Auburn Welcomes Georgia Tech to Plainsman Park Tuesday

Jay Estes had two RBI in March 21's meeting with Georgia Tech in Atlanta (Photo: Auburn Athletics/Dakota Sumpter)

Auburn Baseball (23-7, 7-2 SEC) will wrap up a four-game homestand Tuesday evening when they face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (15-11, 4-8 ACC) at 6 P.M. at Plainsman Park. Auburn enters the mid-week clash ranked in the top-20 in every major poll, as high as #7 according to Baseball America. This comes after taking two of three from then sixth-ranked South Carolina at Plainsman Park, winning their third straight conference series, and the first series win over South Carolina at home since 1996. Freshman Conor Davis was deemed the hero in Sunday’s series-clinching win, as he belted a three-run homer over the left field wall with two out in the ninth inning to give Auburn the 6-5 win. Auburn was shutout on Saturday after a great day of pitching from South Carolina’s Clarke Schmidt and a 5-RBI performance at the plate from Carlos Cortes. Casey Mize went the distance on Friday in place of injured Keegan Thompson and allowed four earned runs while striking out 12 in Auburn’s 5-4 series-opening win. Georgia Tech lost their fourth-straight conference series over the weekend to Clemson, a series where the Tigers scored 10+ runs in two series wins. In Saturday’s 5-1 win over Clemson, Austin Wilhite and Wade Bailey each had two hits, with Ryan Peurifoy recording three RBI, two on a home run in the fifth inning. Tuesday’s game will be the second time this season that the Tigers and Yellow Jackets have met. Auburn defeated Georgia Tech 7-4 on March 21 behind a two-hit performance from Jonah Todd, Daniel Robert, Conor Davis, and Will Holland. Jay Estes led the team in RBI with two. Freshman Christian Camacho got his third start of his young career. He allowed three hits and an earned run while allowing two walks and striking out two in 4.1 innings, his longest outing to date. The biggest note of Georgia Tech was each of their runs coming off the longball. Carter Hall sealed scoring with a two-run blast in the seventh inning, Coleman Poje and Austin Wilhite each had solo shots. Since the game, Auburn is 5-2, while Georgia Tech is 3-4. Through 30 games, Auburn has three players batting over .300, led by Jonah Todd’s .351 average. The Tigers added their ninth home run of the season on Sunday off the bat of Conor Davis, the first of his career. Will Holland, Daniel Robert, and Luke Jarvis tie the team lead with two each. Daniel Robert and Jonah Todd have each recorded six hits over the last five games, three of Todd’s six hits have been doubles, Robert has four RBI. Georgia Tech continues to swing the bat well, with five players batting over .300. Joey Bart remains the team’s loudest bat, as he leads the team to win 11 home runs and 31 RBI while batting .345. Wade Bailey leads in hits with 42 and doubles with 14. Austin Wilhite has a .391 average in 25 starts. For the first time since February 22, Gabe Klobosits gets the starting nod for Auburn. His last start was short-lived, as he went an inning against Florida A&M, getting a no-decision. On Saturday, his most recent appearance, the senior allowed an earned run and two hits in three innings of work against South Carolina. He enters the game with no record and a 4.88 ERA. Jonathan Hughes will get his seventh start of the season on Tuesday against Auburn, with only two decisions. The redshirt freshman is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 21.2 innings pitched. Hughes threw 1.2 innings in a 17-8 loss to Wake Forest on March 25, allowing six hits and six runs (one earned). Auburn battles Georgia Tech Tuesday evening at Plainsman Park in Auburn. First pitch scheduled for 6 P.M.