baseball brings in Dutton brothers

[aubiefifty 18,260]

al.com

Auburn baseball brings in Dutton brothers from Birmingham-Southern, LSU

Published: Jun. 14, 2024, 2:40 p.m.

3–4 minutes

The Birmingham-Southern baseball team celebrates a two-run, walk-off home run by Jackson Webster against Randolph-Macon in the Division III Baseball World Series. BSC won 9-7 and now plays on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.Joseph Goodman

The Alabama-native Dutton brothers Andrew and Samuel are both transferring to Auburn baseball from Birmingham Southern and LSU respectively, they both announced on social media Friday.

Andrew Dutton was one of the most productive hitters on the magical Birmingham-Southern team that made a run to the Division III College World Series even after the school permanently closed its doors due to significant financial hardship.

Birmingham-Southern shut down for good on May 31. Its baseball team kept playing until June 2 in a postseason run that drew national attention due to the circumstances of the school they represented.

Auburn baseball head coach Butch Thompson played at, graduated from and coached at Birmingham-Southern during the 1990s. On the day news broke that Birmingham-Southern would be closing, Thompson expressed his concern over what would happen to the players at his alma mater.

“Where are they gonna go,” Thompson said. “Where are they gonna transfer? What are they gonna do? How are these kids going to get their degrees?”

“Hopefully, all the adults in the room, if this gavel has landed to end that school, which hasn’t hit me yet, the proper response is going take care of those kids that are there now and what’s right. It’s pretty unbelievable.”

Andrew Dutton led Birmingham-Southern with a .340 batting average. He also had seven home runs and 42 RBIs. He started 49 games as a middle infielder. He will be coming to Auburn for his fifth year.

His younger brother Samuel is coming with him as a rising senior. Samuel Dutton pitched primarily out of the bullpen at LSU.

Samuel Dutton comes from the highest-profile program of Auburn’s now five incoming transfers this offseason. He has 57 career appearances and 15 starts. Samuel Dutton has a 6.02 career ERA. He faced Auburn for one inning this season and struck out the side.

He joins Cal Baptist transfer Ryan Hetzler as the first two pitchers in Auburn’s transfer class that looks to re-tool the staff which had a league-worst team ERA in SEC games last season.

Both Dutton and Hetzler were primarily bullpen pitchers at their previous schools.

The Dutton brothers are both from Southside, Alabama and went to Westbrook Christian. Andrew Dutton was the 2A Hitter of the Year in 2019. Samuel Dutton led Westbrook Christian to its first 2A state title, winning the crown in 2021. He had a 9-0 record as a senior, threw a perfect game, was the 2021 2A Player of the Year and was a first-team All-American.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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[SaltyTiger 8,581]

Nothing eye opening about Samuels pitching at LSU but has to help with his SEC experience. Great to see us giving BSC players the opportunity. Sports Call this after said a 340ba this afternoon. Say he drops some vs SEC pitching. I will take it.

[aubiefifty 18,260]

 

247sports.com

 

Auburn baseball adds LSU pitcher brother from transfer portal

Jason Caldwell

12–15 minutes

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Auburn added brothers Sam and Andrew Dutton on Friday.

Looking for help on the mound, coach Butch Thompson and the Auburn Tigers added a huge addition on Friday when LSU RHP Sam Dutton committed after taking a visit last week. A 5-11, 200 junior originally from Westbrook Christian, Dutton has pitched in 57 career games at LSU and comes in with a 1-3 record and an ERA of 6.02 in 86.2 innings. His best year came in his only season as a starter when he was 1-1 in 11 starts and an ERA of 5.12. 

Now he'll have the chance to earn a starting role once again at Auburn, something he knows he'll have to work for. 

"It's huge, but at the same time I have to put my head down and work just like every other guy that is going to be competing for a spot there," Dutton tells Auburn Undercover. "There's no easy way to it. This league is competitive and you have to earn everything. I just have to keep my head down and work."

He'll do it alongside his brother with Andrew Dutton also committing to play his last season at Auburn. In four seasons at Birmingham-Southern, Dutton had a career average of .340 with 12 home runs and 36 doubles. 

Joining forces with his brother once again, Sam Dutton said he's excited about the chance to team up once again and do it at Auburn.

"It's awesome," Sam Dutton said. "It's truly something every brother dreams about doing. The last time we played with each other was 2020 Covid year. That season got cut short and we never really played with each other since. It's an awesome experience and opportunity to get to play with him again."

Already very familiar with Thompson and the Tigers after being recruited by Auburn coming out of high school. The No. 10 player in Alabama coming out of Westbrook Christian before choosing LSU, Dutton said he loves the staff and what their message is.

"They're awesome," he said. "It was huge having their input on different things about me. I value their opinion a lot. They're not only great coaches, but they're great human beings too. You can tell they actually care about you. That's the biggest thing I took away from meeting all the coaches. I think they're great coaches as well."

Part of a national championship team two years ago and knowing the potential of the Auburn program, Dutton said there's one goal for him and the team as he gets ready to get on the Plains.

"Let's get back to Omaha!"

[gr82be 14,913]

My son just informed me that Sam and Andrew were the two little boys who lived next door to us when we lived in Moody Al. If I wanted to know anything about the folks in the neighborhood all I had to do was ask my son, he knew everyone lol. 

[SaltyTiger 8,581]

7 hours ago, gr82be said:

My son just informed me that Sam and Andrew were the two little boys who lived next door to us when we lived in Moody Al. If I wanted to know anything about the folks in the neighborhood all I had to do was ask my son, he knew everyone lol. 

Pretty neat. Great that they are getting to play together at Auburn.

[gr82be 14,913]

56 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Pretty neat. Great that they are getting to play together at Auburn.

Agree, what a cool thing for them. I talked to their dad from time to time, nice family. I have zero idea where their original allegiance lies but I’m sure they’ll be all Auburn for a couple of years at least. Funny, between my watch, my caps and my Jeep, no one seems to wonder where my allegiance is.