What Butch Thompson said ahead of Auburn's first SEC matchup against No. 8 Arkansas
AUBURN — The time has come for SEC play to begin and Auburn is starting off with a tough matchup in No. 8 Arkansas.
Three of the Tigers’ first four SEC series are against Top 25 teams. Auburn is coming off a 12-inning win against Georgia Tech on Tuesday night.
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One of this team’s toughest battles so far has been injuries. With multiple players from their starting lineup out, Auburn has had to adapt and have younger and/or newer players step up to the challenge.
Arkansas (14-2) started their season strong, defeating both Texas and then ranked No. 9 Oklahoma State in the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas. The Razorbacks have also swept two of their series so far this season. One of their two loses came from the then No. 15 ranked TCU Hornedfrogs in the aforementioned tournament.
Head coach Butch Thompson met with the media on Wednesday afternoon to preview Auburn’s series against Arkansas. Here are the highlights of what he said:
— “It’ll be great… Just getting back in our league, this is what we love to do.” – “In the video that I’ve watched, (Arkansas) looks like the same, competitive, (team).”
— Thompson talked about the importance of this weekend for the new guys on the roster, this is the first true road game where they will travel and stay in a hotel, since USC series was moved to Auburn.
— When asked what has been set so far in regards to pitching, Thompson said, “at least how to get started.” He said they feel “pretty reset” after yesterday’s game and feels like everyone that pitched against Georgia Tech should be available this weekend.
— “Tommy Vail will get the start Friday. I’m excited to watch him in that environment… (Zach) Crotchfelt will sit in on that Saturday… We think he’ll compete great, so he’ll get that start.” Sunday is still TBD, depending on who is needed out of the bullpen in games one and two.
— “We’ve got to start taking the next step as we get into SEC play,” Butch Thompson said in regards to pitching going forward. He also talked about improving the quality of pitches in some guys as the season progresses.
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— Thompson talked about how this team has seen good offenses already, so they will be prepared for Arkansas. “We saw that last night.”
Injury Updates:
— Joseph Gonzalez is throwing a bullpen tomorrow, “If Joseph is not 100% and ready to go then we’ll keep that TBA.” There are hopes for him to start on Sunday. “Once he gets out there and throws it, we will keep it one inning at a time.”
— “We think Chris Stanfield is okay. That was kind of preventative…” Butch Thompson said he is “probably a go” for this weekend even though he was pulled in yesterday’s game.
— Called Bobby Peirce, “iffy, this weekend… but he’s not ruled out for this weekend.” Thompson added that he hates the term iffy, but that’s all he really knows about Peirce right now. He will travel this weekend either way.
— Cooper McMurray is “still a couple more weeks… He is doing some waving of the bat, but there’s still a process of the weight on that foot and transition and changing directions… We still think he’s a couple weeks out before talking about McMurray.”
— “We’re hopeful for Cole Foster… He’ll be back on the field, trying to practice tomorrow… If he passes the fielding test, we’re hopeful he’s ready to go.”
