College World Series Appearance Not Far Away for Auburn Baseball

The College World Series may seem like its light years away after a disappointing first year for Butch Thompson on The Plains in which he missed the SEC Tournament.

But I am here to tell you that a trip to Omaha, Neb. and the College World Series is not that far away for the Auburn baseball team. In fact, we are only two or three years away from competing for SEC championships in baseball.

As Arizona and Coastal Carolina get ready to begin the College World Series tonight, it should remind you just how quickly a team can turn around in baseball.

Arizona had not been to the College World Series since 2012 when they won the entire thing. In fact, they hadn’t even returned to the NCAA Tournament since 2012. They weren’t even ranked entering the NCAA Tournament this year by most polls, but they got hot at the right time and now they’re playing for the College World Series title.

The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are in the College World Series for the first time ever and find themselves two wins away from winning the title. This is also the first time since 2012 that Coastal Carolina has even been in the NCAA Tournament.

CWS finals preview: Arizona, Coastal Carolina try to cap surprising runs

My point being, Auburn certainly has the talent to make a turnaround and get to the College World Series just like these two teams have.

Auburn made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2015, but before then they hadn’t been since 2010. They haven’t made a College World Series appearance since 1997, so we’re definitely due for a trip.

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Auburn’s 2016 recruiting class ranked 24^th in the nation by Perfect Game with two players in the top 100 (although one of those players in the top 100 – Alex Speas – has signed with the Texas Rangers). Butch Thompsons’ 2017 class is shaping up to be even better as it currently ranks 13^th with three players ranked in the top 100.

That 2017 class is highlighted by the ninth best player in the country in right-handed pitcher Tanner Burns out of Decatur, Ala. Not only is Thompson bringing in the top talent in the country, he’s bringing in the best arms in the country.

The college game has changed so much over the past decade with a switch to bats that aren’t so lethal, and then a change in the seam of the baseballs to try and produce more offense. Some teams have had trouble adjusting to those changes. Now that things have settled down, coaches have a good idea of how to build a successful team, and it all starts with good pitching.

Looking at the two teams in the College World Series, Arizona ranks 26^th in the country with a 3.26 ERA, while Coastal Carolina is 31^st at 3.46. On the flip side, Arizona ranks 65^th in batting average, while Coastal Carolina ranks 41^st.

If you’ve been watching the College World Series at all then you see how important pitching has become as runs are very hard to come by in the College World Series these days.

College World Series /

In 2016 the Auburn pitching staff had an ERA of 4.57, which was good enough for 12

in the SEC. Georgia and Arkansas were the only teams with a worse ERA, and the Razorbacks were the only other team to not make it to the SEC Tournament.

So even though Auburn had the fourth best team batting average in the SEC, and 48^th best in the country, they still couldn’t win games because of the lack of pitching.

Pitching has become so important in the college game. Ten years ago you could have blasted your way to the College World Series, but it’s a different style of game today – a better one in my opinion.

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With the number of top arms that Butch Thompson is bringing in it won’t be long before Auburn is competing for championships. If you want to know when Auburn is ready to head back to the College World Series, keep an eye on that team ERA.

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