May 28, 2018
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - There was no raucous celebration or standing ovation. Just a polite golf clap Monday when the Auburn Tigers learned they'd be playing Northeastern Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
"It was expected, so it wasn't like outrageous, extremely happy," junior pitcher Casey Mize said. "I'm glad to be going somewhere different. We have a chance to win a regional so I like where we got selected."
Auburn, the No. 2 seed, plays No. 3 seed Northeastern Friday at 1 p.m. CT. Mize no-hit the Huskies on March 9. Two days later, Northeastern handed Auburn its first loss of the season.
"I definitely am," said Mize about his excitement regarding the possibility of pitching Friday's regional opener. "I have a feeling they're excited to face me, too. I feel like they want to change that narrative a little bit, so I'm going to have to be prepared for that. They're probably a different team than they were but so are we. I'm just going to have to go out and execute my best."
The Tigers had hoped to host (39-21, 15-15) a regional, but the selection committee opted instead to award the last bid and No. 16 overall seed to N.C. State (40-16).
"I think we're very motivated from how last year ended, from not being a host this year, I think there's a lot of motivation on our side, which is good," Mize said.
"We're very fortunate to be in this position," senior second baseman Luke Jarvis said. "That's all we ever wanted was a chance. I think we were picked pretty low to finish in the SEC this year again, so to be in this position -- host, no host -- it doesn't really matter, it's all regional play now. And it's that goal, Omaha."
The winner of the Raleigh regional will advance to a super regional against the winner of the Gainesville regional, where defending national champion Florida is the No. 1 overall seed.
"Be excited," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "I'm going to try to keep them as loose as possible. Play fast, and attention to detail. They'll have to focus in, we'll be challenged. Everybody's gotten there by doing something well and consistent.
"We have to realize all the strengths we have and go play the best baseball we can and hopefully that'll show up when it matters most."
Auburn won its first two games at last week's SEC Tournament, including being the only team to beat eventual champion Ole Miss.
"I felt like our pitching has really solidified itself," Thompson said. "You really can't walk into one of these tournaments without feeling too good about your pitching. I feel tremendous about our pitching, if we can stay lined up and finish innings."
Auburn is making back-to-back regional appearances for the first time in 15 years.
"I'm very proud to be a part of the foundation that we're building right now," Mize said. "To see where we were two years ago and see where we are now, that's pretty remarkable. I'm definitely happy to be a part of that. Back-to-back regionals is definitely a step forward."
Raleigh, N.C., here they come.@AuburnBaseball is the No. 2 seed in the NC State regional.
AU plays No. 3 seed Northeastern in opening game.
Regional winner will play winner of Gainesville regional in super regional. pic.twitter.com/cZkUpkrSE7- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) May 28, 2018
"This time of year, everybody's gotten there by doing something well."
🗣@3strikes_AU on his message to @AuburnBaseball pre @NCAACWS regional at NC State
"Be excited. Play fast. Attention to detail." pic.twitter.com/9hmQA8ipil- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) May 28, 2018
"I'm very proud to be part of the foundation that we're building right now."
🗣@caseymize04 on helping lead @AuburnBaseball to back-to-back @NCAACWS regionals pic.twitter.com/TfujGsITtj- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) May 28, 2018
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer