For the entirety of the Auburn baseball season, Andrew Dutton has had a presence inside the first base coaches’ box, serving an unofficial role as an extension of the coaching staff.
But that changed Tuesday in No. 6 Auburn’s final non-conference game of the season against Jacksonville State.
With Auburn holding an 18-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, Tigers manager Butch Thompson called his graduate student infielder off the bench to swing. And that’s exactly what Dutton did, as the Southside, Alabama native launched one to deep right field at Plainsman Park for his first home run and hit of the season.
How can you not be romantic about baseball?
“The crowd going crazy was a dream come true,” Dutton told Auburn Athletics after the game. “It’s what I’ve been waiting for. It was awesome. The guys have always been super supportive of just me and being the teammate that I am. That’s the biggest thing is just having those 40 best friends who really care about you.”
Wednesday’s game marked the first game that Dutton saw play in a Tigers uniform after transferring in from Birmingham-Southern College before the season. A three-year starter at Birmingham-Southern, Dutton led his former squad to the Division III College World Series last season while leading the team in hitting with a .340 average, 68 hits, 61 runs and 12 doubles.
“It was movie script stuff to me,” Thompson added. “That’s what it is all about. That’s the good stuff. You talk about capitalizing on a moment. We had a blast with that tonight. That was a special moment. He’s got that for life, to run around these bases in an Auburn uniform. He’s worked every day to be ready to play the game, and you’re rewarded for stuff like that.”
The Tigers run-ruled the Gamecocks 19-1 in seven innings, earning their 37th win of the season while extending their win streak to five games.
Auburn now heads into an important three-game weekend series to close out SEC regular season play against Ole Miss starting Thursday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. CT at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi. The Tigers currently hold a two-game lead over the Rebels for ninth place in the SEC standings.
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