The No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks are riding a 10-game win streak entering this weekend’s first conference series of the year. Arkansas welcomes the Auburn Tigers (13-3-1) to Fayetteville too kick off SEC play.
In a surprising move, Dave Van Horn has opted to switch up his pitching rotation for this weekend. Instead of starting LHP Hagen Smith on Sunday, he’ll opt to use Smith in whatever situation he’s needed against the Tigers.
“Wild card, closer, long reliever, finisher – however you want to say it,” Van Horn said. “When you have some things happen with arms, sometimes you’ve got to make some changes, and we just felt like that might be something we needed to do this weekend.”
It will be interesting to see how the move plays out against a talented Auburn squad that has only dropped one series all season.
To get more insight on what the Tigers might have in store for the Diamond Hogs this weekend, we caught up with Taylor Jones of Auburn Wire. Who is Auburn’s weekend ace? Which Auburn bats will we need to watch? How does this weekend play out?
Those questions, and more, are answered in this latest edition of Behind Enemy Lines with Auburn Wire’s Taylor Jones.
(Photo by Grayson Belanger – Auburn Athletics)
From your perspective, how has Auburn’s season gone so far?
Despite losing their top two pitchers and four of their five best hitters from last season’s Omaha team, Auburn has had a pretty good season. One reason why is their inability to give up. Auburn has erased 7-0 deficits twice this season, most recently on Tuesday when they defeated Georgia Tech, 12-11 in 12 innings. This team is scrappy and will keep playing until the final out is recorded.
(Photo by Grayson Belanger – Auburn Athletics)
Justin Kirby was a highly-touted transfer addition this offseason, what has his impact been for Auburn so far?
Kirby has been valuable in the run department with seven HR and 20 RBI. He has found a way to become more consistent at the plate of late, as he has recorded 11 hits in nine games. Before that stretch, he had six hits through the first eight games of the season… all were home runs.
With his power, can you imagine having Justin Kirby and Michael Turner on the same team? Kent State had that luxury before both players transferred to the SEC for their final eligible season.
(Photo by Grayson Belanger – Auburn Athletics)
Who is Auburn’s ace in their…
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