With an NCAA Regional locked up, as well as more than likely a national seed in the NCAA Tournament, it would be simple for Butch Thompson to overlook the SEC Tournament in Hoover and instead focus on what his Tigers can do when the Road to Omaha begins next week.
That’s not how Thompson rolls, though, as he hopes to bring Auburn its first conference tournament title since 1998.
Auburn focused on winning first SEC Tournament since 1998
"This week is the first week of us trying to get an opportunity to win a championship," Thompson said. "So we'll put our best foot forward to try to do everything we can to win game one. We'd love to stick around for four games and try to make a run at this. Our program has not won this tournament since 1998. So we definitely made a commitment today that we'd all be all hands on deck and play this like you're pursuing a championship."
That journey begins on Wednesday night as the No. 6 Tigers take on LSU, which advanced on Tuesday with a 6-2 win over Oklahoma. Jake Marciano will get the ball to start the game for Auburn. The sophomore holds a 2.74 ERA, and his last performance was a gem, holding Georgia to one run over six innings.
Chase Fralick, a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award, says he and the rest of the Tigers have the same mentality as their head coach heading into the conference tourney.
"Our goal is absolutely to go there and win it," Fralick said. "We're going to put our best forward, especially with moving Jake up a day on normal rest to go out there, and I think that shows we're there for business and to win the whole thing."
First pitch for Auburn and LSU is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT.Â
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