3 days ago
Who will win the Auburn Regional? D1Baseball weighs in
Who will win the Auburn Regional? D1Baseball weighs in Auburn has the tools to emerge victorious in this weekend's regional. Will they get it done?
Auburn baseball's postseason journey gets underway on Friday evening when it faces Central Connecticut at 6 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park in Auburn. The Tigers are gearing up to host its third regional in four years, and will look to advance to the Super Regionals for the fourth time since 2018.
Will they get the job done? D1Baseball dropped its predictions for each regional on Friday, including their picks for the Auburn Regional. According to D1Baseball's picks, Auburn has an 81% chance to emerge victorious in its regional this weekend. Nine members of D1Baseball's staff including Kendall Rogers and Mark Etheridge forecasted Auburn to win, with two members, Aaron Fitt and Bradley Smart, picking NC State.
Central Connecticut, Stetson, and NC State will each provide its own set of challenges for Auburn this weekend, but NC State's greatest quality will be its pitching. In its preview of the Auburn Regional, D1Baseball named NC State's starting rotation the best in the regional, with Dom Fritton being the most dominant pitcher in the staff with 102 strikeouts through 83 1/3 innings. The Tigers would miss Fritton should Auburn and NC State win its Friday games, as he is scheduled to pitch against Stetson in game one on Friday. Auburn would most likely face Ryan Marohn on Saturday, who boasts a team-low 3.72 ERA with 81 punchouts.
How will Auburn combat the Wolfpack's elite pitching staff? In terms of offense and defense, the Tigers have the edge. D1Baseball gave Auburn the title of best offensive and defensive team in the regional. Offensively, five players are hitting above .300, three players have double-digit home run totals, and eight players have 30-or-more RBI. Defensively, D1Baseball highlights the sneaky good team Auburn has in the field.
Though it's not necessarily a team you think of when you think about electric defensive players, Auburn is the best defensive team in this regional, as it has a .982 fielding percentage and no player on the roster with more than eight errors on the season. They might not be the team that turns in the most acrobatic play during the weekend, but they're the team most likely to make every single routine play.
Auburn baseball opens the Auburn Regional on Friday night at 6 p.m. CT against Central Connecticut. Click here to see the full Auburn Regional schedule.
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