Auburn Baseball Carries 3-game Win Streak Into Oxford
The Auburn baseball team (18-19, 5-10) is currently riding a 3-game win streak as they head to Oxford, Miss. to face 16th ranked Ole Miss (28-10, 7-8).
Ole Miss picked up two midweek wins as they took down Memphis on Tuesday and Murray State on Wednesday this week as they prepare to face the Tigers this weekend. They are coming off a series lost to Alabama in Tuscaloosa after sweeping Arkansas at home the weekend before.
Auburn is coming off its first SEC series win of the season after taking 2-of-3 from Tennessee last weekend. They carried that momentum into a midweek win against Alabama State on Tuesday night as they now sit just a game under .500.
The Rebels rank 11th in the conference with a team batting average of .272, while putting up 6.2 runs per game. The three hitters you really have to pay attention to in this lineup are J.B. Woodman, Tate Blackman and Colby Bortles.
Woodman is hitting a solid .296 on the season with 27 runs, 5 home runs and 28 RBIs. Blackman carries a .328 average into this weekend’s series with 28 runs, 2 home runs and 26 RBIs. Bortles leads the team with 30 RBIs to go along with four long balls.
Where Ole Miss beats you though is on the mound. They lead the best conference in college baseball with a staff ERA of 2.97.
Brady Bramlett leads the starting rotation with an ERA of 2.19 in 49.1 innings with 65 strikeouts. David Parkinson got the Saturday start last weekend as he leads the team with an ERA of 1.42 in 31.2 innings and 26 strikeouts. Sean Johnson could get the ball on Sunday with an ERA of 2.40 in 30 innings pitched.
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The arms coming out of the bullpen are endless; Brady Feigl (2.36), Connor Green (1.72), Wyatt Short (2.05), Dallas Woolfolk (2.45), Will Stokes (3.10) and Andy Pagnozzi (3.82).
The Auburn offense is good as they rank second in the conference with a .317 batting average, but they’ll have to be at the top of their game against this Ole Miss pitching staff.
Anfernee Grier still leads the team with a .414 batting average, and he hit his eighth home run of the season on Tuesday, tying Niko Buentello for the team lead. Joshua Palacios is second on the team with an average of .408 with 34 runs and 5 home runs.
Melvin Gray has really come on strong lately after a slow start to the season, and he’s been a huge boost to this Auburn offense.
Pitching has been a problem though as the Tigers are 11th in the conference with a 4.27 ERA. Justin Camp was brilliant in a complete game shutout last weekend against Tennessee, bringing his ERA down to 3.30 in 57.1 innings with 39 strikeouts.
The rest of the rotation is a mess. We could see Cole Lipscomb start a game with his 6.34 ERA in 44 innings with 41 strikeouts. We could also see Ben Braymer who has an ERA of 2.87 in 31.1 innings with 30 strikeouts. Casey Mize will probably log some innings with his 3.63 ERA in 44.2 innings. Gabe Klobosits (4.18) and Andrew Mitchell (4.85) will also be leaned upon this weekend.
This will be a very challenging weekend for the Tigers as one of the best offenses in the conference will go up against one of the best pitching staffs in the country. This will be the best pitching staff Auburn has faced all season as they are very deep. They’ll have to take advantage of every opportunity they are given on offense if they’re to pick up another series win. At the least, Auburn has to come away with at least one win against Ole Miss this weekend to stay in the SEC Tournament picture.