AUBURN, Ala. – Hitting the road for just the third time this season, including the first time for a weekend series, No. 18 Auburn (13-3-1) begins its Southeastern Conference schedule at No. 3 Arkansas (15-2) Friday through Sunday.
Up Next:
at No. 3 Arkansas
Friday-Sunday, Mar. 17-19, 2023
4 p.m. | 2 p.m. | 2 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network+
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
First pitches at Baum-Walker Stadium are set for Friday at 4 p.m. CT, and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
"It'll be great," head coach Butch Thompson said of beginning SEC play. "Getting back into our league, this is all what we love to do and it's an exciting time of the year, especially when more than half of your team is new.
"This team finished our season last year in Omaha, so it'll be good to hook it back up with them and compete," Thompson added.
All three games will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on 93.9 or 95.9 FM. The contests will also be streamed digitally on SEC Network+.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – Gr. LHP Tommy Vail (2-0, 0.63) vs. Jr. LHP Hunter Hollan (3-0, 2.18)
Saturday – Fr. LHP Zach Crotchfelt (0-0, 4.41) vs. R-Jr. RHP Will McEntire (3-0, 3.48)
Sunday – TBA vs. TBA
QUICK HITTERS
Auburn has won its SEC opening weekend series three times in six conference seasons under head coach Butch Thompson, including its first conference road series twice.
The Tigers' 16 SEC wins in 2022 were tied for the most in a season since winning 20 league games and the SEC Western Division Championship in 2010.
Auburn is the only team in the SEC with four players who have started at least half of its team's games hitting .400 or higher - Ike Irish, Cole Foster, Bryson Ware and Chris Stanfield.
After making three midweek starts, Tommy Vail is set to make his first weekend start Friday.
Vail and Zach Crotchfelt combined to pitch 10.2 scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts last week.
All five of Auburn's conference road series are against teams currently ranked in the top 25.
The Tigers won 18 games away from home in 2022, tied for the most since 1998 (20).
Auburn is 49-51 all-time against Arkansas, including 19-26 vs. the Razorbacks in Fayetteville.
The Tigers have won five series in Fayetteville and are looking for their first since 2014.
SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS
Arkansas enters the weekend with a 15-2 overall record and has won 10 straight games since Mar. 1.
The Razorbacks are hitting .310 as a team and rank 15th in the country in home runs (34) and slugging (.566).
Junior outfielder Jace Bohrofen leads the way with a .436 average, while grad transfer Jared Wegner leads the team with eight homers and 29 RBI.
The pitching staff has turned in a 4.74 ERA with 156 strikeouts and 66 walks in 150.0 innings. The regular weekend rotation is a combined 9-0 with a 2.37 ERA.