AUBURN, Ala. – Thanks to an SEC scheduling adjustment over Easter weekend, No. 10 Auburn faced a decision vs. No. 15 Arkansas: four starting pitchers, only three starts.
It could have been awkward. It ended up being awesome.
Auburn’s normal Saturday starter, sophomore Jackson Sanders embraced the opportunity to pitch in relief.
“I sat down with Coach Thompson earlier in the week and told him, ‘Whatever you need from me, I’ve got you. I just want to win,’” Sanders said. “Whatever we can do to get the team a win.”
Instead of being the odd man out, Sanders became the outstanding man in.
With the series on the line, Sanders entered Saturday’s series finale in the top of the sixth inning with Auburn leading 6-3.
“Get the first hitter out,” Sanders said of mindset upon entering for his first relief appearance of the season. “There’s a different kind of momentum coming out the ‘pen compared to starting. You get brought into the fire pretty quick. Trying to dominate the strike zone today.”
Sanders proceeded to hold the Razorbacks to one hit over 4.0 scoreless innings, earning his first career save while striking out eight with no walks, throwing 70.4 percent of his pitches for strikes.
“That might have been as set as I’ve ever seen Jackson Sanders and he’s the one who didn’t get into the normal routine,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “This is his start day, he comes out of the bullpen and handled it masterfully, had his stuff set and it paid dividends. When Jackson’s stuff is set that way, pretty good. He had one of those days.”
As well as Sanders pitched, it was the left-hander’s unselfishness that impressed his head coach even more.
“That was hope for me as a head coach,” Thompson added. “That was hope for me, for Jackson Sanders coming to my office, sitting with me. This kid’s willing to do anything for our program.
“He’s the one that got adjusted the most and he probably threw better than anybody this weekend, and they all threw great. That’s how you’re supposed to attack things.”