Assuming the role on top of the hill, Texas baseball jumped up to the No. 1 ranking as Arkansas dropped its rubber game against Georgia this past weekend.
Boasting the best conference record of 13-2 on the year, the Longhorns have not had much of a challenge in college baseball’s most volatile conference. Texas has yet to lose in a weekend SEC series, overcoming preseason doubts and adding to its growing accolades.
The target pinned on the backs of the Longhorns has only grown bigger since taking the top spot. So all the No. 8 Auburn Tigers want to further their hot streak and national prominence is a win against the top-ranked seed.
The Daily Texan interviewed Rory Garvin, a sports writer at Auburn University’s student newspaper, The Plainsman.
Facing its first test of the season, Auburn was outmatched by then-No. 2 Georgia, with the Bulldogs taking home the sweep over the Tigers to close out March.
“The pitching was the main issue, and that was kind of the worry coming into the year,” Garvin said about the Tigers. “Last year, they only finished with eight conference wins… the bullpen was really the issue in the Georgia game.”
But that was two weeks ago, and Auburn’s fortune has begun to change.
Since entering the month of April, the Tigers have garnered all the confidence in the world. Collecting ranked wins, Auburn took its in-state series against then-No. 8 Alabama and topped then-No. 15 Georgia Tech in a midweek showdown.
This recent success was not merely a fluke. Adding a cherry on top of its newfound life in dominant fashion, Auburn swept the then-No. 3 LSU Tigers this past weekend. The Tigers held the Bayou Bengals to their lowest hit total of the season.
“It’s a big confidence booster for the team, because obviously, LSU is a national powerhouse,” Garvin said. “It proves that Auburn does belong as a national title contender.”
One of the major players for their midseason turnaround is senior pitcher Samuel Dutton, the Tigers’ ace. Dutton is one of the best strikeout throwers in the conference, with 58 strikeouts on the year, putting him ninth in the SEC.
Hitting has been a major bright spot for the Tigers, as one of the better groups in the conference. Junior utility player Ike Irish has been one of the Tigers’ most potent hitters on the roster.
“I would say, for his standards, he started off the year pretty slow, but the last couple of series, he’s pretty on fire,” Garvin said.
All of the love cannot solely be given to Irish. Senior infielder Cooper McMurray leads the team with hits, but the Tigers’ youth has really shined at the plate.
The freshman trio of Bub Terrell, Chris Rembert and Chase Fralick have been ferocious at the plate with all three being in the top six of Auburn’s hitting arsenal.
“I would say they have a good mix of veteran experience,” Garvin said. “Cooper McMurray gives you a lot of power from the left side, and then offensively as well. Chris Rembart, Chase Fralick and Bub Terrell, all three big freshman pieces in the lineup.”
Despite Auburn coming into the series very hot, Garvin remained grounded in his prediction of the top 10 series in Austin.
“Texas is probably going to be favored in every game, but Auburn, they definitely believe in themselves, and they are coming in hot,” Garvin said. “With that being said, I’ll take Texas to take series two out of three. But it wouldn’t be shocking at all if Auburn took two out of three.”
