Struggling LSU Comes to Plainsman Park to face Auburn Baseball This Weekend
After a huge win in the Capital City Classic over rival Alabama, Auburn baseball (12-13, 1-5) will now return home to face a struggling LSU team (16-8, 2-4).
The Tigers from Baton Rouge have lost three of their last four games, and five of their last eight. They’re coming off a terrible home loss to Tulane 7-1 on Tuesday night. They also dropped 2-of-3 at home against Alabama in their first SEC weekend. On top of that, they’re just 2-3 on the road this season, so there are a lot of reasons to have hope as Auburn takes on the 19th ranked team in the country this weekend.
LSU is middle of the pack in the SEC in hitting with a .295 average and 159 runs scored, while Auburn is second in the conference with a .326 average and they lead the conference with 301 hits, while they’ve scored 194 runs on the season.
Pitching-wise, Auburn is next to last in the SEC with a 4.15 ERA, and LSU is ninth at 3.75. On paper you could say that Auburn looks like the better team, until you look at their respective records.
Antoine Duplantis leads LSU with a .370 average, while Beau Jordan is at the top in RBIs with 19 and second with a .341 average. Jake Fraley is the team’s best offensive prospect with a .340 average, 26 runs scored and 14 stolen bases.
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Jared Poche is one of the best draft prospects in the SEC and he leads the LSU rotation on Friday night with a 2.55 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. Alex Lange leads the team in strikeouts with 45 in 36.1 innings, but he has the highest ERA of their weekend starters at 4.21. John Valek III is 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 34.2 innings.
Caleb Gilbert has been solid out of the bullpen with a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings with 23 strikeouts. Hunter Newman and Alden Cartwright both have an ERA under three with double-digit innings pitched and double-digit strikeouts.
For Auburn, their success this year is simple – when they’re good on offense they win. Anfernee Grier and Joshua Palacios have done their part atop the lineup hitting .434 and .411 respectively. Grier leads the team in runs scored with 35 and home runs with seven.
Niko Buentello has been solid all year as well with a .380 average and a team-high 34 RBIs. Jordan Ebert, Cody Nulph, and Blake Logan all boast batting averages above .300 on the year as well.
Pitching has been the issue as of late. Justin Camp had a better outing last week against Arkansas, but his ERA is still up there at 4.71. Casey Mize has the best ERA of the weekend starters at 3.56, while Cole Lipscomb was able to bring his ballooned ERA down to 5.27 after a solid start last Sunday against the Razorbacks.
Ben Braymer could have a big impact this weekend as he has a 2.86 ERA in 22 innings with 17 strikeouts. Gordon Cardenas has proven to be a reliable arm out of the bullpen with a 0.59 ERA in 15.1 innings with 11 strikeouts.
Despite losing 2-of-3 to Texas A&M last weekend, LSU managed to hold the Aggies’ offense to 6, 2 and 3 runs over the weekend in College Station. The Auburn offense will have to be in high gear if they’re going to break out against that pitching staff.
Weekend Schedule – Auburn (12-13, 1-5) vs. LSU (16-8, 2-4):
Friday – 6 p.m. CT – Plainsman Park – SECN+
Probable Starters: Jared Poche (2-3, 2.55 ERA, 30 K) vs. Justin Camp (1-1, 4.71 ERA, 28 Ks)
Saturday – 3 p.m. CT – Plainsman Park – SECN+
Probable Starters: Alex Lange (2-1, 4.21 ERA, 45 Ks) vs. Casey Mize (1-2, 3.56 ERA, 20 Ks)
Sunday – 1 p.m. CT – Plainsman Park – SECN+
Probable Starters: John Valek III (4-1, 2.34 ERA, 27 Ks) vs. Cole Lipscomb (1-2, 5.27 ERA, 27 Ks)