A trip down the stat sheet with…

By David Morrison
High School Sports Reporter
Published: April 20, 2009

Auburn High’s baseball team!!!

I’ve covered eight Auburn games this season, and the Tigers are 8-0 when I’ve been there. Now, I’m not saying I’ve been the biggest part of their success this year, but I have had a role.

I mean, Auburn is 8-0 in David Morrison-attended games and 20-7 in all others. Coincidence? I think not. (Note: If anyone isn’t familiar with my sense of humor/thinks I’m delusional, don’t worry. I’m totally joking.)

Anyway, here are some of the Tigers players that have loved to see me at the ballpark:

Trey Gregg: batting .611 (11-for-18), with 11 runs, three doubles and four RBI. His OBP is .708 and his slugging is .778. That makes a 1.486 OPS (on-base + slugging percentage).
James Ponder: batting .500 (9-for-18), with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and 11 RBI. His OBP is .500 and he is slugging 1.000 (1.500 OPS).
Dalton Edwards: batting .455 (10-for-22), with four doubles, a home run and 10 RBI. His OBP is .462 and he is slugging .773 (1.235 OPS).
Tanner Cimo: batting .353 (6-for-17), with two home runs, five RBI and a double. His OBP is .435 and he is slugging .765 (1.200 OPS).
Grant Massey: batting .350 (7-for-20) with two doubles, two home runs and five RBI. His OBP is .381 and he is slugging .750 (1.131 OPS).
Patrick Carroll: batting .381 (8-for-21) with three doubles, a home run and six RBI. His OBP is .458 and he is slugging .667 (1.125 OPS).
Will Walker is hitting only .182 (2-for-11) in games I’ve covered, but both of his hits have been home runs, one a grand slam.

The Tigers are batting .343 overall in the eight games I’ve seen, their OBP is .419 and they’re slugging .603 (1.022 OPS). They have 21 doubles, a triple and 10 home runs, and have scored 67 runs (8.4 per game).

And the pitching has been just as good.

Reid Carter, Drew Eiland, and Scott Norrell are all 2-0 in games I’ve been at.

Eiland has given up no runs on three hits in 11.1 innings, striking out 13 and walking none. Opponents are hitting .081 against him and his WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched) is 0.26. That means he puts a runner on base about every three innings. The junior lefty has also thrown 72 percent of his pitches (99-of-137) for strikes.

Carter has given up one unearned run on three hits in nine innings (this is including his five-inning no-hitter against Benjamin Russell). He has 12 strikeouts, two walks, opponents are hitting .103 against him, and his WHIP is 0.56.

Norrell has given up three runs on five hits in 7.2 innings, fanning six and walking five. Opponents are hitting .179 against him, his ERA is 3.52 and his WHIP is 1.30.

Drew Sikes has been the best out of the pen (except when Eiland is relieving), giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits in 4.1 innings. Opponents are hitting .143 against him, his ERA is 2.08, and his WHIP is 1.15.

Overall, the Tigers’ pitching staff has given up 18 runs (13 earned) on 29 hits to opponents in 49 innings. That’s 2.3 runs per game. The Tigers have fanned 52 (7.4 K’s per 7 innings) while walking 18 (2.6 walks per 7), and opponents are hitting .166 against them. Their ERA is 2.39 and their WHIP is 0.96. They have also thrown 61.5 percent of their pitches for strikes, which is not too shabby. Especially for a high school team.

Auburn coach Matt Cimo says he’s not a big numbers guy. But even he can realize how impressive all that is.

Of course, that’s only for eight games…