 1.12).   

Barnett will be making his third start and besides from walking eight batters has done a great job shutting down opposing offences. Allowing just two runs in 10.2 innings and has shown why he was the likely closer before injuries forced him to slide into a starting role.

Bright has also shined as a sophomore, allowing just three runs in 16 innings of work and striking out 13 batters to just three walks. He also had perhaps the best start of an Auburn pitcher against Texas A&M, throwing six shutout innings in their 6-1 victory.

The group will go up against a red-hot Little Rock offense that scored 19 runs in their last two games and is hitting .278 as a team. The offence is led by John Michael Russ who is hitting .500 on the year.

Little Rock is expected to send a trio of veterans to the mound in seniors Aaron Funk (0-1, 5.68) and Hayden Arnold (1-1, 8.49) and redshirt junior Jack DeCooman (0-1, 4.15).

Auburn games on Friday and Sunday’s will be on SECN+/ESPN+ and Saturday’s game will air on SEC Network while. Games will be 4 p.m. CT Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Auburn baseball just misses cut on USA Today Coaches Poll

Auburn baseball just fell short of being ranked in the initial USA Today Coaches Poll for the 2021 baseball season. 

Auburn baseball fell just short of being ranked in the initial USA Today Coaches poll for the 2021 baseball season.

The Tigers received 101 votes, just seven shy of Wake Forest who are the 25th-ranked team.

Auburn is ranked No. 23 by D1Baseball.

Auburn is scheduled to start the season on Feb. 19 with a series against Presbyterian in front of a reduced crowd at Plainsman Park.

Here is the complete Coaches Poll:

1 Florida 0-0 766 24 NR — 1/1
2 UCLA 0-0 701 2 NR — 2/2
3 Vanderbilt 0-0 670 4 NR — 3/3
4 Texas Tech 0-0 668 0 NR — 4/4
5 Mississippi 0-0 637 0 NR — 5/5
6 Louisville 0-0 631 1 NR — 6/6
7 Mississippi State 0-0 563 0 NR — 7/7
8 Arkansas 0-0 468 0 NR — 8/8
9 Louisiana State 0-0 454 0 NR — 9/9
10 Texas 0-0 425 0 NR — 10/10
11 Texas Christian 0-0 416 0 NR — 11/11
12 North Carolina State 0-0 407 0 NR — 12/12
13 UC Santa Barbara 0-0 365 0 NR — 13/13
14 Virginia 0-0 364 0 NR — 14/14
15 Miami 0-0 329 0 NR — 15/15
16 Tennessee 0-0 204 0 NR — 16/16
17 Georgia Tech 0-0 193 0 NR — 17/17
18 Oklahoma State 0-0 192 0 NR — 18/18
19 Arizona 0-0 190 0 NR — 19/19
20 South Carolina 0-0 152 0 NR — 20/20
21 Florida State 0-0 150 0 NR — 21/21
22 West Virginia 0-0 146 0 NR — 22/22
23 East Carolina 0-0 129 0 NR — 23/23
24 Georgia 0-0 111 0 NR — 24/24
25 Wake Forest 0-0 108 0 NR — 25/25
Auburn 101; Oklahoma 60; Duke 59; Arizona State 56; Alabama 52; Michigan 51; Central Florida 43; Clemson 40; Coastal Carolina 34; Dallas Baptist 31; Texas A&M 21; Tulane 13; Indiana 12; USC 11; Pepperdine 8; Oregon State 6; Long Beach State 6; San Diego State 5; Notre Dame 5; Baylor 5; UNC Wilmington 3; Texas State 3; Southern Miss 3; Boston College 2; Washington State 1; UC Irvine 1; North Carolina 1; New Mexico 1; Kansas State 1; Connecticut 1.