Will Cannon – Syndication Server

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.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

Auburn snaps Hogs’ long win streak, wins series finale

An eventful 6th inning for Auburn led to a win over the No. 1 team in the land on Saturday.

The No. 24 Auburn Tigers (15-8, 1-5 SEC) earned its first SEC win of the season on Saturday by taking down the nation’s top team.

Trailing No. 1 Arkansas (19-3, 5-1 SEC) 5-1 heading to the bottom of the 6th inning, the Tigers rattled off six runs in the frame to go ahead, 7-5. Solid pitching over the final two innings, plus an insurance run in the 8th inning were enough to lift Auburn to an 8-6 win over the Razorbacks on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park in Auburn.

A record crowd of 5,087 fans watched the Tigers earn the win. A big crowd, plus great effort, led to the win says head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag].

“This is a group of guys that have done everything we have asked them to do the right way,” Thompson said postgame. “For us to come out being down 0-2 in a series at home and have more fans than we’ve ever had in the park’s history show up is pretty moving. For me personally it’s a big deal, and I know it means a lot to these players, but that’s Auburn. That’s the best version of us, and the fans were huge to provide some momentum in the ballpark today.”

The Tigers entered Saturday hoping to avoid a second-straight sweep to open SEC play. After three innings of scoreless play, Arkansas broke through in the 4th inning with a three-run home run and an RBI double to jump ahead, 4-0. [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] responded by sending Ike Irish home on an RBI single to cut the Razorbacks’ lead to 4-1.

Arkansas’ Kendall Diggs, who scored a run in the 4th inning, sent another run across in the top half of the 6th inning to extend the deficit to 5-1. In danger of letting the game get away from them, Auburn responded by scoring six runs in the bottom frame to take the lead.

[autotag]Mason Maners[/autotag] led off the inning with a home run, which sent Razorbacks pitching into a downward spiral. The next five batters would reach base with zero outs in the inning, which allowed two runs to score. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of McMurray, who crushed a three-run blast to push Auburn ahead, 7-5.

Over the next three innings, [autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] combined to allow just one earned run with three strikeouts to limit Arkansas’ bats. Irish hit a solo home run in the 8th inning to deliver the final blow, and securing an Auburn win.

Auburn recorded 10 hits on the day, with McMurray, Irish, Maners, and [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] leading the way with two hits each. McMurray drove home four runs while Irish scored two. On the mound, Joseph Gonzalez allowed four earned runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings in his first SEC start of the season. Carlson earned the win by tossing a three-hit, one-run effort in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Cannon slammed the door by striking out two batters without allowing a hit over the final two innings to grab the save.

Auburn will host Jax State for a midweek tilt on Tuesday in an effort to prepare them for another tough road test next weekend at Texas A&M. The Tigers and Gamecocks will battle at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday at Plainsman Park.

	Runs	Hits	Errors	LOB
No. 1 Arkansas	6	10	1	11
No. 24 Auburn	8	10	0	8

Auburn earns series win over UConn thanks to sweet swings from Irish, Fabian

The duo of Deric Fabian and Ike Irish combined to hit three home runs and score seven RBI in No. 22 Auburn’s series-clinching win over UConn on Sunday.

The concept of a “sophomore slump” is foreign to Auburn catcher [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag].

Irish earned Freshman All-America honors from four publications, as well as a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team after hitting .361 with six home runs and 50 RBI. This season, he is on track to break those numbers.

Irish also has the “clutch factor” working in his favor, as he crushed two home runs in No. 22 Auburn’s 8-2 series-clinching win over UConn on Sunday at Plainsman Park in Auburn. Irish delivered the final four runs of the game for Auburn by hitting a two-run shot to right field in the 6th inning to extend Auburn’s lead to 6-2 and capped the scoring in the 8th inning by crushing another two-run home run over the Huskies bullpen to push the lead to 8-2.

Joining Irish on the home run trail Sunday was [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag], who hit a home run over the left field monster in the 1st inning to put Auburn on the board. The long ball traveled 412 feet and gave Auburn an early 3-0 lead. The only run that Auburn scored that did not involve Irish or Fabian occured the bottom of the 6th inning on a UConn error. Irish hit his first home run of the day just two at-bats later.

[autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag] was strong in his second start at Plainsman Park by allowing just three hits over four innings of work. [autotag]Cam Tilly[/autotag] was credited with the win as he struck out two batters and allowed three hits on four innings of relief. [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] tossed the final inning, striking out a batter.

Auburn improves to 9-2 on the season while UConn falls to 3-6. The Tigers welcome Air Force to Plainsman Park this upcoming week for a two-game midweek set beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.

	Runs	Hits	Errors	LOB
UConn	2	7	2	10
No. 22 Auburn	8	12	0	7

WP- Cam Tilly (2-0) | LP- Stephen Quigley (0-2)

Auburn knocks off No. 20 Iowa behind late-inning surge

The Tigers scored six runs over the final three innings to stun Iowa on day one of the Jax College Baseball Challenge.

Opening day of the Jax College Baseball Classic in Jacksonville, Florida was filled with insanity that would last past midnight.

Auburn’s opening game of the weekend with No. 20 Iowa began over three hours later than its originally scheduled time due to delays in the first game of the day between Wichita State and Virginia. The delay appeared to cause the Tigers to begin sluggish, however, a late-inning surge would be enough to lift them to a 7-5 victory at 121 Financial Park.

Iowa starting pitcher Brody Brecht was as strong as advertised. He struck out 11 batters while allowing two hits, an earned run, and four walks in six innings of work. Brecht departed after throwing 99 pitches and hanging on to a 3-2 lead in Friday’s game, and it would not take long for Auburn to find its groove once he was out of the picture.

The Tigers stole the lead from the Hawkeyes over the final two innings thanks to three straight home runs. [autotag]Mason Maners[/autotag] welcomed Iowa’s Jack Whitlock to the game by smashing a solo home run during the first at-bat of the 7th inning to tie the game at 3-3. Three at-bats later, [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] nailed a two-run shot over the right-center field wall to push Auburn ahead, 5-3.

The party continued when [autotag]Christian Hall[/autotag] led off the 8th inning by tattooing a ball that landed just shy of the St. John’s River to extend the Tigers’ lead to 6-3. [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] capped scoring later in the inning with a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Javon Hernandez[/autotag].

Iowa’s Sam Petersen cut the Auburn lead to 7-5 with two outs in the 9th inning on a two-run home run, but the Hawkeyes could not manage to re-take the lead.

[autotag]Cam Tilly[/autotag] earned the win in relief for Auburn by striking out three of the seven batters he faced in two innings of work, allowing just one hit. [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] struck out two batters each in their relief appearances while allowing three combined hits. Starter [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] allowed three earned runs on five hits while striking out three batters in his second start of the season. His night was forced to end early as he threw 80 pitches over 3 1/3 innings.

Auburn returns to action Saturday to face Wichita State in day two of the Jax College Baseball Classic. First pitch is scheduled for noon CT, and will be broadcast live at D1Baseball.com and on the Auburn Sports Network.

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.

Closer Will Cannon named to NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list

Auburn’s top reliever has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named Auburn pitcher Will Cannon to their watch list for the “Stopper of the Year Award” this week.

The award, which is given to the nation’s top relief pitcher, has never been won by an Auburn Tiger since its inception in 2005.

Auburn’s best weapon out of the bullpen appeared in a team-leading 23 games last season, 20 of which came in relief. The junior accumulated 44 strikeouts in 49 innings, pitching to a 3-2 record and 4.41 earned run average.

He also picked up five saves, which was tied for fifth in the conference.

The JUCO transfer from Northwest Florida State is joined by 11 other SEC relief hurlers on the watch list.

Cannon’s campaign to become the first Tiger to win “Stopper of the Year” begins this evening when Auburn hosts Eastern Kentucky to open a three-game series at Plainsman Park.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

Examining Auburn baseball’s returning pitchers

Which returning pitcher will make the biggest impact on Auburn’s success in 2024?

The Auburn Tigers are looking to return to the postseason for the sixth time in seven seasons and will have plenty of weapons to make that dream a reality.

One of the most experienced units this season will be its pitching, which returns 13 arms from last season’s roster. Names such as [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag], [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag], [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag], and [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] are back for another season, and [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] is expected to return to the Friday night starter role after sustaining a shoulder injury last season.

The Tigers added several solid arms such as [autotag]Trevor Booten[/autotag], [autotag]Cam Tilley[/autotag], and [autotag]Griffin Graves[/autotag] from the 2023 recruiting class, but their returning pitchers bring plenty of wealth to the club. Between the 13 returning pitchers who saw action last season, the group accounted for 36 starts, 203 appearances, and 371 strikeouts.

Which returning pitcher will make the biggest impact on Auburn’s season? Here is a look at Auburn’s top returning pitchers ahead of the 2024 season.

Tigers check in at No. 15 in Perfect Game preseason poll

Auburn is expected to be one of the SEC’s most competitive teams this season.

The 2024 college baseball season is about to begin, and the Auburn Tigers are expected to be one of the SEC’s most competitive teams yet again.

Ahead of the new season, Perfect Game has revealed its preseason top-25 rankings and has included Auburn. This season, the Tigers check in at No. 15, which is one spot below North Carolina and one spot above Iowa.

The SEC is projected to be one of the toughest conferences in the sport this season. Auburn is one of eight teams from the SEC to be included in the top-25 poll from Perfect Game and is considered to be the lowest-ranked.

Arkansas is the highest-ranked SEC squad this season, checking in at No. 2 behind No. 1 Wake Forest. Defending College World Series champion LSU comes in at No. 3 while Florida is close behind at No. 4. Vanderbilt and Texas A&M round out the top 10 at No. 6 and No. 7 respectively.

Tennessee (No. 11) and South Carolina (No. 13) join Auburn in the top 15.

Auburn is poised to return to the College World Series for the third time in five seasons in 2024, and will have plenty of weapons to get them there. The Tigers return several key bats such as [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag], and [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag]. Pitchers such as [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag], [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag], and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] also return to the arsenal, and several exciting transfers such as [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] and [autotag]Christian Hall[/autotag] also join the roster.

The 2024 campaign begins on Friday, Feb. 16 against Eastern Kentucky. First pitch from Plainsman Park for the season opener has yet to be determined.

Auburn completes sweep of Missouri, ends regular season on 8-game winning streak

The Tigers are playing their best baseball right at the start of postseason play.

The Auburn Tigers are officially red-hot.

After taking both games in Friday’s doubleheader over Missouri, they had a chance to sweep their second straight SEC series. It wasn’t looking good as they entered the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 7-4 in Plainsman Park Saturday.

As it has all season Auburn’s offense came alive when they needed it most, exploding for five runs to take a commanding 9-7 lead and win the game. Auburn secured its fifth straight SEC series win and ended the season on an eight-game winning streak with the comeback. They are now 33-19-1 overall and 17-13 in league play.

“We absolutely played hard and kept going,” Auburn coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said. “When it opened up and we got an opportunity, we made the most of it.”

[autotag]Brody Wortham[/autotag] started the eighth inning off with a single and came around to score on a [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] double to get the scoring started. [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag] then singled Stanfield home to pull Auburn within one.

[autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] followed up a [autotag]Bobby Pierce[/autotag] strikeout with a double to put the go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs for [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag]. Missouri decided to intentionally walk him to load the bases for freshmen [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag].

Before he could do anything the Missouri pitcher threw a wild pitch that allowed Foster to score and make it a 7-7 game.

Irish then put Auburn ahead with a two-RBI single to make it a 9-7 game.

“We battled and we fought, we figured some stuff out and it’s all come together here lately,” Irish said. “I was not trying to do too much, stay with my approach and put the ball in play, especially with two strikes. They shifted on me and I hit it where they weren’t, and we got one to sneak through.”

He finished the game with a pair of doubles and two RBI.

Auburn was playing catchup the whole game after Missouri scored three runs in the first inning. They got two of the runs back in the second inning after [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] and Stanfield hit sacrifice flies to score Irish and [autotag]Kason Howell[/autotag], respectively.

Missouri added a run in the top of the third but Pierce responded with a double and scored on a Ware single to make it 4-3 in the bottom of the inning.

Missouri then played small ball in the fourth to get their fifth run of the game. They led the inning off with a bunt single, advanced on a ground out and scored on a two-out double.

The home Tigers quickly responded when [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] led the home half of the inning off with a solo home run to make it 5-4. Both pitching staffs settled in after that, Auburn reliever [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] retired the next 10 batters he saw before allowing a single and then a home run in the eighth.

The lefty allowed two runs in 3.2 innings of work and struck out three and gave his offense a chance to get back in the game.

“I just wanted to go out there and fill up the zone and give my offense a chance to get back in this game, which obviously they did,” Bauman said. “Coming back on a short day’s rest, I wanted to keep it easy, let my defense work, which is what I try to do, and it ended up working out pretty well.”

[autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] entered in the eighth and the only runner he allowed was one he hit. He struck out one batter as he earned the win.

Auburn has not lost an SEC game since May 5 and is set to open its SEC Tournament run on Tuesday against Missouri.

[lawrence-auto-related count=2 category=691343809]

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.

Auburn baseball holds off LSU to even series

A strong middle-inning effort was enough for Auburn to knock off the No. 1 team on Saturday night.

Auburn had no answer for LSU ace Paul Skenes in Friday night’s opener with No. 1 LSU and fell 3-0.

In game two of the series, the eagle flew well, which paved the way for the Tigers to also play well.

Auburn used patience and clutch hitting in the middle innings of Saturday’s middle game of the series with the Bayou Bengals to earn the 8-6 victory to even the series.

“We competed,” Auburn coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] said Saturday. “It was going to take a competitive spirit. Our crowd is creating an SEC environment that’s absolutely a factor in a ballgame.”

LSU began the game by jumping out to a 2-0 lead through the first three innings of the game. LSU’s Hayden Travinski and Tommy White each recorded an RBI single in the 2nd and 3rd inning respectively.

A trio of walks in the 4th inning put Auburn on the board. LSU pitcher Ty Floyd walked [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag] and [autotag]Brody Wortham[/autotag] to tie the game, and a third walk to [autotag]Nate LaRue[/autotag] by Gavin Guidry put Auburn ahead, 3-2.

Cade Beloso put LSU back in front with a two-RBI single in the top of the 5th inning, 4-3. Auburn then delivered its’ biggest punch in the 6th inning with three singles and a sacrifice fly to jump ahead for the second time in the game, 7-4.

Each team traded solo home runs in the 7th inning, with LSU’s Jordan Thompson scoring the final run of the game on a fielder’s choice in the 8th inning.

To close the game, [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] struck out three batters to solidify the 8-6 win and earned a three-inning save.

“The adrenaline was kicking,” Cannon said. “Facing the No. 1 team in the country, I definitely wanted it. Coach Thompson’s belief in me and the entire team is unreal. I thank him every day for that.”

In his return from injury, [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag] earned the win on the mound in relief by striking out the only batter he faced in the 6th inning. Starter [autotag]Tommy Vail[/autotag] had another successful start by allowing just one earned run and six hits in 4.0 innings of work, striking out eight batters.

Auburn goes for the series win on Sunday. First pitch between Auburn and LSU is set for 1 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

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 Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=691343809]