'Everything they had': Resilient Tigers seek CWS return

'Everything they had': Resilient Tigers seek CWS return'Everything they had': Resilient Tigers seek CWS return
Cat Wofford/Auburn Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. – To the surprise of no one who watched Auburn overcome setback after setback on the road to Omaha, the Tigers did not go gentle into Wednesday's good Nebraska night.

Rather, they raged and rallied, putting the potential tying runs on base in the eighth and at the plate in the ninth before exiting with a 5-3 defeat to Louisville.

Just as they did in late innings to win the Atlanta Regional and Chapel Hill Super Regional, the Tigers fought to the finish, with three straight two-out hits in the eighth, and a home run and double in the ninth.

Evidence, say the Tigers, of the grit and perseverance that characterized Auburn's postseason surge.

"It says a lot about us," said Edouard Julien, who reached base four times in Auburn's season finale and batted .667 in the CWS. "We had lots of injuries this year and we were able to bounce back from all of them. Everyone doubted us. Nobody believed in us. Only us in the locker room knew that we had a pretty good team and we had a chance to come here."

"It's been our consistent mindset all year," said Conor Davis, whose ninth-inning home run along with a pair of doubles made him the first player in program history with three extra-base hits in a College World Series game. "We've had the battle-back mindset that we're going to grind, we're going to fight until the last out. That's a testimony to how our season was. We just battled even when it came down to the very last out.

"It's just a testimony to Coach Thompson, the type of man he is and the leadership role he's brought to Auburn baseball. Two years ago I ended my freshman year in a regional in Tallahassee, and last year a super regional in Florida. Just to get here and to make a mark like we have, it's been 22 years and we've been working really hard. I just can't wait to see where the program goes with Coach Thompson at its head. It's very exciting to see for the future."

Most of the players in Auburn's locker room will return in 2020. A few, like shortstop Will Holland, will embark on professional careers. Others have decisions looming – sign with the pros or return to the Plains.

For the freshmen, like Richard Fitts, who pitched effectively in both of Auburn's CWS games, and center fielder Kason Howell, who had a hit in each game, the Omaha dreams they brought with them when they arrived last summer have been realized less than a year later.

"This is an unbelievable experience as a freshman coming to Omaha," Fitts said. "It's a dream come true. We feel like we have a great chance to come here next year, too."

"This team is resilient. We fight, and I think that's something everyone can take away for next year," Howell said. "I don't think you can teach that, how to fight and be there for each other. We've had our ups and downs but I think we learned a lot from it, especially the freshman class. I think it's going to continue to build the winning culture that's been built the past three or four years. I think it's just going to continue to get better."

Auburn coach Butch Thompson knew the foundation he's been building for four years was solid when Julien stepped into the batter's box against Louisville after an error two nights earlier.

"I think that was the loudest ovation I heard yesterday," Thompson said. "So I compliment my fans, how they responded yesterday, I was just like, yes, because they lifted him up before that first at-bat. That's what it's all about. That's how I know things are being built the right way and people are getting behind our players the right way. It's not surfing the internet, it's actually seeing organically what's happening with our crowd and the connection to our best players.

"The intentions won't change. We'll continue to aim high. As far our players and our program and everybody who supports it, we should feel really good about where we got Auburn baseball. This group is going to be dear to me and it may be one of the most special groups I've ever been a part of. They gave me everything they had."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer