March 9, 2017 No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 12 LSU
(20-2, 0-0 SEC) vs. (18-4, 0-0 SEC)
Weekend Schedule
| Fri, March 10. | 6 p.m. | |
| Sat, March 11. | 7:30 p.m. | |
| Sun, March 12. | 4 p.m. | |
AUBURN, Ala. -- A battle between two top-15 teams will take place this weekend as No. 2 Auburn hosts No. 12 LSU at Jane B. Moore Field. The three-game series is set to take place Friday-Sunday on The Plains.
Friday's contest, set to start at 6 p.m., will be streamed on SEC Network+. The games taking place Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday (4 p.m.) will be televised on SEC Network. Tom Hart, Amanda Scarborough and Laura Rutledge will have the call.
All three tilts this weekend are also available on radio at 95.9 FM. Sunday's duel will feature something that has never been done before at Auburn as the baseball and softball radio crews will switch assignments. Andy Burcham and Rod Bramblett are set to have the call softball's Sunday afternoon duel.
Auburn is 30-33 in the home-opening conference series all-time with the Tigers winning the series nine times. Since 2004, Auburn is 27-13 in the first home SEC series of the season.
The Tigers boast a 0.66 team ERA, which is the lowest in the country to this point. Jenna Abbott (0.00), Kaylee Carlson (0.50) and Makayla Martin (0.65) lead the charge.
At the plate, Kasey Cooper and Carlee Wallace have the most RBI on the team with 25 and 22, respectively. Victoria Draper holds a club-high .417 batting clip through 22 games played in 2017.
Following the three-game series with LSU, Auburn will embark on a seven-game road swing next week, beginning with games against No. 14 Tennessee (March 14) and Middle Tennessee (March 15) before heading to Tampa, Fla. for a five-game tournament at USF, March 17-19.
Promotions
Friday -- Seat cushion giveaway for first 300 fans. Postgame autographs.
Saturday -- Trading card giveaway (Set 1) for first 300 fans. Sir Foster Organist will be in attendance. Postgame autographs.
Sunday -- Jubilee Farms petting zoo and pony rides. Kids run the bases postgame.
Inside the Series: LSU
The Tigers and Tigers have met a total of 64 times, with LSU holding a 47-17 advantage. However, since head coach Clint Myers took over, Auburn has held a 5-3 advantage. In those eight games, Auburn has outscored LSU 28-23, including three shutouts.
Player to Watch: Makayla Martin
Sophomore pitcher Makayla Martin is part of the nation's lowest team ERA at 0.65. The San Diego, Calif. native is heating up in the circle as the weather is outside. She's a perfect 3-0 with 19 strikeouts in 15 innings of work in the month of March. Martin holds a career 1.40 ERA against LSU and took the win in a 7-1 decision in her last outing versus LSU in the SEC Championship last season.
Hot Start
So far in 2017, Auburn has benefited greatly from scoring in the opening three innings. In the 22 games played, the Tigers have amassed 97 of their 162 runs in the opening three stanzas, good for 60 percent of their runs on the season.
A Series Win by Auburn Would...
A series win by Auburn would be the 16th SEC series captured by the Tigers since head coach Clint Myers took over in 2014. Auburn has won 16 of the possible 23 conference series matchups with Coach Myers at the helm.