Auburn baseball wins opener with MSU

Hey everyone. Auburn recently clinched a win in the first game of its weekend series against Mississippi State.

The score was 9-6.

The Tigers (31-15, 13-9) scored six runs in the first inning. MSU (20-26, 5-17) made a push during the final four innings, but the home team never lost control.

Casey McElroy (No. 23 above) had three hits and three RBIs. Starter Cory Luckie worked into the sixth inning and earned his fifth win in six starts.

The teams resume their series on Saturday at 3 p.m. CDT.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.

Radio Appearance Forthcoming

Hey everyone. I will be participating in my weekly segment on SuperSport 930 out of Jackson, Miss., in a bit. That extravaganza will begin around 9:07 a.m. CST. There will be a podcast later in the day in case you miss the fun.

It typically streams live, so please enjoy the segment digitally if you're so inclined.

Barbee snags another big name

Hey everyone. We have received word that power forward Luke Cothron signed with Auburn this afternoon.

Is this a big deal? Absolutely.

He's 6-foot-9 and weighs 220. He has some bulk to him. He can rebound.

Cothron, a Huntsville native who spent last season at a school in North Carolina, was coveted by big-name programs like Kentucky, Connecticut, Tennessee. They all wanted him. Tony Barbee spoke with Cothron the first day he arrived at Auburn and never relented. That effort paid off.

``Luke gives us a different level of talent," Barbee said. ``He is an immediate difference-maker for us along the front line. He is a guy who has the ability to score the ball in a variety of ways inside and outside. He has a knack for being around the ball which makes him a great rebounder."

Rivals.com has Cothron ranked as the nation's No. 11 power forward and No. 45 overall recruit in the nation.

He is Barbee's second signee. The first, small forward Josh Langford, was rated as the state's top college prospect. Not bad for six weeks of work.

Is this the next Pervis Ellison? Judge for yourself.

Gene Chizik speaks in Montgomery

Hey everyone. I have returned from the Montgomery Auburn Club shindig, which was held in the very upscale-ish Renaissance hotel.

Thanks to Ronda Beesley and Stan Maxey, MAC stalwarts, for being there for me.

I also want to give another shout-out to WEG. That's twice in a week!

OK. OK. So what did Chizik have to say?

I'd be happy to share those comments with you.

• On the NCAA's decision to ban Auburn's "Tiger Prowl" barnstorming tours to high schools: ``We don't really put a whole lot of time and thought toward why rules are made up. We obviously follow the rules. With the SEC or the NCAA, whatever they are, we follow all the rules to the best of our ability."
  
  
• On if it's a good thing (as Trooper Taylor expressed) that the NCAA is curbing Auburn's enterprises: ``I don't think of it in terms of that at all. We just follow and abide by whatever legislation that they make. That's really what we do."
  
  
• On if his staff will begin brainstorming some new ideas: ``We're always going to do whatever we can to market Auburn and Auburn University football. We'll always do that. When we get done with this recruiting season, we'll go back and revisit it and look at what it is that we could have done better. We try to do that with every phase of our football program."
  
  
• So do you meet at a big table or what? ``We do. We throw it out on the table and see who's got what."
  
  
• So who is your MVP when it comes to ideas? ``I've got a whole room full of MVPs. It's really a great mix. There are a lot of creative ideas and creative minds in there. Guys really know their trade well. They know 17- and 18-year-old men and what gets them excited."
  
  
• Is there a synergy between what you all do and what Tony Barbee is doing with basketball? ``I know Tony is going to be really great at the recruiting area of our basketball program. We've already gotten together and worked together and talked through some things. I think there will be a lot of parallels between what we try to do and they try to do."
  
  
• How can you help them? ``Anytime there's a basketball recruit who's interested in Auburn -- just coming to the football end of it and coming to a game-day experience. I think that always helps. When you can come to an event that shows the passion and the tradition of a place, I think it really open the guys' eyes."
  
  
• Does that actually work? ``I think so. I think you work as a team with all of the basketball-football-baseball guys. It's all one, big family. We always try to cross over and help in anyway we can -- both in knowledge of where players are and what we can do to help … with recruiting."
  
  
• What's the latest with Big Cat Weekend? ``That's kind of down the road a little ways. We're in the premliminary processes in terms of getting ready for it. That was a fairly successful weekend last year in our opinion. We don't know exactly where we're at with it right now in terms of how many, who is coming. We feel really good about it going to be a really good weekend."
  
  
• Do you find that last year's publicity makes the prospects come to you and ask for an invitation? ``I don't know if they come to us. You always have to go out and seek them and energize them enough for them to want to come. Last year's success certainly helped."

Your weekend overview

Hey everyone. Hope you had a swell weekend. It was First Communion weekend here at HABOTN Headquarters, so please pardon our inactivity.

So what did we miss?

• Auburn's baseball team continued its march toward Hoover (for the first time in six years) with a series win at Arkansas. The Tigers hit eight homers during the weekend and starter Grant Dayton was filthy on Sunday. He struck out 10 batters and allowed two runs in seven innings.
  
  The team now is 30-15 overall and 12-9 in SEC play.
  
  The team plays last-place Mississippi State and a disappointing Tennessee team at Plainsman Park during the next two weekends. Series wins there all but lock up a postseason bid.
  
  
• Not directly Auburn-related, but the NCAA rules committee will meet in Indianapolis today. Among the items they'll review: Installing a charge/block arc near the basket (a la the NBA) that prevents players from camping under the basket in an effort to draw charges.
  
  
• The Tiger Trek caravan rolls into Montgomery tonight. It's run through the Montgomery Auburn Club and replaces the big summer b-b-q event we used to attend in July or August. Gene Chizik will be there. Two people emailed to say Tony Barbee would be there as well, but a check with basketball publicist Chuck Gallina revealed that Barbee is in Texas today.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.