Auburn (12-3-1) will host Georgia Tech (13-3) on Tuesday night in a matchup that many believe is a measuring stick for both programs.
Auburn is coming off of a home series loss against Southeastern Louisiana in which they lost both games of a Saturday doubleheader forced by the weather.
Georgia Tech, of course, took the first two games of the series against Notre Dame before being embarrassed 17-4 in the finale.
PROBABLES: GT RHP Ben King (R-So., 2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. AUB LHP Tommy Vail (Gr., 2-0, 0.00 ERA)
BATS TO WATCH FOR AUBURN
2B Bryson Ware (.455/.536/1.000 with 7 HR, 20 RBI, 10 K, and 9 BB)
1B Ike Irish (.477/.541/.677 with 0 HR, 16 RBI, 9 K and 9 BB)
X-FACTORS FOR GEORGIA TECH
Ben King, SP?
After an extremely impressive start to the 2023 season, a fully-healthy Ben King's stuff and to the point where coach Danny Borrell is ready to transition him into a starting role.
With six scoreless appearances under his belt, and a pitching staff with more questions than answers one weekend into conference play, the opportunity in front of King is a big one.
Will he throw 100 pitches? Absolutely not. His season high is 39, which I would expect him to surpass. In that season-long outing, he pitched three innings. If he is able to replicate that today, or even stretch it into the fourth and a second time around the order, he may find himself in the mix for more chances in the future.
Patience at the plate, especially early
While it may be easy to be excited in a matchup like the one GT is Auburn's starter has allowed just ne hit thus far this season, but does come into tonight's matchup with 6 BB along with the 17 K that have Auburn fans excited.
Vail has 14 of those 17 strikeouts in his two starts thus far this season.
Overall, he's got one of the better profiles for a mid-week pitcher that I have seen in several years, and given Georgia Tech's strikeout rate by the high-impact bats (Finley 16 K in 42 AB, DeLeo 17 K in 62 AB, Reid 19 K in 64 AB, Romano 14 K in 53 AB) he is going to have his chance to keep up his current rate of 7 K per start.
If Georgia Tech is going to be effective against him, they are going to need to work counts, foul off pitches, and be patient. As much as the 0-0 fastball may look appetizing, the earlier that GT is able to get into the Auburn bullpen and get off of Vail, the better their chances are at pulling this one out.
Auburn is coming off of a home series loss against Southeastern Louisiana in which they lost both games of a Saturday doubleheader forced by the weather.
Georgia Tech, of course, took the first two games of the series against Notre Dame before being embarrassed 17-4 in the finale.
PROBABLES: GT RHP Ben King (R-So., 2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. AUB LHP Tommy Vail (Gr., 2-0, 0.00 ERA)
BATS TO WATCH FOR AUBURN
2B Bryson Ware (.455/.536/1.000 with 7 HR, 20 RBI, 10 K, and 9 BB)
1B Ike Irish (.477/.541/.677 with 0 HR, 16 RBI, 9 K and 9 BB)
X-FACTORS FOR GEORGIA TECH
Ben King, SP?
After an extremely impressive start to the 2023 season, a fully-healthy Ben King's stuff and to the point where coach Danny Borrell is ready to transition him into a starting role.
With six scoreless appearances under his belt, and a pitching staff with more questions than answers one weekend into conference play, the opportunity in front of King is a big one.
Will he throw 100 pitches? Absolutely not. His season high is 39, which I would expect him to surpass. In that season-long outing, he pitched three innings. If he is able to replicate that today, or even stretch it into the fourth and a second time around the order, he may find himself in the mix for more chances in the future.
Patience at the plate, especially early
While it may be easy to be excited in a matchup like the one GT is Auburn's starter has allowed just ne hit thus far this season, but does come into tonight's matchup with 6 BB along with the 17 K that have Auburn fans excited.
Vail has 14 of those 17 strikeouts in his two starts thus far this season.
Overall, he's got one of the better profiles for a mid-week pitcher that I have seen in several years, and given Georgia Tech's strikeout rate by the high-impact bats (Finley 16 K in 42 AB, DeLeo 17 K in 62 AB, Reid 19 K in 64 AB, Romano 14 K in 53 AB) he is going to have his chance to keep up his current rate of 7 K per start.
If Georgia Tech is going to be effective against him, they are going to need to work counts, foul off pitches, and be patient. As much as the 0-0 fastball may look appetizing, the earlier that GT is able to get into the Auburn bullpen and get off of Vail, the better their chances are at pulling this one out.
