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5 takeaways from Auburn's 86-54 loss at Kentucky Nathan King 8–10 minutes Auburn knew it would take a special effort for the program to snap a 19-game losing streak in Rupp Arena and win its first road game against Kentucky in 35 years. By the end of the afternoon, though, the Tigers would have probably settled for simply a competitive performance in what ended up being a complete nightmare of a game. In its worst margin of defeat this season by a landslide, Auburn was thoroughly dominated in all areas by Kentucky, 86-54 on Saturday in Lexington. "I apologize to our fans for such a letdown," Bruce Pearl said postgame. Here are Auburn Undercover’s five takeaways, as the Tigers are now in desperate need of a bounce-back in their final two games after being eviscerated for its worst margin of defeat in a game since 2016. Key stretch Eight straight points by Jaylin Williams gave Auburn a 25-24 lead with 5:24 remaining in the first half. Auburn had yet to be burned by Kentucky’s torrid shooting start to the game, thanks to forced turnovers and offensive rebounding. When those began to falter, though, and the Tigers missed more shots, the Wildcats took full advantage and ended up with a double-digit lead at the break. Kentucky started 8-of-12 from the floor and didn’t cool down much the rest of the half, especially beyond the arc. The Wildcats were selective but efficient with their attempts from 3-point range, making 5-of-6 shots from beyond the arc in the first half. Back-to-back triples by Jacob Toppin and Cason Wallace sparked a 16-4 run by Kentucky to end the first half. Auburn missed eight of its final nine attempts from the floor heading into halftime. "We were obviously ready to play because we played well early," Pearl said. "But from the last four minutes of the first half all the way through the second half, very, very poor performance and very, very poor effort." The Wildcats tried to put the game away out of the locker room, scoring 7 of the first 9 points in the second half, including 5 quick second-chance points on three offensive rebounds in less than two minutes. Auburn trailed 47-31 at the first media timeout of the second half, and things only got worse thanks to Kentucky’s rebounding, 3-point shooting and defense. Auburn shot 33 percent from the floor in the second half and was outscored 46-25. "We weren't helping each other out, and that's the key to being able to play in a hostile environment: trusting each other and relying on each other and both ends of the floor," Pearl said. "And we didn't." Battle of the bigs favors Kentucky Arguably the top two big men in the league went at it early, combining for 13 of the game’s first 15 points and 17 of the first 23. Johni Broome was playing well defensively, forcing two shot-clock violations against Oscar Tshiebwe in the first five minutes. Broome had 9 points and a block at the game’s first media timeout. But Tshiebwe, the reigning national player of the year, continued to muscle his way through Auburn’s frontline, and began doing so with more success as the game progressed. Tshiebwe notched a double-double in the first half alone, with 14 points and 10 boards. Broome’s impact began to fade over the course of the first half, and really the rest of the game because of his foul issues. The Morehead State transfer was tagged with his fourth foul with 13:12 left in the game. After 9 points in the first 3:19 of the action, Broome didn’t score another point until nearly 31 minutes of game time later, when he hit a couple free throws following a flagrant foul on Tshiebwe. Broome finished with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting and only one rebound. Pearl clearly wanted to juggle Broome’s usage on and off the floor to keep him fresh and out of foul trouble in a big-time matchup against Tshiebwe, but that plan was hindered quickly. Backup center Dylan Cardwell hurt those efforts in a big way, too, by picking up three fouls in his first six minutes on the court. Tshiebwe finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds to highlight another concerning performance for the Tigers on the glass. Despite securing the game’s first six offensive rebounds — a major factor in the Tigers hanging around for the majority of the first half — Auburn was utterly worked on the boards to the tune of 41-23. Pearl’s team has now been outrebounded 74-46 over its past two games. He declared after the Ole Miss win Wednesday that Auburn would "get beat by 40" if it duplicated its rebounding performance in the next game against Kentucky. He was certainly prophetic in that regard. "We just got dominated on the boards," Pearl said. "We got 13 defensive rebounds. And they got 12 offensive rebounds. The numbers are incredible. Tshiebwe and Toppin (13 points and 12 rebounds) physically had their way with us." Auburn’s floor general shackled early Auburn’s two best players are Broome and point guard Wendell Green Jr. It’s been difficult for the Tigers to win when one of them plays poorly — or at least has trouble getting their offensive rolling consistently. Saturday, Auburn dealt with an off game for both. Green Jr. started 2-of-9 from the floor and was also limited by his own foul issues. His third personal of the game came 17 seconds into the second half, and he took an elbow to the face in the process. The junior finished with 9 points but made just 3-of-12 shots. In Auburn’s two biggest margins of defeat this season — a 12-point loss at Georgia in early January and a 32-point loss in Rupp Arena on Saturday — Green Jr. has combined to shoot 5-of-24. Green Jr. and Broome weren't helped much, though, as Pearl's plea for more contributions from his bench continues to fall on deaf ears. The Tigers finished with 13 bench points thanks to an 8-0 run in the final two minutes, when all the starters were out of the game, but a bench player didn't score for Auburn until a 3-pointer by K.D. Johnson with 14:36 left in the game. "We got as Wendell goes — and obviously," Pearl said. "Wendell struggled. But obviously, he did not have a lot of help." Standout stat Kentucky entered the game 12-0 on the season in games where it shoots better than 35 percent from beyond the arc. It was clear in the very early stages of Saturday’s blowout that Auburn was going to have a difficult time keeping the Wildcats from that mark. Kentucky started 5-of-6 from deep and finished 8-of-13, marking Auburn’s worst 3-point defensive performance, percentage-wise, of the season by a significant margin (62 percent). "They've got great players at every position," Pearl said. "They are pros at every position, and so whether they have an advantage on the inside offensively, or if they have advantages at the guard spots, they're just, in a lot of ways really, superior." The Wildcats made just three triples in the second half, but both were in the first few minutes, as the game entered into cruise-control territory for the home team. Auburn, meanwhile, went 7-of-21 from deep. Williams, who had 13 points to lead Auburn in scoring, made two in the first half and shot 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. All other Tigers were 4-for-14. Auburn had only four assists in the game. Blowout loss 'really hurts' Auburn's tournament resume Up to this point, one of the primary draws of Auburn's NCAA Tournament resume was that the Tigers didn't have any ugly losses — with a 12-point defeat in a road conference game (Georgia) serving as the worst. Kentucky was a Quad 1 game for Auburn, but a 32-point margin is never going to sit well in terms of the Tigers' ratings, as they continue to fight for a tournament bid down the stretch of the regular season. "It was a complete domination on both ends of the floor, and it really hurts our NCAA hopes because of the margin," Pearl said. There's no telling how the field of 68 will shake out in the final week of the regular season, and the Tigers could still be a First Four team even with two more losses. But a win against either Alabama or Tennessee would be colossal and would certainly calm some nerves about Auburn potentially missing out on the big dance this year. And Pearl acknowledges that. "We've got to regroup," Pearl said. "We've got to go to Alabama, and we've got Tennessee at home, and we've got to win one of them, at least."

Auburn is kicked out of KenPom top 25 following loss to Kentucky Taylor Jones 4–5 minutes Saturday’s game between Auburn and Kentucky had the makings of being a barn burner for the first 15 minutes of game time. However, when the Wildcats gained control with 5:03 remaining in the first half, they turned on the jets and left Auburn in the dust. Kentucky outscored Auburn 71-50 over the game’s final 25 minutes to win big, 86-54. Buy Tigers Tickets Kentucky built an 11-point halftime lead and led by as many as 40-points before an 8-0 run by Auburn trimmed the lead to 32 points by the game’s end. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was less than thrilled with his team’s performance. “It was just awful on all ends of the court,” Pearl said Saturday following his team’s loss to Kentucky. “We got beat in every facet of the game. We weren’t competitive. We were obviously ready to play because we played well early but from the last four minutes of the first half all the way through the second half, a very, very poor performance–a very, very poor effort. I apologize to our fans for such a letdown.” As a result, Auburn’s place in the latest KenPom rankings has suffered drastically. With two games remaining in the regular season, Auburn will need to play incredibly well in order to boost their chances for a comfortable NCAA seeding. The road will not be easy as their final two opponents, Alabama and Tennessee closed Saturday as top-five teams in the KenPom. Here’s how Saturday’s loss affects Auburn in the latest KenPom ranking update: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports The 32-point loss did a number to Auburn’s overall KenPom ranking as they fell eight spots from last Wednesday’s update following the win over Ole Miss. Houston, UCLA, Alabama, Tennessee, and UConn round out the top five following Saturday’s action. That spells bad news for Auburn, as the Tigers face two of the KenPom’s top five teams in the final week of the regular season. Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports Auburn suffered another noticable drop, this time in adjusted offensive efficiency. Auburn checks in at No. 77 entering Sunday, which is a ten-spot drop from Wednesday. According to KenPom, Auburn is projected to score 111.0 points per 100 possessions. Gonzaga is the best team in this category by scoring a projected 123.4 points per 100 possessions. Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports The Tigers suffer a small drop in adjusted defensive efficiency from No. 15 to No. 19. Despite the dip, Auburn remains in the top 25 by allowing their opponents to score a projected 94.5 points per 100 possessions. Auburn’s regular-season finale foe, Tennessee, is the nation’s best team. KenPom forecasts the Volunteers to allow a total of 86.7 poins per 100 possessions. Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports Auburn gained a couple of spots in the adjusted tempo category by creating an estimated 68 possessions per game. In Saturday’s game at Kentucky, Auburn had 65 offensive possessions, but only scored on 24 of them. St. John’s and Alabama have the most offensive possessions per game according to KenPom, as they are projected to have 73.5 possessions per game. Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports Kentucky’s strong win over Auburn actually benefits the Tigers. Auburn now holds the No. 33 toughest schedule in the nation according to KenPom, which is a nine-place increase from Wednesday’s game against Ole Miss. Kansas holds on to the nation’s toughest schedule. The Tuscaloosa News Alabama improved to 25-4, 15-1 in SEC play after defeating Arkansas, 86-83. Here’s a look how their win over the Razorbacks affects their KenPom rankings Overall: No. 3 Offensive efficiency: No. 17 Defensive efficiency: No. 5 Tempo: No. 2 Strength of Schedule: No. 8

flywareagle.com Former Auburn football star gives brutal assessment of basketball team after Kentucky loss Andrew Hughes 2–3 minutes Former Auburn football star Kerryon Johnson had a brutal assessment of the basketball team after the Tigers' 86-54 loss to Kentucky Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports Former Auburn football star running back Kerryon Johnson had a brutal assessment of the Auburn basketball team following a soul-crushing 86-54 loss to Kentucky at the Rupp Arena on February 25. The Tigers lost a critical conference clash, their 10th loss of the season and one that moves them to 9-7 in the SEC, to a Wildcats squad they could’ve been tied in the conference standings with in a thorough Kentucky rout that saw an 11-point halftime deficit turn into a 32-point massacre by game’s end. The former Auburn football star had specific criticisms of Wendell Green Jr. — who shot 3/12 from the field overall and had as many assists (two) as turnovers — and Johni Broome, while shouting out Jaylin Williams for playing as well as he possibly could: Johnson believes Auburn basketball needs to commit to an identity that fits its personnel if it has any hopes of salvaging the final two games of the 2022-23 season against Alabama (3/1) and Tennessee (3/4): Former Auburn football star Kerryon Johnson feels like we all do about Auburn basketball It’s hard not to feel the same way Johnson does about the 2022-23 Auburn basketball team: Coming into the season, it was thought that if Chance Westry and Yohan Traore would step into big roles and contribute off the bat, that the Tigers would have a chance at repeating as SEC regular season champions. Westry has been injured, though, and Traore has not been able to consistently crack the rotation. That has resulted in an underwhelming season that now has AU on the bubble with matchups as underdogs left on the docket against Alabama and Tennessee. What happens next is anyone’s guess but Johnson is right: this has been a frustrating season to be an Auburn Tiger.

yahoo.com Auburn’s Bruce Pearl has a message for his basketball team before its game at Kentucky Cameron Drummond 3–4 minutes In the aftermath of Auburn’s latest men’s basketball game — a 78-74 home win over Ole Miss on Wednesday night that proved to be the last straw for former Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis — Bruce Pearl wasn’t in a completely celebratory mood. Pearl, now in his ninth season as Auburn’s head coach, spent a decent part of his six-minute, 30-second postgame press conference discussing the Tigers’ shortcomings in the win and how improvement must arrive in short order. Auburn (19-9 overall, 9-6 SEC) plays at Kentucky at 4 p.m. Saturday inside Rupp Arena. “They’re athletic, they’re strong. But Kentucky is bigger, stronger and more athletic,” Pearl said Wednesday night, comparing Ole Miss (2-13 in the SEC) to Kentucky (10-5 in league games). “So we’re going to be up there in Rupp against probably the biggest, best offensive rebounding team in the league.” On this point, Pearl is mostly correct. UK is second in the SEC in total offensive rebounds with 374 (Tennessee has 379) and also second in the league in offensive rebounds per game with 13.4 (Tennessee has 13.5). UK is also 19-4 this season when winning the rebounding battle. Individually though, the Wildcats boast the league’s best rebounder in Oscar Tshiebwe, who has 90 more total rebounds than former Morehead State star and current Auburn big man Johni Broome in second (239). On the offensive glass, Tshiebwe is also the league’s runaway leader: 133 offensive rebounds total and a whopping 5.1 offensive rebounds per game. Even more impressive is the fact that Tshiebwe hasn’t even been at his rebounding best of late. In last weekend’s rousing home win over Tennessee, Tshiebwe had just seven total rebounds and two offensive rebounds, both of which ranked second on the UK team behind Chris Livingston (10 total rebounds and three offensive boards). In Wednesday night’s road win at Florida, Tshiebwe’s four total rebounds and two offensive rebounds both ranked third on the UK team behind Livingston and Jacob Toppin. Perhaps adding to Pearl’s concern level about Saturday afternoon’s fight for loose balls is the fact that Auburn was out-rebounded by Ole Miss, 38-28, on Wednesday night. Ole Miss had 17 offensive rebounds in that game, and Pearl even offered a premonition for the Kentucky game based on that total. “If we rebound like we did tonight, we’re going to get beat by 40 (at Kentucky),” Pearl said. Saturday Auburn at Kentucky When: 4 p.m. TV: CBS-27 Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1 Records: Auburn 19-9 (9-6 SEC); Kentucky 19-9 (10-5) Series: Kentucky leads 96-23 Last meeting: Auburn won 80-71 on Jan. 22, 2022, at Auburn, Ala.

i imagine we will all know more soon. it has been weird as far as articles go. with almost half the team new the articles went from duplicates to nothing.other than pod casts. i think we will find out a lot about our new player interest and all that.it should be a fun time between now and A day and i will post as much as i can unless i get sick or go to jail.

247sports.com 'Just don't let them down:' Family comes first for Auburn's Wendell Green Jr. Nathan King 8–10 minutes In the early stages of this season, Wendell Green Sr. was privy to a conversation between his son and a former teammate, Devan Cambridge, who opted to transfer following the Tigers’ 2021-22 SEC championship campaign and landed at Arizona State, where he’s playing with his brother. The two were catching up on what things are like at Auburn, and how Cambridge is settling in the Pac-12. The athletic wing had high goals for himself this season, but there was one area of his game he knew wasn’t going to be as prolific as it was with the Tigers. “‘Hey, man, thanks for throwing me all those lobs,’” Green Sr. heard Cambridge joke on the phone. “‘I mean, maybe I get a few here or there. But they don’t throw ‘em up there like you did.’” Not many do. Wendell Green Jr.’s passing prowess and offensive orchestration, as Auburn’s now-veteran point guard, has been one of the major keys during his time with the program thus far. And it will continue to be this season, as the Tigers look to lock down an NCAA Tournament berth, faced with a daunting three-game stretch to close this season. But as locked in as Green Jr. gets, especially during a crucial ending to the regular season, he tries not to forget his blessings. “Now that I’m in this position, I just try to soak it in day by day," Green Jr. said in an sitdown with Auburn Undercover. “It’s crazy, but it’s something I’ve worked for my whole life.” *** It’s easy for the junior point guard to reflect and be grateful, because he remembers quite vividly the feeling of uneasiness and doubt when he wasn’t sure if he made the right decision to transfer from Eastern Kentucky. The Detroit native had a big freshman campaign in the Ohio Valley Conference — at 15.8 points per game and 5.0 assists — but after he entered his name in the portal April 1 of 2021, his phone was more silent than he expected. “My first couple weeks, I didn’t really get any big schools,” Green Jr. said. “Then it was a tough decision, too, because I didn’t get to visit Auburn during COVID.” By the end of the transfer process, though, Green Jr.’s father, Wendell Green Sr., told Auburn Undercover that around 35-40 Division-I schools had shown major interest in his son. Green Jr.’s favorites were Auburn, Indiana and Marquette. “It was all about fit,” Green Sr. said. “It was a lot of Zoom meetings, but it got to the point where Auburn just made a lot of sense.” For the better part of the past decade, if Green Jr. is on the court playing, you could find Green Sr. in the stands. Usually rocking his son’s NIL merch, it’s not difficult to pinpoint Green Jr.’s contingent at games. “You only have this experience one time, so we have to be there to support him,” Green Sr. said. (Courtesy: Wendell Green Sr.) After every road game, Green Jr. climbs the stands to find his supporters, which usually includes some of his extended family, as well. He’s had a small pocket of the arena cheering him on in SEC country, along with other stops across the map. “My dad has come to almost every game since he stopped coaching me in high school,” Green Jr. said. “It doesn’t matter where it is — USC, Washington, he always shows up. My mom works a lot behind the scenes. The support I get from those two, and my sister, my extended family, it’s amazing.” Whenever Green Jr. gets down after a bad game, or needs a bit of extra juice to get motivated on a given day, it’s his family and their unwavering support that he always circles back to in his mind. (Courtesy: Wendell Green Sr.) “Me being here is bigger than myself,” Green Jr. said. “One day I might wake up and not want to shoot as much that day or not want to work out as hard. But it’s not about me. It’s about everyone’s expectations of me and me needing to exceed that and represent my family. “I always say to myself, ‘Just don’t let them down.’ That’s the No. 1 thing.” *** Some of the passes that end up on Auburn’s highlight reels are just old tricks for Green Jr. “His vision was always there,” Green Sr. said. “He was throwing lobs when he was 8, 9, 10 years old.” As flashy as they appear, Green Jr.’s passing style is mostly out of necessity, he said. Whether it’s a no-look or a wrap-around, most of the time, Green Jr. said with a laugh, it’s because he has to account for the fact that he knows he won’t always be able to easily see his targets on the court. He’s listed at a generous 5-foot-11. “I’ve always been able to make those passes — they end up being highlight passes, but it’s not intentional,” Green Jr. said. “I’m a smaller guy, so if I see someone jumping in the air, I can’t get over them so I have to throw a baseball pass. It’s just about feel for the game. I feel like my patience in the paint has gotten better as the season has gone on.” Sitting at No. 4 in the SEC with 4.3 assists per game, Green Jr. said it isn’t as simple as tossing a lob up high for his teammates, and putting a pass ahead of them in transition. That’s why mistakes happen early in the season, and he attributed it to Auburn’s respectable turnover rate (10.7 per game in SEC competition) as the season has progressed. “Over time it’s just about figuring out how guys like the ball and where they want it,” Green Jr. said. “Johni (Broome) is very different from Walker (Kessler). Walker you could just throw it as high as you can, but Johni isn’t 7-1. That’s just chemistry. It looks like you can build it over the summer but it takes real games and real time for it to happen.” Green Jr. sometimes had an unstoppable connection with Kessler in their high ball-screen action, and his rapport with Broome has become highly productive, too. Another transplant from the Ohio Valley Conference — where Green Jr. was edged by Broome at Murray State for freshman of the year in the league in 2020-21 — Broome gives Auburn a consistent interior presence to complement Green Jr.’s play in the backcourt. The junior center remains the only player in the SEC who’s top 5 in the conference in field-goal percentage (52.8), rebounds (8.9) and blocks (2.5). As Auburn has faced one of the toughest schedules in college basketball, sometimes a good game from both Green Jr. and Broome still isn’t enough for a victory. But the Tigers rarely have much of a chance at all if they’re now playing well. “If we turn it over or it’s a bad play, we try to never get frustrated at each other,” Green Jr. said. “We just talk it through real quick, right there on the court. That’s just our maturity level. We try to talk about it during games, after games, before games and just try to make sure we’re always on the same page.” *** That mindset permeates to the rest of the team, who have kept their heads high and been able to impressively wipe the slate clean during a string of losses against their elite competition — six defeats in their last night games, to be exact, with three of their toughest matchups of the entire year still approaching. They know Green Jr. isn’t going to blink because of a bad game, or even a rough stretch during a game. That was evident Wednesday night against Ole Miss, when the point guard bounced back from a 2-of-18 shooting stretch over his previous two games and was the reason the Tigers avoided a disastrous loss, with 23 points, including 14 points and 8-of-8 shooting at the foul line over the last eight minutes of the game. (Zach Bland / Auburn Athletics) “Wen's a baller,” senior wing Allen Flanigan said Thursday. “You're going to miss shots, you're going to make shots. The best players in the world, they have games where they struggle and they shoot it worse. They come back the next night and they shoot it again. So him just trusting his stroke and trusting who he is as a player, just coming back out here and going at it again.” Auburn’s players repeated this week that they need another win before the regular season is up, with games at Kentucky this Saturday, at Alabama next Wednesday, and against Tennessee at home the following weekend. Green Jr. has to play well for them to get it. 2COMMENTS He and Auburn are more than okay with that. That’s what he envisioned when he took that leap of faith in the transfer portal. “I think Wendell is okay with as he goes, we go,” Bruce Pearl said this week. “That's a great compliment. I trust him. I have confidence in him.”

Widra's no-hitter, power eruption lift Tigers to two softball victories Phillip Marshall 3–4 minutes Annabelle Widra cuts loose in Plainsman Invite on Friday. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, 247Sports) AUBURN, Alabama –Annabelle Widra couldn’t have been much better on Friday. She pitched a five-inning no-hitter in a 9-0 win over Brown in Auburn’s second game in the Plainsman Invite at Jane B. Moore Field. In the first game she started and pitched two perfect innings in a 12-0 Auburn victory over Merrimack. In seven total innings, Widra gave up no hits, struck out 10 and walked one. She got the win in the second game to improve to 3-0, But Widra had to share the spotlight with Auburn hitters. In the opener, Bri Ellis hit a three-run homer to give Auburn a 9-0 lead. In the second game, she hit another three-run homer in the fourth to give Auburn a 9=0 lead. Icess Tresvik hit a monster two-run homer in the lights in left-center. Nelia Peralta and Carlee McCondichie had solo homers. In the first game, Nelia Peralta, Tresvik, Kenadie Cooper and Rose Roach hit doubles. For the day, Auburn had 21 hits in eight innings and gave up one hit in 10 innings to improve to 11-1. In the second game, Peralta, McCondichie and Ellis had two hits apiece. Ellis hit a run-scoring double over the left fielder’s head and finished with four RBIs. Widra, who is from Hoover and played as a freshman at Michigan, has been a standout at the plate. But mostly, she has dealt misery to opponents from the circle. “I was particularly sharp,” Widra said, “but I am trying to make that my thing on a regular basis.” She has been sharp enough often enough to have an 0.58 ERA. “For about 95 percent of the game plan, Annabelle stayed ahead of hitters,” Auburn coach Mickey Dean said. “She had great defense behind her. She stayed ahead and was able to hit different quadrants. She did a nice job.” Ellis, who broke Auburn’s freshman record with 20 home runs last season, struggled early. She is struggling no longer. She has four home runs and has raised her batting average to .433, trailing only Peralta at .556 and McCondichie at .500. “Really, it’s just mindset,” Ellis said. “If you watch my at-bats I’m breathing a lot. I’m doing a lot of exaggerated breath. I don’t have any nerves.” Tresvik, a transfer from North Carolina A&T, hit the longest home run of the night. She attributes her power surge to the weight room. “She has a beautiful swing,” Dean said. “I think (the weight room) is good for all the kids. She has gotten much, much, much stronger since she got here.” The Tigers play North Dakota State at 3 p.m. Saturday, and that one might not be so drama-free. The Bison are 4-6, but ace pitcher Paige Vargas, Dean said, is an SEC caliber pitcher. She has a 1.63 ERA and has struck out 31 in 34 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .168 against her. “She definitely is,” Dean said. “She has beaten ranked teams. She is really good.”

Skip To Main Content Return To Previous Page Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers ‘Enjoy every moment’: How Allen Flanigan got his bounce back By Greg Ostendorf 2/24/2023 9:00:00 AM AUBURN, Ala. – When Allen Flanigan gets a head of steam, it’s best to get out of the way. On Wednesday night against Ole Miss, Flanigan was dribbling the ball up the court in transition. He hesitated briefly at the 3-point line and then put his head down and took off toward the basket where he elevated and threw down one of his patented left-handed slams. It was violent. It was angry. It was classic Al. “I just thought he was going to lay the ball up,” teammate Zep Jasper said. “I saw him go outside and just rear back with his left hand, and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ I didn’t know he was going to do that. Somebody must have made him mad. He only does that when somebody makes him mad.” “That feeling when I do get a chance to throw one down, it’s like a roller coaster for me,” Flanigan said. “It boosts my adrenaline. Any time I have the chance to showcase my athleticism, it’s tremendous." Flanigan does not take that feeling for granted. He went nearly an entire calendar year without experiencing it. In August 2022, prior to his junior season at Auburn, he injured his Achilles in a freak accident and was forced to have surgery. Immediately, doubt started to creep in. Will my leg ever be the same? Will I be able to explode off the floor and do the things I’m used to doing? Not knowing the answers to those questions, Flanigan put his head down and went to work. He started rehab. He was in the gym getting shots up in a chair before he could walk. He went from the chair to walking with a boot to finally putting a regular shoe on. From there, he started jogging, then sprinting, and the final step before he was cleared – he started jumping again. With him every step of the way was his father, Auburn assistant coach Wes Flanigan, who went through a similar setback when he was a player at Auburn. As a junior, Wes found out he had bone cancer. Like Allen, basketball was taken away from Wes. Just like that. “The good thing about the whole scenario (with Allen) is that I had my situation to kind of draw from,” Wes said. “I knew it was going to be a struggle. He didn’t realize that. He was just like me. He thought that once he came back, the light was going to be switched back on, and he was going to be the same Allen Flanigan he was as a sophomore. I knew better than that.” Allen Flanigan made his 2021-22 debut on Dec. 22, 2021, against Murray State, nearly four months after he suffered the injury, but he wasn’t 100 percent. Over the next two months, Auburn would rise to No. 1 in the polls for the first time in program history behind guys like Jabari Smith, Walker Kessler and Wendell Green Jr. Flanigan, still fighting pain in his leg, saw his role diminish from what it was the year before. “It was definitely a bittersweet feeling knowing that I wasn’t one of the guys coming off the injury,” he said. “Seeing guys like Jabari, Walker and Wendell step up and be able to deliver, it was really eye-opening for me just knowing I didn’t have to do what I did the year before. I soaked into that role and tried to do what I could to help the team.” I cherish life more. I enjoy every moment, just knowing that one day basketball can be taken from you. The thing you’ve done all your life, worked for, and the thing you love the most – it can be gone in a split second. Allen Flanigan That team, Flanigan included, won a ring as the SEC regular season champion. For Flanigan, this season has been even more meaningful because he’s got his bounce back. In August, one full year after the injury, he was exploding off the floor, getting by guys in practice, knocking down shots – he felt like his old self again. It’s translated to the court. Through the first 15 SEC games, Flanigan is averaging 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. It might not be the same numbers he put up two years before the injury, but that has more to do with this team and his role on it. “For me this year, I’m one of those guys when you insert me into the game, I’m just trying to find ways to win,” Flanigan said. “I’m not really worried about numbers or anything. I just want to do whatever the team needs. If we need it more on the boards that night, I’m rebounding and blocking out and making defensive plays. If they need me to score, I can score the ball, too. It’s really just picking up the pieces.” “We got through that moment (last year), and I think my child learned a lot from that situation moving forward,” Wes Flanigan said. “For me, as a father, to see the growth and to see the maturation process. To see him out there being a better teammate, trying to lead from a vocal standpoint – which is really not Allen’s characteristic – to see him being patient and not get as frustrated as maybe he did last year at times, you can see that whole scenario last year and what he went through has done a lot of things for him. “I think as he moves forward with his career, whether it be pro or whatever he decides to do long term in life, he’ll be able to draw from these situations he’s learned here at Auburn.” A senior this year, Allen Flanigan’s Auburn journey is nearing the end. He started some games as a freshman and then burst onto the scene as a sophomore where he led the team in scoring. Primed for another big season his junior year, Flanigan’s trajectory changed with the injury. He missed the first half of the season and was never fully healthy. Flanigan is healthy now and playing some of the best basketball he’s played while at Auburn. He also has a new perspective on life because of what he went through. “I cherish life more,” Flanigan said. “I enjoy every moment, just knowing that one day basketball can be taken from you. The thing you’ve done all your life, worked for, and the thing you love the most – it can be gone in a split second. “I want the Auburn Family to remember me as a kid who came in hard-nosed. He put the work in, he gave effort and energy night in and night out. A guy who was confident. He fought his battles, played through when he wasn’t feeling the best, never gave up. I was a guy who played with heart.” Read More

Auburn baseball prepares for visit from USC Jason Caldwell 4–5 minutes AUBURN, Alabama—Discipline and patience at the plate are trademarks of West Coast college baseball teams and Coach Butch Thompson said that’s exactly what the No. 17 Auburn Tigers are going to get when the USC Trojans (3-1) come to Plainsman Park for the first time ever for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. CST. Led by former Major League player and Grand Canyon coach Andy Stankiewicz, the Trojans are off to a strong start at the plate with a .316 team batting average, eight home runs and 44 runs scored in a sweep of Marist and a one-run loss to UC-Irvine this season. However, it’s another number that has Thompson’s attention. The Trojans have a .463 on-base percentage as a team because of 29 walks in four games and the leader of the bunch is junior infielder Ryan Jackson. Batting .500 on the year, Jackson has six hits in 12 at-bats, but he’s also walked seven times in four games. Throw in the power potential of 6-2, 215 infielder Nick Lopez and you have a challenging offense for the Tigers to face. This season the former teammate of Jack Owen at JSerra High in California, he’s 9-18 this season with three home runs and seven runs batted in. Another name to watch for the Trojans is redshirt freshman Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek. The son of former UCLA softball player Danielle Martin and MLB player Mark Grudzielanek, he transferred from UCLA and is batting .316 with a home run and seven runs batted in this season. Those are the challenges that Auburn’s pitching staff will face this weekend. The Tigers will again go with sophomore RHP Chase Allsup in the opener with junior RHP Joseph Gonzalez scheduled for Saturday’s game. Sunday the Tigers are listed as TBA with true freshman LHP Zach Crotchfelt a possibility for the role along with redshirt junior RHP Christian Herberholz. “I think from evaluating there would be an obvious choice for Sunday, but we’re going to sit TBA for now,” Thompson said. “We’ll keep working to try to figure it out on the weekend, but I think we paired it down. We’ve gotten 16 pitchers in the ball game in four games, now we’ll start pairing down from evaluations. I think it will end up being a new starter, but we’re going to hold on for a couple of days and get into this series. “We’re about to face a very patient-oriented ball club,” he added. “They are a very traditional West Coast look in these first four games. One of their best hitters is four games into it and has seven walks and zero strikeouts. They are evaluating pitches very well so we probably need to throw less guys, but we’re trying to win ball games. This isn’t spring training. We need guys to shove it in the strike zone like we’ve been preaching to start the season.” On the flip side, Auburn’s offense needs to get deeper with the trio of Bryson Ware, Ike Irish and Bobby Peirce combining for 26 of Auburn’s 42 hits this season and eight of the nine doubles for the team. With starters Justin Kirby, Cole Foster and Nate LaRue all under .200 after four games, Auburn’s offense will need to continue to improve, but it won’t be easy against a strong pitching staff led by Jaden Agassi. The son of tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, the 6-3 Agassi allowed eight hits and one run in six and one/thirds innings in his opening start against Marist last weekend. With a career record of 5-3 and an ERA of 4.51 in 11 career starts, Agassi will match up against Gonzalez on Saturday with junior RHP Tyler Stromsborg earning the Friday night role for the Trojans. On Sunday they will go with freshman RHP Eric Hammond. Game times for the weekend series are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. Saturday and Sunday will be available via stream at SEC Network+. 8COMMENTS FRI | SO RHP Chase Allsup (0-0, 9.00) vs. JR RHP Tyler Stromsborg (0-0, 5.06) SAT | JR RHP Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 0.00) vs. JR RHP Jaden Agassi (1-0, 1.42) SUN | TBA vs. R-FR RHP Eric Hammond (0-0, 3.00) *** Subscribe: Receive the latest Auburn intel and scoops*** ">247Sports

How to watch Auburn baseball vs USC Zac Blackerby ~3 minutes Here's how to watch Auburn baseball vs USC. Auburn baseball hosts the USC Trojans during the second weekend of the 2023 College Baseball Season. After originally being scheduled as a road trip for the Auburn Tigers, they will host the Trojans in a three-game series at Plainsman Park because of the threat of bad weather in California. How to watch Auburn baseball vs USC First pitches at Plainsman Park are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. CT, Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at noon. All three games will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on 93.9 FM Friday and 95.9 FM Saturday and Sunday. The final two contests of the series will also be streamed on SEC Network+. Probable Starters Friday – So. RHP Chase Allsup (0-0, 9.00) vs. Jr. RHP Tyler Stromsborg (0-0, 5.06) Saturday – Jr. RHP Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 0.00) vs. Jr. RHP Jaden Agassi (1-0, 1.42) Sunday – TBA vs. R-Fr. Eric Hammond (0-0, 3.00) Quick Hitters Auburn is 3-1 or better through four games for the sixth straight season under Thompson. Bryson Ware is 10-for-15 with five extra-base hits through four games. He has multiple hits in all four contests and ranks top five in the league in average (.667), hits (10) and doubles (4). SEC Co-Freshman of the Week Ike Irish is 9-for-16 with three doubles and four RBI in his first four games in an Auburn uniform. He has multiple hits in three of the first four contests. Auburn’s pitching trio of Konner Copeland, John Armstrong and Chase Isbell didn’t walk a batter and struck out 12 in 7.0 innings vs. North Alabama Tuesday. Armstrong and Isbell were both named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List. In five regular season, non-conference starts since the beginning of last season, Joseph Gonzalez is 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched. This weekend marks the first meeting between Auburn and Southern Cal. Friday is Auburn’s sixth matchup vs. a Pac-12 foe in the last 12 games dating back to 2022 (4-1). This was a release from Auburn Athletics.

Four-run fourth propels Auburn to series-opening win over USC - The Auburn Plainsman 6–8 minutes In an unexpected home game, one that was supposed to take place over 2,000 miles away, Auburn took a series-opening 5-3 win over the USC Trojans. “That felt like it’s going to feel in our league,” said head coach Butch Thompson. Despite the late announcement about the series being played at Plainsman Park, 2,809 fans showed up for Friday night’s opener. “Fans showed up today even though we weren’t supposed to be in Auburn,” said Auburn shortstop Cole Foster. “And I think that was awesome.” Chase Allsup started Auburn’s Friday night game for the second straight week. After going just two innings against Indiana, Allsup pitched 3.2 innings against the Trojans. Though Allsup got into trouble in each of the second, third and fourth innings, he allowed just one earned run on five hits. In both the second and third innings Allsup worked himself into and out of trouble. In the second frame, he allowed a lead-off single and a double. A double play and a strikeout got him out of trouble. The third inning was far more dramatic. A single, a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases for USC with no outs. Allsup was not fazed, retiring the Trojans’ second, third and fourth batters in the lineup to preserve a then-scoreless tie. “Allsup competed his heart out,” Thompson said. “The HBP, the walk to get bases loaded, nobody out in there at the heart of that lineup and he absolutely, I thought, showed another gear and absolutely got out of that inning.” After a scoreless first three frames, both teams broke through in the fourth inning. USC plated a single run as a double and a bunt single put Connor Aoki in position for a sacrifice fly. Allsup was pulled for John Armstrong, whose only two pitches of the game got the Tigers out of the inning. Trailing 1-0, Auburn erupted for four runs in the frame, set up largely by mistakes made by USC starter Tyler Stromsborg. Justin Kirby was hit by a pitch and Ike Irish took a walk to give Auburn two free baserunners before an out was recorded. Foster made Stromborg pay for those mistakes by bringing both home on a double into center field. Auburn had the lead, but it was not done yet in the frame. Bobby Peirce brought home Foster and Nate LaRue, who reached on another walk by Stromsborg, to increase Auburn’s lead to 4-1, Auburn did not look back, leading by multiple runs the rest of the way. In the seventh, right fielder Justin Kirby hit a home run over the monster in left field. It was Kirby’s team-leading third homer of the season — accounting for each of his three hits. “That’s an interesting, but good stat line,” Foster said. USC added just two additional runs despite bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings. In both instances, Will Cannon was able to work out of trouble. “I really wanted to get Cannon back out there,” Thompson said. “Get him to fill that role, and he absolutely grinded through that.” Foster, after starting the season just 1-for-10, had two hits in the game, including his two-run double in the fourth. Foster was one of two Tigers to reach multiple hits, along with freshman Ike Irish. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Auburn Plainsman delivered to your inbox “It felt awesome,” Foster said. “Obviously, I didn’t start the way I wanted to, slow start, but nights like these…just kind of get your mindset right.” Much like the series opener against Indiana the Friday before, four Auburn pitchers combined to hold the Trojans at bay: Allsup, Armstrong, Tanner Bauman and Cannon. Bauman, for the second straight week, served as a long reliever for the Tigers. Bauman pitched 3.2 innings, giving up two runs on just one hit, saving Auburn from having to go further in its bullpen. “It just keeps giving me the confidence that I belong here and that I can compete at this level,” Bauman said. “Obviously, I came here from a smaller junior college…it just shows that I can compete at this level and I can do what it takes to get this team a win.” Junior college transfer Cannon, for the second consecutive Friday, closed out the game for the Tigers, pitching the final 1.1 innings and earning his first save for Auburn. Though there were no errors committed in the field, seven free passes were issued by the collection of Auburn pitchers — six walks and a hit batsman. “I’m glad we played errorless baseball because the biggest thing for me, that’s two of their three runs (reached on walks),” Thompson said. “I don’t think they’re trying to walk anybody, but how precious it when you’re playing a pretty high level of baseball.” Despite the Trojans having base traffic in six of the nine innings, the pitchers were able to work out of trouble, stranding 11 USC baserunners. “We’re all just competing out there,” Bauman said. “You saw a different type of energy tonight on the mound, I think, with the four guys that threw. We all came in there. We knew we had a job to do and we had confidence that we were going to get these guys out.” The Tigers (4-1) and Trojans (3-2) will continue their series on Saturday when Auburn RHP Joseph Gonzalez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) faces USC RHP Jaden Agassi (1-0, 1.42 ERA). The first pitch will be at 2 p.m. CST with a live stream on the SEC Network+. Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman. Matthew Wallace | Sports Reporter Matthew is a junior from Huntsville, Alabama majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021. Twitter: @mattwallaceAU

TAKEAWAYS from Auburn baseball's game one victory over Southern California Lindsay Crosby 5–6 minutes Auburn baseball hung on to defeat Southern California in game one of the series, moved to Auburn from Los Angeles due to weather, by a final of 5-3. Here's what you need to know: Auburn's got some real weapons out of the bullpen Chase Allsup got another turn as the Friday night starter, and even though he struggled to consistently land the first pitch for a strike, he did enough to keep Auburn in the game. Head coach Butch Thompson was happier with this week's effort from Allsup. "Allsup competed his heart out. What could have happened, in that inning where they showed bunt and affected us, got the HBP and the walk to get bases loaded with nobody out and they're at the heart of that lineup again, he absolutely, I thought, showed another gear. He absolutely got out of that inning, (it) was huge." "So Chase got through something (the 3rd inning jam) and came back out and gave us a little bit more." (Allsup's final line: 3.2 IP, 5H, 1R, 2BB, 2K. 72 pitches w/46 strikes) Righty John Armstrong was called on in the "fireman" role to work out of a jam in the 4th - two runners on and two outs - and it took just two pitches for the sidearmer to get a weak groundball that Nate LaRue easily scooped and fired to 1st to end the inning. And with Auburn's offensive explosion coming in the 4th, Armstrong earned the win, too. Auburn turned to Tanner Bauman, the junior out of St. John's River State, to start the 5th and he "grinded" out a victory for Auburn. Said Bauman, "You obviously don't want to give up six freebies (walks) [...] We're all just competing out there. You saw a different type of energy on the mound. I think the four guys that threw, we all knew we got a job to do and we have confidence that we're going to get these guys out." Bauman went 3.2 IP with one hit, two runs, and three walks to three strikeouts in the contest. With a two-out RBI triple in the 8th cutting the lead to two runs, Thompson went ahead and made the change to Cannon for a four-out save. "I really thought Bauman would squeeze out the eighth, but after the triple, we absolutely wanted to get to Cannon. [...] I wanted to get Cannon back out there and treat him like that (the closer), get him the feel of that role and he absolutely grinded it out." Thompson marveled about how much the team has taken to Will Cannon in the closer's role. "Will absolutely just did enough, but I think there's confidence that when those eight guys are sitting out there with him, he's won those guys over at this point. He's absolutely won our guys over and that's who they want out there. [...] I think they believe that Will's gonna absolutely compete his heart out for them and I think that's what's tracking really well for Will right now." The offense did enough Auburn had only eight hits in the contest, with only two of them coming back to back, but found ways to win. Whether it was back to back sacrifices to move runners from 1st to 3rd, or executing a perfect bunt, the offense put up four runs in the 4th inning and the bullpen made it work. Justin Kirby has the wildest statline of the season The transfer outfielder from Kent State added insurance in the 7th via a homerun over the Monster, his third hit of the season. All three hits have been solo homeruns. It's a statline that some of his fellow players are amazed by. Said Foster, "When it happened and Bobby told me, I didn't believe it at the time. When the scoreboard came back on, it said three hits, three homeruns or something. That's crazy. Interesting. Good stat line." On the season, Kirby is 3-14 with 3 HRs, 6 runs scored, 4 RBIs, 7 walks to 4 strikeouts. Auburn's hitters struggled to square the changeup tonight We spotted tonight's USC pitcher, Tyler Stromsborg, warming up with a football and it helped craft the scouting report. The changeup was indeed working for Stromsborg - he notched seven putouts in his 5.2 innings, consistently inducing weak groundball contact that he could easily scoop and fire. Said Thompson, "It's kind of like Joseph's set last week - you knew what they were trying to do. We talked about setting our sights and making adjustments. Eventually wound up getting four on a pretty good arm." Saturday's game First pitch is at 2PM, but there's going to be some changes. RHP Joseph Gonzalez is unavailable due to a recurrence of the shoulder soreness that held him out spring practice - and so Auburn will have transfer RHP Christian Herberholz for game two as they try for a series win. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and the radio call, with Brad Law and Paul Ellen, will be available locally on 95.9FM and online at AuburnTigers.com.

247sports.com Auburn takes 5-3 Friday night win over USC Jason Caldwell 5–7 minutes AUBURN, Alabama—Cole Foster had two hits and two RBI and the No. 17 Auburn Tigers got a strong relief performance from Tanner Bauman as coach Butch Thompson’s team beat USC 5-3 on Friday night in the first of three games vs. the Trojans this weekend at Plainsman Park. Coming on in relief for the Tigers, Bauman allowed just one hit in three and two/thirds innings and gave up two earned runs thanks in large part to three walks. It was part of a six-walk night for Auburn pitching as the combination of starter Chase Allsup, John Armstrong, Bauman and Will Cannon combined to allow three runs on nine hits. Armstrong picked up the win for the Tigers, retiring the only batter he faced to end the fourth inning. Cannon earned the save, the first of his career. "Obviously, you don’t want to give up six freebies," Bauman said. "That’s something we can always work on, but we pulled through and got the dub. We were all competing out there. You saw a different type of energy on the mound with the four guys that threw. We all came in there and had a job to do and had confidence we were going to get these guys out.” The win was an important one for the Tigers because of a change in pitching plans for Saturday. Limited in his first outing after missing time early in the spring with a tight shoulder, Auburn junior Joseph Gonzalez won't go on Saturday while dealing with some tightness again following his bullpen this week. The Tigers could go with junior college transfer Christian Herberholz in his place. At the plate the hitting start was Foster, who came into the game batting just .100 with one hit in the first four games. For a player that is expected to be one of the top options for the Tigers at the dish, Foster said Friday night was a big one for him from a confidence standpoint. “It felt awesome," he said. "Obviously it didn’t start the way I wanted to with the slow start, but nights like these with a barrel and a dink, it just gets your mindset right. Doing early work with coach Gross has been huge for me the last two weeks. It finally paid off tonight and it felt good. I was happy to have that.” Getting his second start of the year, Allsup allowed just one run in three and two/thirds innings, but pitched through trouble throughout his outing on Friday night. Giving up five hits, walking two and also hitting a batter, the Dothan native had one of the key moments in the game in the third inning with the game still scoreless. Allowing a single to open the frame, Allsup hit the number nine hitter before walking leadoff man Johnny Olmstead to load the bases with nobody out. Bearing down, Allsup struck out Carson Wells on three pitches before getting Ryan Jackson on a pop up. With top power threat Nick Lopez at the plate, Allsup got a fly ball to left field to end the inning and keep the game scoreless. "I thought we got something out of everybody on the mound," Thompson said of his pitchers. "Allsup competed his heart out. What could of happened in that inning when they showed bunt and affected us with the HBP, the walk. They get the bases loaded, nobody out and they’re at the heart of the lineup. He absolutely showed another gear and getting out of that inning was huge." One inning later the Trojans would break on top. Following a one out double, Austin Overn’s bunt single put runners on the corners with one out. Coming through for the first of two sacrifice flies on the night, Connor Aoki put USC up 1-0 going to the bottom of the fourth. With just one hit in the first three innings off USC starter Tyler Stromsborg, Auburn got some help of their own when Kirby was hit by a pitch to start the inning before a walk to Ike Irish gave the Tigers some life for the first time. Following a sacrifice bunt by Bryson Ware to move both runners up, Foster laced a double to right-center to put Auburn in front 2-1. With two outs, catcher Nate LaRue walked before a Kason Howell infield single loaded the bases for Bobby Peirce. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Auburnundercover, 247Sports) One of Auburn’s top hitters early in the 2023 season, Peirce jumped on the first pitch and dumped a single into left field to score Foster and LaRue to make it 4-1 Tigers after four innings. Coming on in relief, Bauman retired the Trojans three up and three down in the fifth before he would run into some trouble of his own in the sixth thanks to free bases. Walking the first two USC hitters in the inning, Bauman got a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to limit the damage to just one run. Now up 4-2, Auburn got a big run on one swing of the bat in the bottom of the seventh when Kirby blasted his third bomb of the season to push the lead to three for the Tigers. But walks would again haunt Auburn pitchers as Bauman walked Cole Gabrielson with two outs and nobody on to bring Overn to the plate. Continuing his strong night, the freshman roped a triple over the head of Kirby in right field to cut the Auburn lead back to just two. Coming in to finish off the eighth inning, Cannon allowed a leadoff single in the top of the ninth before getting a pop up for the first out. Allowing a two-out single, the junior college transfer got a ground ball to short to secure the win for the Tigers. 9COMMENTS Game two of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Plainsman Park and can be seen via streaming on SEC Network+.

auburntigers.com ‘Everybody competed’: No. 17 Auburn takes series opener vs. USC Auburn University Athletics 4–5 minutes AUBURN, Ala. – No. 17 Auburn used a four-run fourth inning to catapult itself to a 5-3 win in the series opener against USC Friday night at Plainsman Park. Seven of the nine starting position players recorded a hit, including two apiece from Ike Irish and Cole Foster, and four arms combined to hold USC to its lowest offensive output of the season. "I thought our guys did a nice job," head coach Butch Thompson said. "We hung around, had a couple of big hits. Everybody competed. Everybody played their role and gave us something. It was just a good team win for us tonight." John Armstrong (1-0, 0.00) recorded the final out of the fourth inning and got the win, while Will Cannon pitched the final 1.1 innings and earned his first save. Chase Allsup made his second start of the season and pitched a career high 3.2 innings, and Tanner Bauman ate up an important 3.2 innings in the middle of the game to help the Tigers maintain the lead. "I just love it, man," Bauman said of the competitive atmosphere. "I'm ultra-competitive, and I live for it. When I get up on the mound, I just want to go to work for the guys that are behind me and make it as quick as possible so they can get back in there and get some runs." USC (3-2) threatened in the early going with a pair of baserunners in the second and three more in the third, but Allsup worked his way around the traffic to hold the Trojans in check. A single, hit batter and walk loaded the bases with nobody out to start the third, but the sophomore righty buckled down and got out of the inning unscathed with a strikeout, foul out and flyout to left. An inning later, the Trojans started the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center, but Auburn (4-1) answered immediately with a four-run bottom of the frame. Justin Kirby and Irish started the inning with a walk and hit-by-pitch, and Bryson Ware sacrificed both into scoring position. Foster then ripped a two-strike pitch back up the middle to score both and put the Tigers ahead. Later in the inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Bobby Peirce hit a two-RBI single to left to extend the lead to 4-1. "The last week I haven't been hitting the way I've wanted to, and just coming out early and working with Coach Gross has been crucial for us," Foster said. "We're just trying to keep it simple, stay within ourselves and not do too much." "I thought Foster did an amazing job offensively," Thompson added. "He's been a little slow these first four games, but he came up big for us tonight." Bauman entered the game in relief of Armstrong to start the fifth and set USC down in order to get his outing going. The Trojans cut the deficit to 4-2 after a leadoff walk ultimately scored on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, but Bauman retire the side again in the seventh and the Tigers got the run back on a solo homer from Kirby in home half of the frame to increase the lead back to three. The long ball was Kirby's team best third of the season. USC drew within two again in the eighth when a two-out walk came in to score on a RBI triple, but Cannon entered in relief and induced a ground ball to end the frame. The Trojans started the ninth with a leadoff single, bringing the tying run to the plate with nobody out, but Cannon got a popup and strikeout to get within an out of ending the game. A two-out single put the tying run on base, but a groundout to Foster at short put the finishing touch on the series-opening win. Game two between the Tigers and Trojans is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. It will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and SEC Network+.