The Boston Red Sox may have The Green Monster at Fenway Park, but Auburn has an imposing turf-colored monstrosity of its own.
The left-field wall at Plainsman Park measures 30 feet – seven feet shorter than the wall in Fenway and three times as high as the wall in Alex Box Stadium. That unique stadium feature could create problems when No. 11 LSU (17-4) travels to face Auburn (13-8) this weekend.
Junior first baseman Mason Katz, who started twice in left field at Auburn in 2010, has experience with the strange bounces the ball can take.
“We worked on that for about an hour and a half during my freshman year,” Katz said. “And the very first batter hit it off the wall and I messed it up. I’m sure [LSU] coach [Paul Mainieri] is really going to emphasize that.”
The question of who stands in front of the 30-foot wall tonight is still an issue for Mainieri. Five different players have started in left field this season, with freshman Jared Foster seeing the majority of the playing time, but recent struggles at the plate have opened the door for others to step in.
But Mainieri said he will decide who starts based on offensive ability, not defensive.
“I’m not going to let the wall affect who we play in left field,” Mainieri said. “But I may make some changes. I’m not 100 percent sure what I’m going to do yet, but hopefully we can get used to the uniqueness of their ball park.”
The characteristics of the stadium aren’t the only thing that makes Auburn stand out. The team has stolen 57 bases this season. In comparison, LSU has only attempted 23 steals.
“It’s kind of scary when you look at their stats,” Mainieri said. “I don’t know how they’ve done that. But just because a guy steals a base, it doesn’t mean he’s going to score.”
Sophomore catcher Ty Ross has caught eight of the 11 runners that have attempted to steal on him this season. Ross said he gets help catching runners from sophomore pitcher Kevin Gausman, who said Auburn’s aggression on the base paths has been a point of emphasis during practice.
“I just try to be as fast as I can to the plate,” Gausman said. “The big thing is mixing up your looks. Every once in a while, if you mix in a long hold, that can really screw up a runner and make them think twice about running.”
Auburn is riding high after taking two of three games on the road against then-No. 12 Ole Miss to open Southeastern Conference play. Auburn shut out South Alabama in a mid-week game before hosting LSU.
The series marks the first time LSU will hit the road on the weekend this year. The Tigers won their only two road-tilts of the season against McNeese State and Tulane.
“I love hitting the road,” Guasman said. “We get treated like kings. You wake up, you get breakfast, then you get to go back to sleep and wake up for lunch. It’s pretty much just eating and sleeping and playing baseball. The three things that I love.”
 
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Contact hunter Paniagua at [email protected]