April 9, 2018
AUBURN (23-10, 4-8 SEC) at SAMFORD (19-14, 7-2 SOCON)
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AUBURN, Ala. -- No. 21 Auburn (23-10, 4-8 SEC) wraps up its four-game road trip with a midweek matchup at Samford (19-14, 7-2 SoCon) Tuesday night. First pitch in Birmingham, Ala., is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
The game will air on the SoCon Digital Network and will also be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network. You can listen on the radio on WTGZ-FM (93.9), online at AuburnTigers.com, or on a mobile device via the TuneIn app.
Probable Starters
- Tuesday -- Fr. LHP Jack Owen (1-1, 7.16) vs. Sr. RHP Wyatt Burns (2-1, 1.27)
QUICK HITTERS
- Auburn has surpassed last season's home run total with 34 in the first 33 games of the season and is just five home runs shy of tying the most in a season since leading the NCAA with 131 home runs in 2010.
- Edouard Julien is slugging .885 in the last eight games. He has scored eight runs and has three doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI during the span. Julien's seven home runs this season are the most by a freshman since Casey McElroy also hit seven home runs in 2009.
- Auburn is 10-0 when scoring in the first inning this season, 17-0 when scoring five or more runs and 18-0 when out-hitting an opponent.
- Both games played against Samford last season were decided by one run - a 7-6 loss at home and 16-15 win on the road. Auburn is 6-5 in one-run games this season, but has lost each of the last three one-run games.
- Auburn is 19-2 in non-conference games this season. The Tigers are hitting .319 as a team and are averaging 9.1 runs per game. Seven players are hitting .300 or better, led by Brendan Venter's .422 clip. The team has also turned in a 3.49 ERA and is holding opponents to a .227 batting average against.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
- Samford enters the week with a 19-14 overall record and 7-2 mark in the SoCon, good for second place. The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back road sweeps in conference play and are riding an eight-game winning streak.
- Offensively, Samford is hitting .263 as a team and is led by freshman Brooks Carlson, who has turned in a .318 average with 13 extra-base hits. From a power standpoint, Austin Edens and Anthony Mulrine lead the way with five home runs apiece, while Mulrine has driven in a team-high 27 runs.
- On the mound, the Bulldogs will start senior right-hander Wyatt Burns, who has posted a 2-1 record with a 1.27 ERA in 12 relief appearances. Burns has struck out 34 batters in 21.1 innings pitched and has turned in all four of the team's saves this season.
SERIES HISTORY vs. SAMFORD
- Auburn holds a 72-23-1 all-time record in the series against Samford that dates back to 1909. The Tigers are 23-6 in games played in Birmingham.
- The last time these two teams met in Birmingham, a total of 31 runs were scored on 30 hits. Nine different players had two or more hits, and 17 different pitchers - Auburn (6), Samford (11) - were used in the game.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Former Auburn catcher Casey Dunn is in his 14th season as Samford's head coach, and Hunter Morris, who is Auburn's season-single home run record holder, is in his first year on staff under Dunn as a volunteer assistant.