Auburn baseball notebook - May 2

Auburn baseball notebook - May 2Auburn baseball notebook - May 2
Matthew Shannon/AU Athletics

WEEK AT A GLANCE
Overall: 31-14
Last Week: 2-2
SEC: 12-9
Non-Conference: 19-5
Streak: L1

Last Week's Results:
Tuesday – at Jacksonville State: W, 8-4
Friday – at No. 1 Tennessee: L, 4-17
Saturday – at No. 1 Tennessee: W, 8-6
Sunday – at No. 1 Tennessee: L, 3-5

This Week's Schedule:
Friday – vs. No. 3 Arkansas (7 p.m.)
Saturday – vs. No. 3 Arkansas (4:30 p.m.)
Sunday – vs. No. 3 Arkansas (1 p.m.)
 OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nate Larue – Jr. – C – Mobile, Ala.

4 GP/GS, .333/.400/.417, 4-for-12, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB

  • Led the team with a .333 average in four games last week.
  • Drove in the eighth and final run in a midweek win at Jacksonville State.
  • Recorded a hit in all three contests at No. 1 Tennessee, including a pair of hits in the series opener, marking his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
  • Got Auburn's ninth inning rally in the middle game at Tennessee started with a leadoff single.
  • Caught 33 of 34 innings behind the plate and threw out on of two runners.

Bobby Peirce – R-Jr. – OF – Scottsdale, Ariz.

4 GP/GS, .294/.333/.647, 5-for-17, 2 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB

  • Led the team with five hits, two homers and six RBI in four games last week.
  • Went 2-for-4 with a RBI in Tuesday's win at Jacksonville State.
  • Hit a three-run, go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth inning of the team's comeback win in the middle game at Tennessee.
  • His three RBI matched a season high.
  • Homered in the fifth inning to start Auburn's scoring and drove in the tying run in the sixth in the hard-fought series finale in Knoxville.

 

PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
Konner Copeland – So. – LHP – Mobile, Ala.

2-0, 2 APP, 3.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R/3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

  • Earned a pair of wins in as many appearances last week, including his first SEC win.
  • Recorded the final six outs with two strikeouts in Auburn's comeback win in the middle game at Tennessee.
  • Retired Tennessee's three and four hitters, who represented the tying run, to end Saturday's game.

Tommy Sheehan – Sr. – LHP – Brielle, N.J.

0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 APP, 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

  • Entered Friday's series opener at Tennessee on short notice and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings.
  • He faced just one batter over the minimum, keeping Auburn in the game and giving the Tigers a chance to take the lead heading into the seventh inning.

 

TEAM NOTES
Auburn's midweek win Tuesday marked its seventh straight win, tying for the team's longest win streak this season … the win also marked the team's 30th win of the season, and the Tigers entered last weekend as one of 15 teams in the country, including nine Power Five teams and three teams from the SEC, with 30 or more wins … Saturday's come-from-behind win at No. 1 Tennessee was the team's 16th win when trailing in a game this season, including its third when trailing or tied after eight innings … Peirce became the first Auburn player to hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later of an SEC game since Conor Davis' three-run, walk-off homer against South Carolina on Apr. 2, 2017 … the homer was Peirce's second go-ahead homer of SEC play … he also hit a solo homer to break a 3-3 tie in the series opener against South Carolina … the Tigers are now 12-7 in games played away from Plainsman Park, including 6-6 in road league games … the team is also 7-6 in games against ranked opponents … all 13 games have been played against teams ranked in the top 12, including six games against the top-ranked team … Auburn is currently No. 3 in the RPI … with three weeks of SEC play remaining, Auburn is two game behind Arkansas for first place in the SEC West and is tied with Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M for third in the league overall … Sonny DiChiara continues to lead the league in batting average (.436), on-base percentage (.597) and slugging percentage (.842) … DiChiara also leads the nation in batting average and on-base percentage while ranking third in slugging … the next closest SEC player is 124 shy points of DiChiara in on-base percentage … the senior also leads the league in average (.406) and on-base percentage (.584) during conference games while ranking second in slugging (.797) … leadoff hitter Blake Rambusch leads the league in hits overall (67) and is tied for the league lead in hits in SEC play (33) … junior Blake Burkhalter leads the league with 11 saves overall and eight in conference play … he ranks fourth in the country in the category.