Arkansas hits the road for a big SEC West series this weekend. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the three games at Auburn...
Schedule, How to Watch
Friday, May 6 — 7 p.m. (SECN+)
Saturday, May 7 — 4:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Sunday, May 8 — 1 p.m. (SECN+)
Weather Report
College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413 (at) gmail (dot) com.
Weekend Rotation
Arkansas is coming off a weekend in which it managed to secure a series win despite not having an excellent weekend in terms of starting pitching.
Noland notched several individual marks in his series-opening start, setting career highs with eight innings pitched and 11 hits allowed on top of two season highs with four runs allowed and four walks issued on a season-low three strikeouts. The Rebels also flew out eight times, which is two more than Noland forced in any other 2022 start.
Smith had the best outing statistically among the trio, giving up two runs on a pair of solo shots while completing six innings of work. He bounced back well from a short outing against Texas A&M, issuing only two free passes and getting his pitch velocity back into the low-90s.
Wiggins had another start that left much to be desired. He made it through only three innings before being yanked in favor of the bullpen. Although the three runs he allowed weren’t enough for Ole Miss to win the rubber match, he walked three Rebels while striking out two.
(READ NEXT: Arkansas keeps Wiggins in Game 3 slot)
Auburn ace Hayden Mullins will not start this weekend following an injury to his throwing arm suffered against Tennessee. Mason Barnett will get the call in his place.
Making 13 appearances in 2022, eight of which were starts, Barnett has mostly been used in midweek start situations, but has also been called on to make three outings in SEC play. He hasn’t had a scoreless outing in 10 tries, with the last being when he blanked UAB in a one-inning appearance.
Barnett has a strong build and uses his lower half to generate velocity in the low-90s with a slurvy curveball and a changeup.
“He probably has the best stuff on the staff, but maybe doesn’t have that lockdown, tough mentality,” Auburn insider Bryan Matthews told HawgBeat. “The first time through the order he can be really, really good.”
The Tigers will go with the right-handed Trace Bright on Saturday. He’s been a workhorse for the Auburn pitching staff, leading the team with 56 2/3 innings pitched and is the only arm to start every appearance in 2022.
Bright uses his 6-foot-4 height to create downhill action with his two distinct fastballs that sit in the low-90s. He pairs the heaters with a loopy downer curveball and good changeup. He’s comfortable with all pitches in the bag and mixes well.
Named the SEC Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 1, he pitched much better against non-conference opponents than SEC foes this season. In seven conference appearances, he holds a 6.42 ERA with a 40/17 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In the span of just over a month, the Tigers lost seven consecutive games when he was the starting pitcher. Despite that, he’s second in the SEC striking out 16 batters looking in conference play.
Joseph Gonzalez has easily been Auburn’s best starting pitcher and has largely flown under the radar in terms of national attention. He’s also received honors from the conference, being named Co-SEC Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 11.
His name appears on the SEC leaderboards in several statistical categories. A 2.30 ERA is fifth best in the conference, six wins are tied for fifth (with Hagen Smith and two others), 15 runs allowed are also tied for fifth and eight walks are tied for third.
He’s been susceptible to hits, surrendering at least seven in each SEC start, but excels at keeping them for singles, as only 11 of the 53 knocks allowed were for extra bases. All four of the home runs he’s allowed came in two starts against Tennessee and Mississippi State.
He stands at the same height as Bright at 6-foot-4, but is much more physical at 230 pounds. Gonzalez has a very slow and deliberate delivery, letting his body naturally create velocity into the low-90s with his sinker. Unafraid of contact, he also has a slider that he can manipulate to break on multiple planes. He tends to lean on the sinker to quickly get through lineups and last deep into starts with few pitches thrown.
In five SEC starts, the Puerto Rican has gone at least six innings each time — at least seven in four — and has put a goose egg in the run column for exactly half of his ten appearances. His worst game came last week against Tennessee, but he still managed to go 7 1/3 as he walked only one batter on 91 pitches.
The Tigers’ three most dependable arms out of the bullpen are Blake Burkhalter, Chase Allsup and Carson Skipper.
Burkhalter is the bonafide closer, as his 11 saves in 2022 are tops in the SEC. In the South Carolina series, he racked up a save in each of the three contests, becoming the first player in program history to do so and the first pitcher in the SEC to achieve that since 2017. His four wins are tied for second most on the staff. He also has the lowest WHIP of any Auburn pitcher by a wide margin at 0.83.
However, Burkhalter tweaked his hamstring in Auburn’s previous series against Tennessee and he's considered day-to-day for the Arkansas series.
Skipper is the other Tiger to tally four wins in 2022 and his 1.06 WHIP is second to only Burkhalter. A veteran lefty, he has been the set-up man to Burkhalter and is likely to see a good chunk of innings against the Hogs, especially considering their struggles against lefties.
Finally, Allsup has been used the least among the trio with 18 2/3 innings in 14 appearances, but the freshman has been the stingiest, posting a 2.41 ERA.
Tommy Sheehan is the only other lefty likely to see innings in the series. The Tigers tend to use him once per series, but his 6.43 ERA and 1.62 WHIP aren’t great on top of a 17/16 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Projected Starting Lineups
(NOTE: Freshman Peyton Stovall could potentially start at first base, but has been dealing with a finger injury. His slash line is .263/.365/.372. Redshirt junior Zack Gregory could also start in left field. His slash is .267/.468/.500.)
Know the Foe
2022 Record: 31-14 (12-9 SEC)
Head Coach: Butch Thompson (7th season, 210-156 record)
Conference Standings: t-2nd in SEC West, t-3rd in SEC overall
~Coming off a season in which the Tigers finished just under .500 at 25-27 and went one and done in the SEC tournament, they have outperformed expectations this season. As of now, Auburn is on pace to record the most wins in any season under Butch Thompson, including the 2019 season when it made a run to Omaha.
~Auburn is the first school to give Butch Thompson a head coaching gig since Jefferson State Community College in 1997. His time in the SEC began in 2002 when he was hired as an assistant coach at Georgia. After two years with the Bulldogs, Auburn hired him as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator three years later. After three more years in that role, he moved to Mississippi State to become the associate head coach and pitching coach. He lasted three years there before he returned to Auburn to fill his present role.
~Beginning in 1992 when the two SEC West foes first met, the all-time series between Arkansas and Auburn is deadlocked at 48-48. However, the Razorbacks have had more recent success, going 14-5 against the Tigers since 2015.
~The Auburn offense is led by transfer Sonny DiChiara, who spent the first three years of his collegiate career at Samford. He’s had no problem adjusting to SEC pitching, as his .436 batting average and .597 on-base percentage both lead the nation. His 50 walks drawn are second in the country — although his 1.22 walks per game are No. 1 — and .842 slugging percentage is third. He is considered a frontrunner for the Golden Spikes Award.
~The Tigers’ leadoff man, Blake Rambusch, forms the other half of the “Thunder and Lightning” duo with DiChiara. While DiChiara leads the team with 13 dingers, Rambusch has the team lead in stolen bases with 13 on 18 attempts — the 13 swiped bags are tied for third in the SEC and five times caught is the most. Holding the most plate appearances, at bats and hits in the conference, his .362 batting average is fifth in the SEC and .445 on-base percentage is tenth.
~Kason Howell is the Tigers’ center fielder and other main offensive threat. Typically sandwiched between Rambusch and DiChiara in the two hole, the senior isn’t much of a power threat with only two round trippers this season, but posts solid offensive numbers across the board and his nine stolen bases trail only Rambusch for most on the squad.
~Similar to the Hogs, who lead the SEC in double plays turned, the Tigers excel at turning two. Their 37 double plays trail the Hogs by five and are third overall in the conference. Offensively, Auburn excels at not hitting into them, as its 19 double plays grounded into is fourth fewest in the SEC.
~Compared to Arkansas, who has a wide disparity in batting average when facing left-handed pitchers compared to right-handed pitchers, Auburn is tied for the smallest margin of differential in the conference with Mississippi State. Hitting .285 against southpaws and .293 against righties, the .008 of difference is far off from the Hogs who have a .051 differential, hitting .238 when facing lefties and .289 against righties.
~Although many Arkansas fans complain that the Hogs leave too many runners on base, it’s been much more of a problem for Auburn in 2022. The Tigers have left 389 total runners on base, which is 50 more than the Razorbacks and is the most in the conference by 17.
Quotable
“Very offensive. Really can hit. Added a couple of guys into that lineup that was good last year. I think they have a switch-hitter and a left-handed hitter, but the rest of them are right-handed, but they can really hit. They’ve been playing good. They’re hard to beat. They’re not scared. They’re not intimidated. Like I said, they’ve got older kids and it’s going to be tough down there.” — DVH on Auburn
“I think it’s really even. I think a lot of the teams are very talented, especially on the weekends. They’ve got teams that I think are very experienced. I think it’ll probably go down to the last weekend, probably the last game.” — DVH on SEC West race
“I don’t really talk about this being bigger than that. I don’t feel like I need to put that on them. They know that every game is big from here on in, especially where we sit. I don’t feel like I need to give these guys any speeches. I think they get it. We’ve done pretty well here the last four or five years and have been in the race down the stretch. I think about ‘18, we had to fight to win the West. ‘19, it was the same way. Even last year, we were winning a lot, but there were some teams that were right there with us until the very end. It’s nothing new, so it’s not like I really have to tell them how to think. They know what we’re in for. They know that we’re going to get everybody’s best shot, and teams are trying to catch us. And it’s their home series. They don’t play tonight, they don’t play tomorrow. They may be taking finals. They’ll be ready for us.” —DVH on the importances of the Auburn series
Stat Comparison
PREVIEW VIDEOS
