AUBURN, Ala. – Returning to Plainsman Park after four straight games away from home, No. 20 Auburn (11-2) hosts Old Dominion (3-7) in its final non-conference series this weekend.
First pitches at Plainsman Park are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. CT, Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
“They’ve absolutely pitched it at a high level. That’s the biggest place we’ll have our work cut out for us,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “Their weekend rotation has under a 3.00 earned run average. We’ll see three left-handed starters. We’ll see some spin, some life, and they have almost 20 more strikeouts than innings pitched. As far as the matchups in our conference (this weekend), we might have our work cut out for us as much as anybody in the league.”
The games will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on Wings 94.3 FM Friday and Sunday and ESPN 106.7 Saturday. All three contests will also be streamed digitally on SEC Network+.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – Sr. RHP Samuel Dutton (2-1, 0.56) vs. Jr. LHP Ben Moore (0-0, 3.55)
Saturday – Jr. LHP Cade Fisher (0-0, 5.40) vs. Jr. LHP Dylan Brown (1-0, 0.00)
Sunday – Fr. RHP Christian Chatterton (1-0, 3.68) vs. Sr. LHP Blake Morgan (1-0, 5.19)
QUICK HITTERS
Auburn is 30-6 in non-conference games dating back to the beginning of last season, including 17-4 in non-conference series.
The team is 8-1 and outscoring opponents 79-32 at Plainsman Park this season.
Auburn has 13 or more hits in four straight home games and is hitting .412 with seven doubles and 10 home runs during the span.
Chase Fralick ranks second among freshmen nationally with a .488 average and tied for third with 20 hits in his first 12 collegiate games.
Cooper McMurray collected his fifth career multi-homer game at UAB Wednesday.
He has hit 32 home runs with 121 RBI in 108 games at Auburn.
Samuel Dutton and Christian Chatterton have been in the weekend rotation the first four weeks.
The duo combined for the following stat line against Ohio State and Baylor in Arlington last weekend: 2-0, 0.82 ERA, 11.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 18 K
Auburn is 2-0 all-time against Old Dominion, including 1-0 at Plainsman Park.
SCOUTING THE MONARCHS
Old Dominion enters the weekend series at 3-7 on the season. The Monarchs went 1-2 against three opponents last weekend in Murfreesboro, winning their last game over Middle Tennessee State, 5-3.
Finwood and senior catcher Jack Slater both have Auburn ties. Finwood was an assistant coach at Auburn from 2001-05, and Slater’s dad, Tom, was the head coach at Auburn from 2005-08.
Offensively, the Monarchs are hitting .232 as a team with 40 runs scored on 77 hits. Junior infielder Zach Leite leads the team with a .368 average while sophomore outfielder TJ Aiken carries team highs in home runs (two) and RBI (seven).
On the mound, Old Dominion has ve a 5.50 team ERA on the season with 103 strikeouts and 48 walks in 86.2 innings. The starting rotation of left handers Ben Moore. Dylan Brown and Blake Morgan have a combined 2.76 ERA in 49.0 inning pitched.
PROMOTIONS
Sunday – Aubie’s Kids Club Day: free admission and double points for Kid’s Club members.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Plainsman Park now features two new premium club areas in the Broadway Club at Plainsman Park and 984 Club along with the return of the Hall of Fame Club, which opened in 2024. Additionally, the ballpark now has expanded general admission areas in the War Eagle Wall, Tiger Terrance and Plainsman Patio.
Parking for Saturday: prior to 4:30 p.m., parking for game two of the series will be limited due to an overlap with men’s basketball’s matchup vs. Alabama. The Neville Arena lot and top two levels of the stadium deck will require a basketball parking pass prior to that time.
Pregame road closures: Event staff will assist fans using crosswalks up until 15 minutes prior to first pitch, at which time there will be a full closure of Donahue Drive between the right field gate and intersection of Heisman Drive for fans to enter Plainsman Park. Donahue will re-open shortly after first pitch.
Postgame egress road closures: Donahue Drive will again be fully closed from right field to Heisman Drive starting between the 7th and 8th innings. It will remain closed until the stadium has cleared of fans, roughly 30 minutes after the final out of the game.
New entrances: In an effort to expedite fan entry to Plainsman Park, two new entrances have now been introduced on the lower First Base Concourse, along Donahue Drive. The traditional Home Plate Concourse and Tiger Terrace gates will continue to provide stadium admission, as well as the premium entrance outside of the Hall of Fame Club for those with reserved seats inside the Hall of Fame Club.
Metal detecting: Consistent with other Auburn Athletics venues, fans entering any gate at Plainsman Park this season will be asked to walk through a metal detector upon entry.
For a complete overview of gamedays at Plainsman Park for 2025, click here.