Tag: Tim Hudson

Belyeu, Irish grab postseason All-SEC honors

A pair of young Auburn sluggers were recognized by the SEC for the efforts on the diamond this season.

The SEC has released its baseball awards for the 2024 season, and two young Auburn sluggers are among the recipients.

[autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] and [autotag]Cade Belyeu[/autotag] were instrumental in producing runs this season for Auburn by combining to hit 22 home runs and score 79 runs for Auburn. Because of their efforts, Irish and Belyeu earned All-SEC honors, the SEC announced Monday.

Irish earned first-team All-SEC honors by avoiding the dreaded “sophomore slump.” He hit for a team-leading .319 average with 59 RBI and tied [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] for the team lead in home runs with 14. Irish played three positions for the Tigers this season: catcher, right field, and designated hitter. As a catcher, Irish threw out nine runners, which was third-best in the SEC.

According to Auburn athletics, Irish became the fourth-fastest player in program history this season to reach 100 career hits, doing so in 68 career games. He joins [autotag]Scott Pratt[/autotag], [autotag]Todd Faulkner[/autotag], and [autotag]Tim Hudson[/autotag] by reaching the feat in less than 70 games. He grabs a first-team nod as a designated hitter, becoming the first Auburn DH to grab a first-team spot since [autotag]Sonny DiChiara[/autotag] in 2022.

Belyeu, a native of Auburn, took home All-SEC Freshman glory after hitting .284 with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 38 games with 26 starts. He did most of his damage in the last month of the season by hitting five home runs and scoring 10 runs over his final eight games. Out of his eight home runs, six were against SEC pitching.

Georgia‘s Charlie Condon earned SEC Player of the Year while Hagen Smith of Arkansas took home SEC’s Pitcher of the Year and Nick Mingione of Kentucky was named SEC Coach of the Year.

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Tim Hudson leaves Auburn baseball to become head coach at local high school

Tim Hudson will be the head baseball coach at Lee-Scott Academy, a private school in Auburn.

[autotag]Tim Hudson[/autotag] may be leaving the Auburn coaching staff but he will not be going far.

The Tigers legend was named the head baseball coach at Lee-Scott Academy on Monday. The move will allow him to coach his son, who is a rising senior. Lee-Scott is a private school in Auburn.

“Auburn University has been special to my family and I for nearly three decades, and I couldn’t thank Butch [Thompson] and his staff more for the opportunity to give back to the program during the last three seasons,” Hudson said in a statement. “Being able to help lead these young men back to Omaha was something I will cherish forever.

“We have two daughters attending Auburn this fall, and our son will be a senior in high school. It is time for me to devote my time and energy to my family during this important and busy season of their lives,” Hudson added. “Auburn baseball is in great hands, and I look forward to cheering them on from Plainsman Park. War Eagle!”

Hudson has been replaced by [autotag]Daron Schoenrock[/autotag], who coached [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] at Birmingham Southern and spent the past 18 seasons leading the Memphis Tigers.

Hudson spent the last three seasons as Auburn’s pitching coach after being a two-way star for the Tigers as a player. He hit .396 with 18 home runs and 95 RBI in the 1997 season. He was just as good on the mound, going 15-2 with a 2.97 ERA and striking out 165 batters.

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Auburn Baseball hires Daron Schoenrock as pitching coach

Schoenrock takes over for Tim Hudson, who was recently named the head baseball coach at Lee-Scott Academy.

Auburn Baseball and head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] have announced their first hire for the 2023 season.

Auburn has hired [autotag]Daron Schoenrock [/autotag] as the new pitching coach, who comes to Auburn to replace outgoing pitching coach, [autotag]Tim Hudson[/autotag].

Schoenrock led the Memphis baseball program for 18 years prior to his arrival on the Plains. He also carries plenty of SEC experience as well, as he served as pitching coach for Kentucky, Georgia, and Mississippi State over a span of seven seasons before taking the head coaching job at Memphis.

He also has deep ties with Thompson as well.

“I could not be more excited to welcome my college pitching coach to our staff at Auburn,” Thompson said in a press release from Auburn Athletics. “Daron and his wife Carol have impacted so many along their baseball journey. He is an elite teacher with an incredible track record. Our pitchers will be cared for and developed at the highest rate possible in college baseball.”

Schoenrock coached Thompson during his time at Birmingham Southern College during the 1991 and 1992 seasons. Schoenrock says that he is excited to add to the growth of the program under Thompson.

“It is a tremendous honor to join Coach Thompson and the entire Auburn baseball family,” Schoenrock said. “The culture he has built, the staff he has assembled, and the success they have achieved are second to none. I can’t wait to build upon the outstanding groundwork that has been established for Auburn Tiger pitching by Coach Thompson and Coach Hudson.”

Schenrock takes over for Tim Hudson, who served as pitching coach under Thompson for three seasons. During Hudson’s tenure, Auburn pitchers struck out 1,330 batters over a span of 1,202.1 innings. In 2022, Auburn recorded 666 strikeouts, which set a program record.

Hudson leaves Auburn to take over the head coaching position at Lee-Scott Academy. He says that he is thankful for Coach Thompson allowing him to be a part of the coaching staff, but the 17-year MLB veteran says that he wants to spend more time with his family.

“We have two daughters attending Auburn this fall, and our son will be a senior in high school. It is time for me to devote my time and energy to my family during this important and busy season of their lives,” Hudson added. “Auburn baseball is in great hands, and I look forward to cheering them on from Plainsman Park.”

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Auburn drops game to Arkansas, ending season in College World Series

A magical run came to a heartbreaking ending in Omaha on Tuesday night.

The Southeastern Conference’s “surprise team” from the 2022 season wrote their final chapter on Tuesday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.

Auburn, who had just won their first game in the College World Series since 1997 a day prior, could not overcome the experience of fellow SEC squad, Arkansas on Tuesday, dropping the game 11-1, thus closing the book on a magical run.

“It was a great experience for every one of us. We found a ton of positives out of this season,” said head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] following the game. “Our people stepped up to the plate for this team before we ever played a game and I’ll never forget that. I thought we returned the favor at the end of the postseason.”

Arkansas jumped ahead early in the first inning on two quick hits. Braydon Webb would lead off the game by reaching base on a double to left center field, then would score one at-bat later on a single by Peyton Stovall, giving the Razorbacks the 1-0 lead. After a meeting with pitching coach [autotag]Tim Hudson[/autotag], Auburn starting pitcher [autotag]Mason Barnett[/autotag] would sit down the next three batters in order, earning two strikeouts.

Auburn kept Arkansas off of the scoreboard in the 2nd inning, but the Razorbacks would catch wind again over the next two innings. Arkansas scored seven runs over the 3rd and 4th innings to gain control of the game with an 8-0 lead. The Razorbacks scored a run in the 6th, and two more in the 9th to cap scoring.

Auburn’s lone run came in the 7th inning, when [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] led off the inning with a line drive home run off of the left field foul pole.

Despite ending the season with a lop-sided loss, Auburn Baseball defied the odds that were given to them during the preseason. The Tigers went from being picked to finish 7th in the SEC West, to ending the season as one of the final five teams left standing at the College World Series.

Head coach Butch Thompson feels that the foundation has been laid, and he expects to see this program continue to grow.

“You can look at pen to paper from the time we’ve been here to this second and see some growth,” said Thompson. “I absolutely think we are on the cusp of doing amazing things consistently. That’ll be the driving force, trying to leave this program in a better place.”

Auburn ends the 2022 season with a 43-22 record. Some of the accomplishments that the Tigers were able to claim this season include posting a winning record in the SEC, hosting an NCAA regional for the first time since 2010, win a regional at home for the first time since 1999, winning the Corvallis Super Regional to set up their second trip to Omaha in three NCAA Tournaments, and winning a College World Series game for the first time in 25 years.

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Watch: Auburn legends, coaches appear in Auburn Unity video

Some major Auburn legends along with current coaches appear in this video.

The CEO of Apple, an Oscar winner, a former NBA MVP and, oh yeah, Bo Jackson appeared in a video released by Auburn athletics on Thursday urging everyone to take part int he new Together We Will initiative and to buy an Auburn Unity t-shirt.

We also can’t forget Gus Malzahn, Bruce Pearl and Tim Hudson as well.

From the athletic department’s press release:

In collaboration with the Auburn Athletics Task Force on Inclusion and Race Relations, and in response to itsrecommendations made on August 28, Auburn Athletics announced the Together We Will initiative on Thursday.  The goal of the initiative is to support and advance the Auburn Family in its quest toward positive action on diversity, equity and inclusion.

As a part of the Together We Will initiative, Auburn athletic teams will incorporate the Auburn Unity Symbol on their uniforms, equipment, warm-up gear or travel bags. The logo serves as a visual representation of people from all walks of life coming together and uniting as one.

“Every family is made up of people with individual thoughts and at times family members disagree. Families also love and support each other despite those disagreements.  Through sport, there is an opportunity to acknowledge differing points of view and unite for a greater purpose,” director of athletics Allen Greene said.  “The Auburn Unity Symbol represents the oneness we seek to instill in our teams and throughout our community.  I applaud the leadership of our coaches, staff and student-athletes for their efforts. Lastly, I encourage the Auburn Family to embrace what makes us unique and enthusiastically support Together We Will.”

Fans are encouraged to support the initiative by purchasing the official Auburn Unity shirt through the AU Team Shop.  A portion of proceeds will go to the newly created Together We Will Scholarship, created to support the University’s efforts to achieve a robust and diverse enrollment of students while enhancing access, affordability and academic quality.  Supporters can also make a financial contribution directly to the scholarship.

“This is an important time for the Auburn Family to unite together towards a common cause,” football coach Gus Malzahn said.  “The unity t-shirts will help raise money to make a difference towards scholarships that promote diversity and inclusion. I encourage everyone to join together and support this initiative.”

“At Auburn University, we’re here to make a difference,” men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl said. “Auburn is the loveliest village on the plains, unique in its character, and we want to share it with everyone. Through individual contributions and the sale of t-shirts, we are going to create scholarships to recruit and retain students, promote diversity and inclusion and make Auburn an even better university. Together we will.”

More information related to the Together We Will initiative, as well as other sustainable action items from the Auburn Athletics Task Force on Inclusion and Race Relations will be announced throughout the 2020-21 academic year.