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 Gliemmo |
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Auburn's game against Georgia Tech will be televised by Fox SportsSouth and on the Sunshine Network. Georgia Tech, which is ranked as high as second nationally (Collegiate Baseball preseason poll), was 41-22 last year and the runner-up in the Midwest Regional. Auburn, which is ranked 12th by Collegiate Baseball, was runner-up at the Atlantic II Regional in Tallahassee, Fla., last year and finished the season with a 46-18 record. Auburn has played 40 games against Georgia Tech in previous seasons and the Yellow Jackets have just 15 wins vs. the Tigers.
Virginia, coached by former Auburn player Dennis Womack, was 28-26-1 last season while Maryland was 26-30-1. Auburn is 4-2 all-time vs. Virginia and split a pair of games in 1974 in the only previous meetings with Maryland. The other teams in the Disney Blast are Jacksonville University and Oklahoma, however, the Tigers will not play either team.
Baird calls the 1999 schedule the toughest an Auburn team has faced since he has been head coach. "It is something we did by design because we have a lot of experienced players returning," he says. "We have all of our starting pitchers back from last season and that is a major plus," Baird adds. "Although we lost some key players in the field, we have a lot of experienced players back in the outfield and the infield."
Although the Tigers lost their leading hitter, shortstop Scott Pratt, who skipped his senior year for pro ball, the Tigers return several big sticks. Todd Faulkner hit .382 as a freshman with 20 home runs, one shy of the team-high 21 by senior Josh Etheredge, who finished last year as the school's all-time leader in homers. Pratt's shortstop spot will be filled by senior Chad Wandall, who hit .350 last year while starting at third base. He has been a regular since his freshman season at either third or shortstop.
Other .300 hitters returning include first baseman and designated hitter senior Jamie Kersh, who hit .333, along with senior catcher Casey Dunn (.320), outfielder/pitcher Gliemmo (.319), sophomore outfielder/second baseman Dominic Rich (.317) and sophomore outfielder Mailon Kent (.308). One of the more interesting newcomers will be Gabe Gross, the freshman from Dothan, who is the latest two-sport athlete on the Plains. Gross is in the running for the starting spot at third base even though he will be splitting time between his two sports when spring football practice starts.
Gliemmo, a freshman All-America pick in 1998, was 13-3 on the mound last season with a 4.94 earned run average. Bootcheck was 8-2 and also had a 4.94 ERA. Schoening posted an 11-5 mark as a sophomore with a 3.88 and is in his third season as one of the main starting pitchers. The top man out of the bullpen will be 6-6, 260-pound junior Colter Bean, who came on strong down the stretch to finish with seven saves to go with a 4-3 record and a 3.56 earned run average last season.
Auburn's home opener is Friday, Feb. 5th, as the Tigers entertain UNC-Asheville at 2 p.m. in the first of a three-game series. The Saturday game will be at 2 p.m. and the Sunday finale at 1:30 p.m.
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