AUBURN, Ala. – No. 15 Auburn baseball begins its ninth season under head coach Butch Thompson with a three-game series vs. Eastern Kentucky Friday through Sunday at Plainsman Park.
Up Next:
vs. Eastern Kentucky
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 16-18, 2024
6 p.m. | 1 p.m. | 1 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network+
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
First pitches for Opening Weekend on The Plains are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. CT, and Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.
"It's time to play ball," Thompson said. "I'm excited to get this season started with our players, coaches, fans, the whole nine yards. We're looking forward to getting to host (Eastern Kentucky) and getting our season started with a great three-game series at home."
In conjunction with the season opener, Auburn will open its new Hall of Fame Club, a tribute to the first member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame from the Southeastern Conference in Frank Thomas. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the Hall of Fame Club Friday at 4 p.m.
"This Hall of Fame Club is out of sight, and I've been to a lot of venues now being in this league for going on three decades," Thompson added. "It's awesome, but it's just an appetizer of what we're doing and where we're headed."
All three games will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on 94.3 FM (Friday and Sunday) and 100.3 FM (Saturday). They will also be streamed digitally on SEC Network+.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – Jr. RHP Chase Allsup vs. Jr. LHP Isaac Milburn
Saturday – R-Jr. RHP Joseph Gonzalez vs. Jr. LHP Quinton Hall
Sunday – Jr. LHP Carson Myers vs. Sr. RHP Rian Yates
QUICK HITTERS
Auburn begins its 75th season at Plainsman Park this weekend against Eastern Kentucky, marking the first ever meeting between the two programs.
The Tigers are 7-1 in season openers and 8-0 in home openers under head coach Butch Thompson.
Auburn has outscored its opponents 76-18 in the last eight home openers.
The Tigers 2024 roster consists of 40 players, including 21 returners and 19 newcomers.
Ike Irish and Bobby Peirce were voted Preseason All-SEC by the league's head coaches.
The team is coming off back-to-back regional host bids for the first time in program history and has finished top five in the SEC in back-to-back years for the first time since 2002-03.
The Tigers return nearly 80 percent of the team's innings pitched from a season ago.
The starting rotation of Allsup, Gonzalez and Myers enter the weekend having thrown a combined 304.1 innings in their collegiate careers.
Auburn is ranked in three of six preseason polls - No. 15 by Perfect Game, No. 23 by Baseball America and No. 25 by NCBWA.
SCOUTING THE COLONELS
Eastern Kentucky enters its fourth season under head coach Chris Prothro and is coming off a 2023 campaign in which the Colonels went 29-30 overall and 15-15 in its second season in the ASUN.
Offensively, DJ Sullivan returns as the team's leading hitter from last year, and junior college transfer Justin Carinci looks to make an instant impact.
On the mound, the Colonels weekend rotation of Isaac Milburn, Quinton Hall and Rian Yates return to the team after having logged a combined 116.2 innings a season ago.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
New for 2024, gates open 90 minutes prior to first pitch.
- Fans must enter Plainsman Park via the main gates located behind home plate or Tiger Terrace.
- The gate located off Donahue Drive near the right field foul pole is closed due to construction.
- Those with a reserved ticket or add-on access to the Hall of Fame Club may enter via the exterior glass door located off Donahue Drive.
Fans are encouraged to park in the athletics complex parking deck, coliseum lot, Neville Arena lot and stadium parking deck.
- For 2024, Donahue Drive from the Josh Donaldson Hitting Lab to the Tiger Walk corner of Donahue and Heisman Drive will be shut down from two hours before first pitch through the middle of the first inning and from the top of the seventh inning until the stadium has been cleared of fans.
- Due to the men's basketball game Saturday, the arena lot and top two levels or the stadium parking deck will be reserved for those with men's basketball passes only. Fans can still watch the baseball game from the top two levels of the parking deck.
- The coliseum lot will also be more crowded than usual with a robotics convention going on this weekend.
- A Tiger Transit shuttle will run Saturday from 12-7 p.m. from the facilities management lot to baseball and basketball.
Student seating inside Plainsman Park is in section 111 and Tiger Terrance on a first-come, first-served basis. Students can also access the new Back Forty Deck sponsored by Outdoor Alabama on a first-come, first-served basis via the walkway between the Josh Donaldson Hitting Lab and South Donahue Dorms.
For 2024, several concession locations have changed due to construction.
- There will be no concessions available along the first base side of the ballpark, including Curveball Café and the food vendors located at Plainsman Patio.
- Ben's Soft Pretzels has moved to the exterior concourse next to the ADA ramp on the third base side of the ballpark.
- The Sweet Treats stand previously located at Plainsman Patio is now located at the main entry gate next to the ticket booth.
- The Chick-fil-A stand previously located next at Plainsman Patio is now located in the former promotions booth on the exterior concourse. Chick-fil-A is available for all home games, excluding Sundays.
For all Auburn baseball gameday information, click here.