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With the Oregon State baseball team (47-16) set to host Auburn (40-19) for a best-of-three series starting on Saturday night, BeaversEdge caught up with Auburn Sports senior editor Bryan Matthews to learn more about the Tigers...
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1. Heading into the season, Auburn was picked to finish last in the west division... How have the Tigers exceeded expectations so far this year?
Bryan Matthews: "It's been a lot of different areas. Some key transfers have paid off big, especially Sonny DiChiara, who was named co-SEC Player of the Year. Blake Rambusch came from JUCO and became probably the SEC's best leadoff hitter. Blake Burkhalter developed into the SEC's best closer and overall, the team just improved over the course of the season. AU is also 8-4 in one-run games and 7-3 in two-run games."
2. Auburn's offense was firing on all cylinders in regional play last weekend; what were the key(s) to that success and do you expect it to continue into this matchup?
Matthews: "The key for Auburn's offense last weekend was production from 1-9 and not just relying on Sonny DiChiara to do most of the damage. Players better known for their defense -- catcher Nate LaRue, shortstop Brody Moore and centerfielder Kason Howell -- all had excellent weekends at the plate. DiChiara went off too, of course."
3. If you're Oregon State, what's the blueprint to beat Auburn?
Matthews: "Auburn's bullpen has been pretty good late so one of the keys would be getting to the starter early and putting up some runs against him and/or a middle reliever.
AU has also won 20 games when trailing and has feasted on opposing bullpens. So having good outings from a starter and backing that up with a strong bullpen late is important."
4. Who are a few impact players that Oregon State fans should be aware of and why?
Matthews: "If he wasn't playing for the opponent, fans would love Sonny DiChiara. He's a big boy that can just swing the bat and enjoys playing the game. He batted over .400 for most of the season and leads Auburn with 20 home runs and 55 RBI.
Blake Rambusch is one of those dangerous leadoff hitters that gets on base all the time and has some pop in his bat too. He leads the SEC with 85 hits.
Joseph Gonzalez will start Sunday and has become Auburn's best starter. Gets a ton of ground balls out of his sinker and can shut down a good lineup for 7-8 innings if he's keeping his pitches down.
5. What's your series prediction and why?
Matthews: "I expect a competitive and close series that could go either way. Auburn enters this series on a tear offensively. Of course, Cooper Hjerpe can slow that down Saturday, but I'm gonna go with AU taking 2 of 3 even if they lose game one.
This Auburn team is full of veterans, has played a tough road schedule, and will compete for every pitch. It just seems like Auburn is playing its best baseball at the right time, and it's not always the best team but the hot team at this time of year."
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