LSU prepares to face former Tiger on Friday vs. Auburn
In Jay Johnson’s first three seasons at LSU, there were few constants, but Sam Dutton was one of them. Coming in as a freshman in 2022, Dutton had 11 starts and 18 appearances. As a sophomore on the loaded 2023 roster he pitched in 19 games as a reliever. Last year as a junior, the right-hander appeared in 20 games with four starts.
Over the summer, Dutton transferred to Auburn, getting closer to his family in Alabama and also getting a chance to breakthrough as a weekend starter. He’s thrived in his senior season, locking down the Friday starter job for Auburn.
On Friday, Dutton takes the mound against LSU in a top ten matchup to see plenty of familiar faces.
“I know he’s a competitor. I know he’s a strike thrower. I know he’s a national champion,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “I have great respect for him and sometimes there are different circumstances with players. I believe he got married this offseason. He’s from Alabama. His brother’s program got cancelled last year and he transferred to Auburn, so a lot had to do with family and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity he has. I’m not surprised by that. These last three years have been special to me and he was a part of that. Obviously not Friday, but other than that, I’m happy for his success.”
Dutton has eight starts this season and 44 innings under his belt, with the best ERA of his career at 2.66. He has 51 strikeouts to just 10 walks and has been one of the better pitchers in the entire SEC to this point in the season.
Johnson knows what his LSU team is up against, and while it may be unique, he knows his team is ready to face their former teammate in a key SEC battle in the Plains.
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“I really respect him. I love his family and appreciate everything he did here,” Johnson said. “He started two regional championship games for us, so he was a real part of this thing. He pitched in Omaha. Until you’re in Omaha, you don’t understand what that means. I’ve done this long enough, you can separate things and focus on what our team needs to do and that’s what we’ll do with this.”
At LSU media availability on Wednesday, Johnson said he had not gotten to the pitching part of his scout yet for Auburn, so he was limited in his break down of Dutton’s season. Still, there’s anticipation and excitement to play more top pitching as his team continues to roll.
“I have not seen any of him yet,” Johnson said. “I have the base report. I have the statistics. I’m a college baseball nerd, so I go through all of our opponents and see how they all did. Auburn beat Georgia Tech, who is a great team. I’ve seen every time he pitches how he’s done, but that’s not specific to him, that’s what I do with every team in the league.”
No. 3 LSU is 31-3 on the season and 10-2 in SEC play. First pitch against No. 9 Auburn is at 6 p.m. CT at Samford Stadium on SEC Network +.
