Nate LaRue and Tanner Bauman discuss Auburn baseball's upcoming season

AUBURN — Opening day is just three weeks away and Auburn baseball is in full preparation mode. With 11 scrimmages on the schedule, the Tigers will be ready for February 17th when Indiana comes to Plainsman Park.

After losing multiple players to the draft, Auburn has 24 newcomers on this year’s roster. These three weeks are the time that each of them has to prove their role to the lineup.

“Coach Thompson says every day is a World Series, so that’s been a really big hitting point for us and just maintaining and playing and acting up to that expectation,” veteran Nate LaRue told the media.

LaRue and Tanner Bauman met with the media on Friday afternoon before the first scrimmage. Here’s what they had to say:

Nate LaRue

Catcher Nate LaRue earned his starting role this past season and has been continuing to prove himself during the fall. He ended this past season with 42 starts, 39 being behind the plate, and turned in a .995 fielding percentage.

“Defensively, just maintaining what I did last year,” LaRue said when asked what he focused on in the offseason. “I was pretty comfortable with my game last year catching-wise. Just continuing to ride that and develop that has been a pretty big part for me.”

Over the summer, LaRue discovered that he was right-eye dominant. In the fall, he changed his batting stance, causing him to be able to see the ball better. Last season, the senior had multiple hot streaks and finished up with six home runs, two being in one game, but struggled to stay consistent. He finished the season with a .211 batting average and a .654 OPS. LaRue ended the fall, though, with a team-high .420 average and 18 RBI’s.

“…One of the biggest things for me in the fall was figuring out how I can incorporate a new stance and still feel comfortable with maximizing what I’ve been given,” LaRue said. “I opened up my stance and now I can see the ball pretty clearly.”

Since losing key pitchers from last year’s team, Nate LaRue has been working with 13 new pitchers during the fall and helping them find their identity.

“I feel like all of our guys in the fall found out what their game was and how they should be attacking hitters and now it’s time to go, now it’s time to act on it.”

Tanner Bauman

After six players getting drafted from last year’s team, there are many spots to be filled when it comes to this year’s pitching staff.

“Last year obviously, had a bunch of talented pitchers that left this program and are getting the call to go pursue their professional aspirations,” Bauman told the media on Friday. “This year, we’ve got a lot of guys that could easily fill their roles, talent wise. It’s just whether or not we can put those pieces together to make another run.”

Tanner Bauman is a transfer from St. John’s River State, where he led the team in innings (77.2). The junior is a low 90’s pitcher and one of six new LHP’s on Auburn’s roster. Bauman believes that the amount of new guys is making each of them better.

“We’re all out here just competing, trying to get better,” Bauman said. “What’s so unique about the new guys, all the transfers and freshman, you’ve got like, we’re all talented obviously and we’re all trying to reach for the same goal…”

Not only does Auburn’s pitching staff have many new faces, but their pitching coach, Daron Schoenrock, is in his first year at Auburn as well. Schoenrock has 38 years of coaching experience, with the last 18 being head coach at Memphis.

“I just like how he thinks about the game… I’ve really developed with Coach Thompson and Coach Schoenrock from a pitching stand point, knowing things like changing a visual or little cues like that to help me so much in a short amount of time,” Bauman said when asked about Auburn’s new coach.