Sigh. Well that was pitiful. Auburn baseball fought back this season to earn a regional host position, and then absolutely lobbed one down Broadway to every team they played after the first round in Hoover.
Let’s talk about it.
Auburn baseball vs Penn
This game is the one that hurts the most. Not Southern Miss, who has been a good team all season. This one. Penn came in with not much pop in the lineup and managed to deal the biggest blow of Auburn’s postseason.
Winning this game gets you a date with Samford. Winning this game gets you the inside track to winning the regional and hosting round two (we’ll talk about that in a minute).
Auburn baseball vs Southern Miss
Southern Miss came in as the most dangerous team in the regional. Not only are they the Sun Belt champs, but every player on this roster minus the true freshmen and transfers have been in the NCAA Tournament. Many have played in multiple NCAA Tournaments for the Golden Eagles.
Auburn not only laid an egg with the bats, but the pitching staff reverted to their old ways: putting the offense in a hole that couldn’t be escaped.
This was the final nail in Auburn’s proverbial coffin. And it was a disgusting one to swallow.
The rest of the regional
Southern Miss, as many likely predicted, won the Auburn regional. Thanks to Clemson being eliminated in two games as well, Southern Miss is now the high seed and is hosting the super regional in Hattiesburg. Auburn would be hosting a super regional for the first time EVER.
Moving forward
Moving forward, I imagine that Tim Hudson will be contacted to return to the post of pitching coach now that his son has graduated from Lee-Scott. He originally left for the opportunity to coach his son, and now Butch Thompson needs to bring back the mastermind of Auburn’s pitching staff.
I would also like to see Butch hit the portal hard for pitchers. Once Gonzo got hurt, this staff just didn’t have the depth or talent to keep up in the SEC.
As always, War Eagle.