4 of a kind: Auburn aces lead No. 4 Tigers to NCAA Regional, top 4 seed

AUBURN, Ala. –  In pitching, as in poker, when you’re holding four aces, you go all in.

Auburn’s quartet of sophomore starting pitchers –Jake Marciano, Andreas Alvarez, Alex Petrovic and Jackson Sanders – powered the Tigers to the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, a claim no other program can make.   

“It’s been absolutely amazing this run that these four guys have done,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “It’s all built around these four guys.”

Auburn’s aces produced four of the SEC’s top seven earned run averages, helping the Tigers’ team ERA of 3.45 easily rank as the league’s best, 0.71 lower than next best Florida and the fourth lowest in college baseball.

“I do believe we have the best pitching staff in the country,” Marciano said. “Whoever we roll out there is going to get the job done.”

“It’s awesome,” Alvarez said. “That’s an awesome luxury to have.”

From the first team meeting last fall, Thompson has prioritized strike percentage. Auburn’s foursome got the message, combining for 365 strikeouts against 85 walks.  

ACE OF CLUBS: JAKE MARCIANO

The left-handed Marciano earned Auburn’s Friday rotation spot, posting a 5-5 record with a team-best 2.64 ERA and 100 strikeouts.

“He was probably throwing better than everybody early in the season,” Thompson said. “He started making this possible. Marciano’s been very important to us and won some big games early.”

After playing his freshman season at Virginia Tech, Marciano entered the transfer portal, visiting Auburn last June during the first super regional in Plainsman Park history.

“Seeing the atmosphere and the excitement is really something special, and I just wanted to be part of it and that’s one of the reasons why I chose to be here,” he said. “It couldn’t have gone better for me. Being able to get the opportunity I was given and roll with it. I’m happy to get to start.”

ACE OF SPADES: JACKSON SANDERS

Another lefty, Sanders began the season as Auburn’s Saturday or game two starter. His willingness in early April to switch from starting to relieving ignited Auburn’s second-half surge, helping the Tigers win six consecutive SEC series in a season for the first time since 1995.

With his 4-1 record, 2.66 ERA and four saves, Sanders can enter a game at any point and remain until the final out, relishing the pressure that accompanies ninth innings.

“We’ve created a role for a starter to throw not at the front of the game,” Thompson said. “That’s the way I view Sanders. He’s a competitive moment pitcher. We’ve not only brought him into the game, but he’s also finished. He’s doing the work of two or three guys.”

ACE OF DIAMONDS: ANDREAS ALVAREZ

Initially Auburn’s midweek starter, Alvarez thoroughly excelled in that role and continued to shine since joining the weekend rotation in week four of SEC play, fashioning a 9-3 record and 3.30 ERA.

“He’s trended up and looked like one of the best starters in our conference,” Thompson said.

As a true freshman last season, Alvarez finished with a flourish, throwing 16.0 scoreless innings, a stretch that included regional and super regional outings. Building on that early success, Alvarez has continued to develop.

“Maybe the mental side of things as far as not trying to do too much,” he said. “Trusting my stuff, being able to throw my off-speed pitches for strikes has set up my fastball really well.”

Auburn’s strikeout leader with 102, Alvarez and Marciano are the Tigers’ first teammates with 100 Ks in a season since Brent Schoening, Chris Bootcheck and Hayden Gliemmo in 1999.

“He competes for us every time,” Alvarez said of Marciano. “Jake’s a special guy.”

ACE OF HEARTS: ALEX PETROVIC

Healthy after two injury-plagued seasons, redshirt sophomore Alex Petrovic thrives as Auburn’s anchor, eager to pitch with a series on the line.

“You get to game three and you’ve got Petrovic waiting in the wings,” Thompson said. “You feel like he’s one of the best game three guys.”

Pitching in game three allows Alex to closely observe games one and two.

“He’s absolutely locked in,” Thompson said. “He’s absolutely focused on the ballgame so much that when day three rolls around, he has a conviction and some ownership of exactly what he wants to do.”

In more than a quarter century observing SEC pitchers, Thompson has seen some game three starters become intimidated when opposing hitters succeed early in series. Not so with Petro.

“He’s studying, he’s hunting them down and he’s formulating a plan for two days,” Thompson said. “It’s pretty incredible to watch.”

As the Tigers prepare to host this weekend’s NCAA Auburn Regional, Thompson trusts he has a winning hand.

“All sophomores, they’ve been amazing leaders,” Thompson said. “This group of four guys has helped us pitch at the top of the class in the best league in America.”

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