Three Auburn Players Who Stood Out in Sweep by Georgia Bulldogs
The Auburn Tigers were swept in their first series loss dating back to last season. In a battle of SEC titans, the Tigers simply didn’t put up enough runs to compete with the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs.
It is the Bulldogs’ second straight sweep. They swept the Florida Gators last weekend. While the Tigers were swept, there were still some things to take away from the series.
While the Tigers were out-pitched with the exception of Carson Myers, they weren’t outhit. The Tigers went toe-to-toe with the third-best team in the nation, which features the two leaders in home runs in Ryland Zaborowski and Robbie Burnett, per NCAA. Zaborowski made sure that his presence was felt during the series, launching a long ball into the trees behind Foley Field.
Head coach Butch Thompson had to mess with his starting lineups a bit due to the double-header. However, due to that, some players actually played a bit better. The three standouts were left fielder Bristol Carter, right fielder Ike Irish and relief pitcher Carson Myers.
Carter was named a starter after the Tigers struggled at the plate in game one. He immediately relished the opportunity and hit his second home run of the year. He also made several defensive plays, including throwing out a runner at home to get out of the inning.
Carter may only be a sophomore, but he played a full season at East Carolina and was a solid batter for the Pirates. He hit .346 over 56 appearances. It is very likely that Carter could see more starts instead of being just used as a pinch runner.
Ike Irish, throughout the entire series, was a menace at the plate. He now has seven home runs in seven games since returning from an injury, where he fractured his scapula back in the Old Dominion series.
In this series, he hit another two bombs out of Foley Field. Irish’s dominance at the plate has been strong regardless of who is pitching to him. It is likely that as long as he remains healthy, he will continue to crush the ball out of whatever park the Tigers are playing in.
Carson Myers’ only appearance came in the third game of the series. After the Bulldogs knocked Christian Chatterton out of the game early in the game, the Tigers turned to Myers who ate 4.2 innings.
It was by far, the best pitching performance Auburn had all series. The reliever allowed just two hits and struck out 10 Bulldog batters in the process. He even went on a stretch of seven consecutive strikeouts before Myers’ day was ended. His 10 strikeouts were a career-high. For him to do that against the Bulldogs, Thompson had to take notice, and it’s likely Myers will be relied on more heavily in the future.
All three players have been through a full college baseball season and still seem to be hitting their stride after 27 games. We will see if that is the case in a few weeks.
The Tigers will face the UAB Blazers in the midweek on April 1 at 6 p.m. CDT at Plainsman Park. They will be looking to get revenge after losing to UAB in their first meeting earlier this season. The Tigers will be looking to get back in the winning column after losing three straight.
