AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn baseball is six intrasquad games into its fall schedule, and the Tigers have received contributions on the mound and at the plate from multiple returners and newcomers.
"If you really believe in the narrative iron sharpens iron, we're really in a great place," head coach Butch Thompson told the media on a Zoom call at the start of fall practice. "I'm looking to the advantage of having more depth. I'm looking to the advantage of the lineup not being as easy to make out as it has been maybe the last couple of years."
Below is a list of some of the Tigers' top performers through two weeks of action.
Top Pitcher: Richard Fitts
Coming off a six-month hiatus of throwing to live hitters, Fitts hasn't missed a beat this fall. The sophomore right-hander made his first appearance on Tuesday, Oct. 13 and struck out the side in his first inning. Fitts, who issued his first walk in 9.0 innings of work this fall Tuesday night, has faced just four batters over the minimum in his three appearances (retired 27 of 31 batters faced). He touched nearly 98 mph on the radar gun during his outing on Oct. 21 and has throw his fastball at 96 mph or harder 22 times this fall.
"He's showing up and making guys look silly up there," fellow pitcher Cody Greenhill said of Fitts. "That's just a testament of his hard work over this break. He's a guy that is going to show up and give you everything he's got."
⛽️⛽️⛽️
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) October 28, 2020
Death, taxes and @TheFitts43 pumping straight gas in our fall intrasquads.
#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/XbH2LoBDTg
| IP | H | BB | K | 1st Pitch K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Fitts | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 25/31 |
| Trace Bright | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 15/20 |
| Brooks Fuller | 4.0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7/13 |
| Hayden Mullins | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5/12 |
Top Hitter: Bryson Ware
The freshman infielder has made his impact felt from the plate and has played all over the infield this fall. A transfer from Pearl River, Ware leads the team with six hits through six games and has reached base in all six contests, including multiple times on four occasions. He went 2-for-2 with two walks, a double, home run and four runs scored in the team's most recent scrimmage Tuesday night. Four of his six hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles, one home run) and three hits have registered exit velocities of 100+ mph.
"He's a great infielder," sophomore shortstop Ryan Bliss said of Ware. "We've been moving him around at every position. He seems to be in control at every position and even getting better at the positions he hadn't played yet. His bat really stands out. He has really good power to all parts of the field, good bat-to-ball contact skills, so I think he's going to be really good player."
.@bryson_ware is fitting in nicely. 👀#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/xP787zrJNM
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) October 23, 2020
| AVG | OBP | R | H | RBI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryson Ware | 0.667 | 0.733 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Josh Hall | 0.308 | 0.467 | 3 | 4 | 3 (SB) |
| Tyler Miller | 0.364 | 0.417 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Judd Ward | 0.333 | 0.400 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
The Tigers will compete in two more weeks of fall intrasquads before kicking off its annual Orange and Blue World Series on Nov. 12. The series will be a best-of-five concluding on Nov. 19.