AUBURN, Ala. – Set to face its fifth top-10 opponent in the last six weeks, No. 5 Auburn (31-14, 11-10 SEC) travels to Knoxville to take on No. 7 Tennessee (36-9 13-8 SEC) Friday through Sunday. First pitches at Lindsey Nelson Stadium are scheduled for Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT, Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.
“This is five of our last six weeks against a top-10 team. Again, it’s just a reminder to our ballclub that it’s not who we play but how we play. That’ll be important this week,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “I think the blessing of our schedule is that we’ve seen everything. We’ve been on the road. We’ve played on turf. I think we’re tested. I think we’re prepared. I don’t think we have to focus on anything but the game because of what the schedule has already produced and helped us see.”
The games will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on Wings 94.3 FM. They will also be streamed digitally on SEC Network+.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – Sr. RHP Samuel Dutton (5-2, 2.48) vs. Jr. LHP Liam Doyle (7-1, 2.23)
Saturday – So. RHP Cam Tilly (2-1, 4.60) vs. Jr. RHP Marcus Phillips (3-3, 2.93)
Sunday – TBA vs. Jr. RHP AJ Russell (0-0, 2.45)
QUICK HITTERS
Auburn is one of two teams - joined by Texas - to win seven SEC series in the last nine conference weekends dating back to the final two weeks of last season.
Tennessee represents Auburn’s sixth top-10 opponent of the season, including its fifth in the last six weeks, three of which have come on the road.
Auburn has the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country, and the team’s .552 opponent win percentage in SEC play is one game shy of Missouri (0-21) for the highest in the league.
The Tigers are 13-9 against ranked opponents this season, including 4-7 away from home.
Friday night starter Samuel Dutton leads the team and ranks top 10 in the SEC in ERA (2.48), innings pitched (61.2) and strikeouts (73).
In his last four starts, Dutton has turned in a 1.46 ERA - four earned runs in 24.2 innings pitched - and has 28 strikeouts with five walks while holding opponents to a .174 average against.
Auburn leads the all-time series vs. Tennessee 98-43, including a 40-21 mark on the road, but the Tigers are looking for the first series win against the Volunteers since 2019.
SCOUTING THE VOLUNTEERS
Tennessee enters the weekend with a 36-9 overall record, tied for the fourth most overall win in the league, and a 13-8 mark in SEC play. The Volunteers have dropped three of their last four SEC series, including two at home.
Offensively, the Volunteers are hitting .305 as a team and rank top five in the country in home runs (100) and slugging percentage (.577). Six players are hitting .300 or higher and five have double digit home runs, led by Andrew Fischer’s 16.
On the mound, Tennessee ranks fourth in the country with a 3.35 staff ERA and has struck out the second most batters per 9.0 innings (11.9). Friday night starter Liam Doyle leads the SEC with a 2.23 ERA and leads the country with 110 strikeouts.