The Auburn Tigers won their second NCAA Tournament Regional matchup at Plainsman Park on Saturday in the ugliest possible way. While the Tigers were on the right side of a 17-13 final against the NC State Wolfpack and saved their season, it should be noted that Auburn's pitching staff has given up 26 runs over the past two days. The Milwaukee Panthers blasted the Tigers 13-8 on Friday afternoon.
Ipso facto, AL.com's Peter Rauterkus sounded as hopeless as one can possibly sound about Auburn's future, which will require three more wins, two on Monday, to advance to the Men's College World Series in Omaha.
The culprit? Four pitchers, including the Tigers' top reliever, Jackson Sanders, needed to be deployed due to four multi-run innings from the Wolfpack's bats. Multiple errors from Auburn in the field didn't help the cause.
That imperfect storm may be costly when the team fights for its life on Sunday. Saunders, as Rauterkus warns, may not be available to throw until Monday after a worst-case-scenario win over NC State on the Plains.
"All-SEC reliever Jackson Sanders came in to relieve Brewer with the Tigers running out of options. Having to use Sanders in a game Auburn was once in control of wasn’t ideal, as the Tigers still must win three more games to advance past the regional round," Rauterkus wrote. "He could potentially pitch again later in the regional, but likely not until Monday, if Auburn makes it that far."
Auburn built practically no momentum in win over NC State
Losing in the fashion the Tigers did against the Panthers, which, granted, had the blow softened by the Saint Mary's Gaels upsetting the UCLA Bruins, the Little Rock Trojans beating the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and the St. John's Red Storm sneaking past the Florida State Seminoles, meant Auburn needed a big bounce-back game.
17 runs for the team's offense is astounding. The bats were alive, with Cade Belyeu and Ethin Bingaman's combined four home runs being the liveliest in the lineup. But the give-and-take nature of Saturday's game was stressful at best and anxiety-inducing at worst.
The Wolfpack's seven-run showing in the second and third innings and six-run output in the sixth and seventh could've been accompanied by even more runs ceded if not for Belyeu's web-gem in centerfield.
Butch Thompson claimed that the Milwaukee loss was because Auburn's bats weren't up to snuff, saying, “Milwaukee has just superior offensively and in their at bats for nine innings...So, I give them a ton of credit." Thompson also noted that the Tigers' pitching staff was exposed by the Panthers early in the game.
At this point, Thompson is hoping that urgency can keep the bats alive. At some point, though, they will go cold, and the pitching will have to make up for it. The state of Auburn's arms is worrisome right now, more so without Sanders on Sunday. Even if the Tigers make it to Monday, their bullpen has been exhausted.
It'd be a herculean effort to make the Men's College World Series after how the first two games went. If Auburn pulls this off, though, the Tigers would be as dangerous as they come.
Add us as a preferred source on Google