The 3 Strikes: Can Auburn baseball 'figure it out' and bounce back?
Now .500 in SEC play and fresh off a brutal midweek loss, Butch Thompson's Tigers have a massive opportunity this weekend vs. Kentucky.
Since we started, one of the most frequently asked questions we’ve gotten at The Auburn Observer is “When are you going to cover baseball?”
Well, that time has come. Henry Patton will be contributing some Auburn baseball coverage to The Observer for the rest of the way, as the Tigers look to reclaim their momentum with eyes toward the postseason.
While I (Justin) have never covered Butch Thompson’s Tigers before, Henry has some past experience writing about them and will bring his ball-knower pedigree to the diamond for The Observer.
For his first piece, here’s Henry on Auburn’s weekend series against Kentucky that starts tonight over at Plainsman Park.
AUBURN — It’s hard to find a sport with higher variance than college baseball.
Just take a look at the 22-10 (6-6 SEC) Auburn Tigers.
In the just last two weeks of play, the Tigers were swept by Alabama and followed that up by getting run-ruled by a Georgia Tech team that Auburn had defeated 9-2 just two weeks earlier.
The ship seemed to have been righted last weekend with a series win over a top-15 Arkansas team that saw the Tigers dominate two games at Plainsman Park.
But that series was quickly followed by a 15-4 midweek drubbing at the hands of Jacksonville State.
It’s that most recent loss to the in-state Gamecocks that forced Butch Thompson and his team to do some soul-searching immediately after the final out was recorded.
Thompson and his team met for about 15 minutes to discuss basically what went wrong in Tuesday’s game and why. The players were 100% honest, even if it meant giving answers that Thompson didn’t totally want to hear.
“I don’t think anybody that loves our program or is in our uniforms should feel good about Tuesday,” Thompson said on Thursday. “I think we tried to hit that head on immediately to not let that spill into being ready to go and having a successful home series this weekend, but that’s part of playing this league. It doesn’t matter if you’re a prospect, it doesn’t matter if you’re just a ballplayer, none of that matters. You’re put through this league to see if you can absolutely stand up, and you’re put through this league to hopefully figure out how you’re going to be able to handle this the next time.
“So everybody that’s squeezing a bat a little tight or trying to do too much, the game don’t care. The game’s just going to keep coming at you in a wave, and it’s telling you, ‘Hey, man, are you gonna wake up and learn lessons? Or not?’ Because this is a separator.”
Tuesday’s loss was bad, no doubt. But, long-term, it could end up being a blessing in disguise for the currently floundering Tigers.
“A lot of guys had really good things to say,” left fielder Logan Gregorio said on Tuesday following the loss. “Biggest focus is we need to make sure we’re playing for the name on the front instead of the name on the back of our jerseys. And I’m confident that we’ll do that. … We’re going to make sure we keep the team centered from here on out and continue to grind every single day, because we know it’s a privilege that we wear Auburn on the front of our jersey.”
Unfortunately for Auburn, games are only going to get more difficult and pressurized as the Tigers welcome Kentucky to Plainsman Park this weekend. Kentucky is a team that is tied for seventh in the SEC at 6-6, with the Tigers and two other teams.
Simply put, it’s put up or shut up time for Auburn.
“If you want to find pressure, it’s readily available if you’re in the arena,” Thompson said while previewing the Kentucky series. “And it’s just how you learn how to deal and grow with it.
“Hopefully, Tuesday will be a moment you look back on and that we can put our best foot forward here and start figuring out strategies.”
For a full breakdown of this pivotal weekend series, here is the first edition of The 3 Strikes.
Better hope that the JSU result was a mirage
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