AUBURN, Ala. – After earning a host bid for the second straight season Sunday and the No. 13 national seed Monday, Auburn (34-21-1) begins its 24th NCAA Tournament appearance with a matchup against Penn (32-14) Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Plainsman Park.
Up Next:
vs. Penn
Friday, June 2, 2023
Time: 6 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
The tournament is Auburn's fifth in the last six postseasons under head coach Butch Thompson, who has led the Tigers to an 11-2 record in regional play and enters this weekend on a nine-game regional win streak.
"We've played well at this stage, but they have to go make their own," head coach Butch Thompson said. "I'm just glad to get the opportunity. I'm glad to put it all back on the line because that means we're still playing."
Friday's game will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on 93.9 FM. It will also be streamed digitally on ESPN+.
Prior to Auburn's game, Southern Miss (41-17) and Samford (36-23) will kick off the Auburn Regional with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – So. RHP Chase Allsup (1-2, 5.89) vs. So. RHP Ryan Dromboski (7-2, 2.87)
QUICK HITTERS
This weekend marks the first time Auburn has hosted a regional in back-to-back seasons in program history.
The Tigers are one of five programs in the country to host a regional each of the last two seasons - joined by Florida, Miami, Oklahoma State and Stanford on the short list.
It marks the sixth time in program history a regional has been played at Plainsman Park - 1978, 1999, 2003, 2010, 2022 and 2023.
The Tigers have outscored the opponent 117-43 during the current nine-game regional-win streak.
Auburn's 51 runs in last year's regional were the most by a SEC team in a three-game regional.
This weekend marks Auburn's fifth regional in the last six postseasons under Thompson.
Making its fifth regional appearance in the last six postseasons, Auburn made five tournament appearances in 14 seasons from 2002-15 prior to Thompson's arrival.
The program is one of six in the SEC to make at least five tournament appearances in the last six postseasons - Arkansas (6), Florida (6), LSU (6), Vanderbilt (6), Texas A&M (5).
KNOW THE FOES
NO. 2 SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss enters the regional with a 41-17 overall record and 22-8 mark in the Sun Belt, finishing a game behind Coastal Carolina for the regular season championship before winning the tournament.
The Golden Eagles have won 19 of the last 21 games dating back to Apr. 23.
NO. 3 SAMFORD
Samford enters the weekend with 36-23 overall record and went 15-6 in SoCon play en route to winning the regular season and conference tournament.
The Bulldogs won three games in the same day against UNC Greensboro and Wofford last Saturday to claim the league's automatic bid.
NO. 4 PENN
Penn enters the regional with a 32-14 overall record and 16-5 record in the Ivy League, sweeping the league's regular season and conference championships.
The Quakers, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1995, enters the weekend on an eight-game win streak.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Gates open one hour prior to first pitch. The stadium will be cleared in between all games of the regional this weekend.
Fans are encouraged to park in the athletics complex parking deck, coliseum lot, Neville Arena lot and stadium parking deck and are asked to allow for extra time with large crowds both inside and outside of the ballpark expected. A parking map can be found here.
All transactions for concessions, merchandise and tickets will be contactless and cashless (credit/debit and Tiger Cards only).
In addition to the home plate concessions, Chick-fil-A will be available on the patio located down the first base line and in the Tiger Terrace down the left field line, excluding Sundays.
Auburn Athletics will continue to provide digital tickets for the 2023 baseball season. Digital tickets help to increase convenience, flexibility and safety for fans on gamedays. Click here for more information on digital tickets.