University of South Alabama Athletics

The USA BaseBlog is a web site feature found only on the baseball page at www.usajaguars.com. David Kaye, USA baseball's athletic media relations contact, provides an all-access look into Jag baseball. This is the eighth entry in a series counting down the 10 best games of the 2009 baseball season.

No. 3 - USA vs. Auburn, March 31 (Stanky Field)

Thank you for taking the time to browse the baseball page. If you have a question or comment, please feel free to  e-mail me. The 2009 USA Baseball Season Outlook is now available online. A bit of sad news to report -- senior RHP Dan Goldberg has informed the coaches he will not be able to be a part of the 2009 team. Goldberg missed all of last season and this fall while rehabbing from shoulder surgery.

South Alabama takes on Auburn in a home-and-home series for the third consecutive year in 2009. Auburn travels to Stanky Field March 31, while the Jags make the trip to Plainsman Park April 14. The former has been ranked as USA's third-best game on the 2009 schedule.

The Jags' history with Auburn dates back to 1968 when USA took a 2-1 decision in the teams' first meeting. USA holds a 43-20 advantage in the all-time series, including winning streaks of eight and 10 games, but the teams have played much closer since the turn of the century. Since 2001 (technically the turn of the century, since there was no year zero), Auburn has an 8-7 advantage, but the Jags won both games a season ago.

During that 15-game span, the Tigers and Jags have met twice in every year except 2006. In 2005 and 2006 the teams met for just one  game during the regular season, both times at Auburn's home field, but USA faced Auburn in the NCAA Tallahassee, Fla. Regional in 2005. In those seven two-game series, the games have been split three times, and each team has swept the other twice.

USA earned the sweep in 2008 with a 4-3 win at Stanky Field and a 7-1 victory at Auburn. Lance Baxter picked up the win in the first game by coming on for 2.2 innings in relief of Jag starter Kevin Nabors. USA fell behind 1-0 early, but Ryan Bohanan walked, Chris Davis reached on a bunt single, and Bunky Kateon brought them both home to give the Jags a 2-1 lead after four innings. Baxter came on to start the sixth, and Auburn used three consecutive singles to tie the game 2-2. However, the Jags took advantage of an error to plate two unearned runs in the seventh.

Auburn responded with a solo homer in the eighth to cut the Jag lead to 4-3, and Greg Johnson came on to try to notch his seventh save of the season. With two on and two out, Johnson got out of the jam by picking off Joseph Sanders at second base. Johnson would face more trouble in the ninth, as Ben Jones walked leading off the inning and stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position with no outs. However, Johnson was up to the task again, and he struck out the next three batters to give the Jags a 4-3 win and end Auburn's four-game winning streak in the series.

USA's 7-1 victory at Plainsman Park was less dramatic, but it featured one of the best performances of the season from the Jag bullpen. Starter Chris LaGrow threw a scoreless first inning, then Miles Ethridge worked 2.0 scoreless innings to keep the game scoreless through three. Ryan Bohanan's sacrifice fly put the Jags ahead 1-0 in the fourth, but Auburn got one run off Michael Logan in the bottom of the inning. Logan worked a scoreless fifth before turning the ball over to Michael Raia, who earned the win by working a scoreless sixth.

Raia was able to pick up the win because the Jags broke out for six runs in the top of the seventh. Bohanan led off with a double, the pinch-hitter Ryan McCrory teamed with Bunky Kateon on back-to-back homers. Clint Toomey later drove in a pair of runs with a single, and David Doss gave the Jags a 7-1 lead with a sacrifice fly. Travis Johnson, Lance Baxter and Greg Johnson combined to hold the Tigers scoreless for the final three innings, and the Jags notched their first two-game sweep of Auburn since 2003.

This season's matchup will feature a number of changes. Auburn is now under the direction of new head coach John Pawlowski, who joined the Tigers after spending the previous nine seasons as head coach at College of Charleston. Pawlowski's assistant coaches at Charleston, Scott Foxhall and Matt Heath, both followed him to Auburn.

The Tigers finished 28-28 a season ago, but they look for better results with a more experienced team in 2009. Auburn returns 22 of 30 lettermen, seven of nine position starters, and eight of 11 pitchers from last season. While the Tigers didn't lose many players, the ones they lost were talented. The two position starters not returning, outfielder Mike Bianucci and infielder Matt Hatt, were drafted in the eighth and 10th rounds of the MLB draft, respectively.

Auburn's three pitchers lost were all draft-eligible juniors who chose to leave for the professional ranks. Evan Crawford (eighth round) and Bryan Woodall (21st round) leave two glaring holes in the Tigers' bullpen, while Luke Greinke (eighth round) made nine starts in 2008.

Pawlowski's club will look to sophomore infielder Hunter Morris to carry the offense in 2009. Morris, who was named to the 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award watch list, hit .351 with 11 homers and 49 RBI as a freshman last season. He was drafted in the second round by the Boston Red Sox in 2007, but decided to put off a professional career and head to Auburn. This past summer, Morris played on the USA National Team that went 24-0, and The College Baseball Blog recently ranked him No. 30 on its Top 50 Players countdown.

This game will provide a great opportunity for fans to see a handful of players with professional potential on each team. 1214 fans came out to see the Jags win in dramatic fashion a season ago, and while that number is nothing to complain about, it was the second-lowest total to watch Auburn play during the 2008 season. Only the Tigers' game at Mercer drew fewer fans. There's no reason the 2009 meeting shouldn't have twice as many fans in the stands, so treat yourself to some great baseball and come out to support the Jags.

Notes:  USA leads the all-time series 43-20 ... The Jags lead 24-9 at Stanky Field, 18-10 at Plainsman Park, and the series is tied 1-1 in neutral-site games ... South Alabama assistant coach Seth Von Behren worked as an assistant at College of Charleston from 2004 through 2006 under new Auburn coach John Pawlowski ... Jag freshman RHP Jarrett Bailey played on the same team at Prattville High School as Auburn sophomore LHP Cory Luckie ... USA freshman IF Jake Crain and Auburn freshman RHP both played last season at Opelika High School, where the led their team to within one win of a state championship.

TOP 10 GAMES OF 2009 COUNTDOWN

Click below to view previous entries in the USA BaseBlog ...
Jan. 6, 2009 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 4 USA vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (April 17)
Jan. 3, 2009 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 5 USA vs. UC Irvine (March 8)
Dec. 29, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 6 USA vs. Vanderbilt (March 17)
Dec. 26, 2008 - "Interview with Coach Kittrell"
Dec. 24, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 7 USA vs. Southern Miss (May 12)
Dec. 20, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 8 USA vs. Mississippi State (March 24)
Dec. 14, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 9 USA vs. Baylor (March 6)
Dec. 11, 2008 - "Counting Down the Top 10 Games of 2009 -- No. 10 USA vs. Troy (May 16)
Dec. 4, 2008 - "Meet Corey Powell"
Nov. 25, 2008 - "Seven for 2010, Plus 10 for 2009"
Nov. 21, 2008 - "Recruiting for 2010" 
Nov. 14, 2008 - "Signing On"