It has been a grind for Auburn baseball the past month-plus as the Tigers have played in five straight series against top-10 teams. That’s life in the SEC, and Butch Thompson’s squad has responded impressively, winning six straight series as they head into the final weekend of the regular season.
That arrives on Thursday, when the No. 4 Tigers host No. 5 Georgia in Plainsman Park.
“We’re excited to host these guys, the national leaders in home runs, top five in about every offensive category," Thompson said. "We’ll have our work cut out for us. We’ve played some of the best teams, and now we’re seeing the summit. The best team in our league is coming here to finish, so we’re excited about that.”
Another top-10 matchup awaiting Auburn
Wes Johnson’s Bulldogs wrapped up the SEC regular-season title last weekend with a sweep of struggling LSU and have won nine straight dating back to a 10-8 loss to Ole Miss on April 25.
And, as Thompson pointed out, the Bulldogs are explosive on offense, leading the country in home runs (140) while ranking in the top five in batting average (.328), on-base percentage (.445), slugging percentage (.628), runs (502) and hits (584). They are led by catcher Daniel Jackson, who has racked up 25 dingers with 74 RBIs while batting .384, all team highs.
Auburn will counter with its usual rotation of Jake Marciano (4-4, 2.71 ERA), Andreas Alvarez (8-2, 2.66) and Alex Petrovic (8-2, 3.15).
While the Tigers have likely already wrapped up a national seed, meaning they would host an NCAA Regional and, if advanced, an NCAA Super Regional, another series win would clinch that. For Thompson, he’s just proud of how his team has handled this gauntlet of a schedule down the stretch.
“We’ve been fighting like crazy,” he said. “I think our guys have done an amazing job. What a journey this has been.”
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