AUBURN, Ala. – On the eve of the first super regional at Plainsman Park, No. 4 Auburn coach Butch Thompson made it clear. There’s no reason to fix something that isn’t broken.
“I don’t want us to change,” said Thompson, whose Tigers never trailed while sweeping last weekend’s NCAA Auburn Regional. “We have an identity. This is who we are. I would take the consistency with which we played last week and do that again. That’s what we’re trying to reach.”
With the nation’s best record (51-11) and longest winning streak (21), No. 13 Coastal Carolina presents a formidable challenge.
“The hottest team in college baseball, we’re playing,” said Thompson, emphasizing the importance of a high strike percentage against the opportunistic Chanticleers. “Buddy, it’ll never be needed more than in a series like this to get ahead, stay ahead and use your head through counts and sequences.”
Noting Coastal’s twin strengths of starting and relief pitching, All-SEC outfielder Ike Irish wants to capitalize by making the Chanticleers go to the bullpen sooner than they’d like.
“It’s power from the first two guys and the third one is a sinker baller,” Irish said of Coastal’s starting rotation. “On the back end, they’ve got a power lefty and a power righty to close it out. As an offense, we’ve got to try to win the middle innings.”
“They’re on this good run because they haven’t gifted or created offense,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to be ready to make our own, to get our barrel to the right spot.”
Asked about Auburn’s pitching plans for Friday’s game one, Thompson needed only one word to answer.
“Dutton,” he said.
Samuel Dutton (7-3) earned the victory over Stetson last Saturday in the second game of the Auburn Regional.
After earning 17 wins during the 10-week Southeastern Conference gauntlet, Thompson’s Tigers are battle tested.
“You must the respect the game, you must respect your opponent,” he said. “We’re going to have to apply force. We’ll have to be ready to play again. We can’t just roll anything out here and expect any success.
“Then we have to execute. Those were our three things last week. I still think they’re extremely applicable this week. We’ve already played 10 super regionals. This is our 11th.”
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday – Sr. RHP Samuel Dutton (3-3, 5.00) vs. So. RHP Cameron Flukey (7-1, 3.12)
Saturday – TBA vs. TBA
Sunday – TBA vs. TBA
QUICK HITTERS
This weekend marks Auburn’s fourth super regional appearance under head coach Butch Thompson and the fifth in program history.
It is the first super regional in the history of Plainsman Park.
Thompson is the first coach in program history with four regional championships.
Auburn is one of nine programs to play in four or more super regionals since 2018.
The Tigers are 2-2 in super regional series and have won back-to-back supers in 2019 and 2022.
The team has won 40+ games for the third time under Thompson and 14th time in program history.
Auburn is 28-6 at Plainsman Park this season, hitting .339 and outscoring opponents 297-150.
The 28 home wins are the most since 2018 and tied for the fourth most in program history.
Auburn would match the program record for home wins (30) with a Super Regional series win.
The team has won 14 of its last 15 home games since Apr. 5.
The Tigers are 17-12 against ranked opponents this season, including 10-2 at home.
Auburn has won 10 straight home weekends dating back to the end of 2024.
SCOUTING THE CHANTICLEERS
Coastal Carolina enters the super regional with a 51-11 overall record. The Chanticleers have the most wins in college baseball and are riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 21 games.
The Chanticleers swept their regional, outscoring Fairfield and East Carolina (twice) 29-9 in the three games.
Offensively, Coastal Carolina is hitting .290 as a team and has scored 471 runs on 570 hits, including 115 doubles and 62 home runs. Junior catcher Caden Bodine leads the way with a .329 average and 71 hits.
On the mound, the Chanticleers rank second in the country with a 3.24 staff ERA and 1.18 WHIP. The team has struck out 560 batters with 183 walks in 530.1 innings pitched, and their weekend rotation is a combined 24-3 with a 2.72 ERA.
SUPER REGIONAL CENTRAL
For all information surrounding the Auburn Super Regional, including the weekend schedule, parking, merchandise and more, click here.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer