What Butch Thompson said ahead of Auburn hosting Texas A&M
AUBURN — After being on the road for four straight games, Auburn returns home to compete against Texas A&M in a Thursday-Saturday series at Plainsman Park.
The Tigers and the Aggies are both currently 3-6 in SEC play, winning just one series so far this season. Texas A&M lost their first series against No. 1 LSU, was swept at (then ranked) No. 12 Tennessee and grabbed their first series against Ole Miss this past weekend.
Thursday’s first pitch will be at 7 p.m. CT, with Friday beginning at 6 p.m. and Saturday starting at 3:30 p.m. Game one will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network and the following two games can be streamed on SEC Network+.
RELATED: Auburn falls in bottom of the ninth at UAB
Head coach Butch Thompson met with the media on Wednesday afternoon to preview Auburn’s matchup.
Here are the highlights of what he said:
–“I think we’ll evaluate the weather as soon as tomorrow… With everything going on on campus and a three game weekend.” Thompson said there is a meet tomorrow at 11 am to discuss any possibilities with weather issues. Talked about the new NCAA rule with no deadline for game three since the players do not have class the next day, specifically bringing up the Alabama series from this past year.
— “We purposely of course kept (Will) Cannon and (Tanner) Bauman out of (yesterday’s game) with the short week… We need the pieces that are competitive to stay competitive…” When asked about other pitching for Auburn, Thompson said, “I could see a (Zach) Crotchfelt, (Drew) Nelson, (Chase) Allsup.”
— Chase Isbell will more than likely be out this weekend with the oblique injury that came last night. Thompson said his report looked good, but need to prevent further injuries.
— “We are at a very important part of our schedule here… We’ve got to keep fighting and we get a chance to play at home again, which is huge.”
— “The other positive last night for me was (Tommy) Sheehan, getting back out there… I think he could be a guy to move to game three for us.” Thompson said on his performance against UAB: “It was clean and I think the biggest thing is, he came in the ballgame last night and we tried to give him the best situation we could… I thought he had drive and finish to his pitches. It looked as good as I remember seeing… With a veteran like that I don’t need to see six outings like that to build my confidence.”
— Cooper McMurray is “seeing the ball as good as anybody” right now with just his few games back. “I think this is the best chance to have our best lineup that we’ve had.”
— Butch Thompson emphasized Caden Green and Nate LaRue’s performance recently at the bottom of Auburn’s lineup. “I think (Green) reached base each time last night… Nate’s hitting better.”
