Baseball at Auburn

[ValleyBoy]

AUBURN, Ala. - Coming off a record-setting season that saw Auburn advance to its second super regional in program history, head coach Butch Thompson and the 15th-ranked Tigers begin the 2019 season with a three-game series against Georgia Southern.
Opening Day at Plainsman Park is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. CT. First pitch for game two is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m., and the series will conclude Sunday at 1 p.m.
All three games can be heard locally on WTGZ-FM (93.9), online at AuburnTigers.com, or on a mobile device via the Auburn Athletics app. Friday and Saturday's contest will also be available on SEC Network+.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday -- Jr. RHP Davis Daniel (3-4, 4.86) vs. Jr. RHP Seth Shuman (8-5, 4.41)
Saturday -- So. RHP Tanner Burns (7-4, 3.01) vs. Fr. LHP Braden Hays (HS)
Sunday -- R-Jr. LHP Kyle Gray (7-1, 2.73; Blinn College) vs. Sr. RHP Daniel Collins (NAIA)
QUICK HITTERS
Auburn is 54-16 (.771) on Opening Day since 1949 and has won eight straight season openers.
Head coach Butch Thompson begins his fourth season at the helm of the program. He became the fourth coach in program history to record 100 wins in his first three seasons in 2018.
The Tigers 2019 roster consists of 19 newcomers and 17 returning players, including All-SEC shortstop Will Holland, junior pitcher Davis Daniel and a quartet of Freshman All-Americans in Tanner Burns, Cody Greenhill, Edouard Julien and Steven Williams.
Daniel, who forwent the 2018 MLB Draft to return to Auburn for his junior season, makes his first Opening Day start Friday night. In his last six relief appearances and 18.1 innings pitched in 2018, Daniel posted a 2.45 ERA and struck out 25 batters.
Auburn returns 41 home runs among its core trio of Julien (17), Holland (12) and Williams (12). The 41 home runs among the three players are the most among any returning trio in the SEC.
Dating back to the 2017 season, the Tigers are 40-12 in the non-conference and 21-4 against non-conference foes on the weekend.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Georgia Southern head coach Rodney Hennon enters his 20th season at the helm for the Eagles and has posted a record of 674-463 (.593).
The Eagles return 25 players from a 2018 squad that went 30-26 overall and 18-11 in Sun Belt play.
The top six hitters return for Georgia Southern with a combined .261 average, 325 hits, and 149 RBI among them.
Georgia Southern brings back 20 wins and 326.0 innings from last year's pitching staff that ranked sixth in the Sun Belt Conference in ERA (4.71).
Junior Mason McWhorter looks to build on his sophomore season after leading the Eagles in several offensive categories including runs (42), hits (58), doubles (18), home runs (11), RBI (42), and total bases (111).
Opening Day starter Seth Shuman was named to the Sun Belt Preseason All-Conference Team after winning eight games on the mound in each of the last two seasons.
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend marks the first series between Auburn and Georgia Southern. The two teams previously met in the 2000 NCAA Tournament and in a 2009 midweek contest with Auburn emerging victorious on both occasions.
FYI
Gates open one hour prior to first pitch.
Fans attending baseball are advised to park in the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum lot, the Stadium Parking Deck off Heisman Drive, or the Athletics Complex Parking Deck. Fans should note that the Auburn Arena lot will close at 5 p.m. Friday for gymnastics and 1 p.m. Sunday for women's basketball.
On Saturday, fans wishing to park in the Stadium Parking Deck should enter via Heisman Drive. The entrance to the deck from Duncan Drive will be closed until 3 p.m.
The Stadium Parking Deck is also available for game viewing. If there is a conflict with a men's basketball game, fans can park on the bottom two levels of the deck.
A cell phone charging station is available to fans near the front gate adjacent to the promotions booth.
Grass areas around the park and adjacent parking lots are open for tailgating.

https://auburntigers.com/news/2019/2...-southern.aspx

STATESBORO –Georgia Southern Baseball opens the 2019 season this weekend with a trip to face Auburn. The Eagles face the Tigers for the first time in a weekend series this weekend and face a squad who came one run shy of a trip to Omaha last year. Seth Shuman will get the ball for the Eagles on opening day with first pitch set for 7 p.m. (ET) / 6 p.m. (CT) on SEC Network + and the Georgia Southern Sports Network.

Season and single game tickets are now available at GSEagles.com/Tickets, giving fans the opportunity to beat the lines on gameday. Tickets can also be purchased on gameday at the J.I. Clements Stadium Box Office, located directly behind home plate at the stadium's main entrance.

GAME NOTES
Georgia Southern (PDF) (PDF)
Auburn (PDF)

FRIDAY (2.15.19)
Georgia Southern at Auburn
7 p.m. (ET) - Plainsman Park (Auburn, Ala.)
RADIO - Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO - SEC Network+
LIVE STATS
GS - RHP - Seth Shuman
AUB - RHP - Davis Daniel

SATURDAY (2.16.19)
Georgia Southern at Auburn
3 p.m. (ET) - Plainsman Park (Auburn, Ala.)
RADIO - Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO - SEC Network+
LIVE STATS
GS - LHP - Braden Hays
AUB - RHP - Tanner Burns

SUNDAY (2.17.19)
Georgia Southern at Auburn
2 p.m. (ET) - Plainsman Park (Auburn, Ala.)
RADIO - Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO - None
LIVE STATS
GS - RHP - Daniel Collins
AUB - LHP - Kyle Gray

QUICK HITS
- The Eagles open the 2019 season this weekend with the program's first weekend series against the Auburn Tigers. The series is the first of two for the Eagles to be played in the Yellowhammer State along with the May 3-4-5 set against Troy.
- Georgia Southern was eliminated from the 2018 Sun Belt Baseball Tournament on a 12-0 run-rule defeat to South Alabama. The Jags scored nine runs in the opening two innings and added three more in the seventh to send the Eagles back to Statesboro.
- Georgia Southern is 0-2 all-time against the Tigers, dropping a 2000 postseason game (11-5) and a midweek contest in 2009 (8-6).
- This weekend's series marks the fifth time in the last 10 years that the Eagles have opened the year against an SEC team. Georgia Southern took two of three from Georgia in 2013 and 2014. The Eagles took the middle game of the series with Georgia in 2016 and 2018.
- In the four recent series against SEC foes to open the year, Georgia Southern has sent out six pitchers to make their Georgia Southern debut. The Eagles are 3-3 in those games. This weekend Braden Hays and Daniel Collins will make their debut outings with the Eagles.
- After posting an 8-5 record in 2018, Seth Shuman claimed his second-straight Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference nod. Shuman recorded a 4.41 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 98.0 innings of work.
- After earning the third spot in the 2017 and 2018 Sun Belt East Division Preseason Polls, Georgia Southern fell to fourth place in the 2019 poll, just behind Troy which earned an At-Large bid to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
- Georgia Southern enters 2019 with a full house of returners. The Eagles bring back nine of 10 position starters and two of four starting pitchers.
- To Georgia Southern fans, the name Erk Russell stirs True Blue emotions, but the venerable coach, who led the Eagles to three FCS National Championships, got his start on the Plains. Russell lettered in four sports, hit .154 for the Tigers in 1949 and coached Auburn for four seasons (1959-62), posting a 59-37-1 record. He left the Tigers in 1963, working a year at Vanderbilt before becoming the Defensive Coordinator at Georgia in 1964, where he served until 1980. He came to Statesboro in 1981, restarted a football program that lay dormant for 40 years, and turned the Eagles into a football powerhouse. When he retired after the 1989 season, Russell owned an 83-22-1 record, and FCS Championships in 1985, 1986 and 1989.

UP NEXT
After opening the season on the road, Georgia Southern is back home for 11 of their next 12 games including home series against West Virginia and Georgia. The 2019 Home Opener is set for Tuesday night when Georgia Tech rambles down to Statesboro for a 6 p.m. tilt at the friendly confines. Get your tickets now at GSEagles.com/tickets.

https://gseagles.com/news/2019/2/14/...at-auburn.aspx

[claxtoneagle]

Tough series to start the season... true freshman starting second game?

[Eskimojoe]

So we got some NAIA guy with bad numbers throughout his career as our Sunday guy?

[BillyBob]

Tonight's lineup for Game One of 2019 vs. Auburn

Five Eagles will start in the same position they started for the season finale last May. pic.twitter.com/2Ovk8sLj1r

— GS Baseball (@GSAthletics_BSB) February 15, 2019

[eaglechamp]

Quick 1-0 lead in the 1st

[Eskimojoe]

Three strikeouts to start the game between and error and a single.

[eaglechamp]

Weather looks terrible. Temp in the 50's and misting rain.

And the announcer just called us the "Golden Eagles"......

[willgsu]

Golden Eagles up 1-0.

[GATA]

Shuman not looking great out there

[eaglechamp]

An inauspicious start for Shuman. Three hit batters, a hit and an error in the first.