Auburn baseball taking ‘all hands on deck’ approach to SEC tournament

Auburn baseball is officially locked in for the postseason. With 17 conference victories and a stellar No. 3 RPI ranking, the Tigers have virtually secured their spot as a top-eight national seed. That projected status would bring both regional and super regional hosting duties to Plainsman Park, providing an ideal runway for a run toward the College World Series.

Full Speed Ahead in Hoover

While a national seed seems within reach regardless of this week's outcome, head coach Butch Thompson is not interested in coasting through the SEC Tournament. He is pushing his squad to treat every pitch with championship intensity.

"We’ll put our best foot forward to try to do everything we can to win game one, and we’d love to stick around for four games," Thompson said. "Our program has not won this tournament since 1998. So, we definitely made a commitment today that we’d all be all hands on deck and play this like you’re pursuing a championship."

The Matchup: LSU

Auburn looks to flip the script from last year’s tournament opener, where they fell to Texas A&M. Standing in their way this time is 14-seed LSU, a team that battled past Oklahoma 6-2 on Tuesday. While the purple and gold Tigers have navigated a difficult road while defending their national title—finishing the regular season 30-27 overall and 9-21 in conference play—they represent a dangerous opening test.

LSU brings an SEC-worst 5.78 ERA into the matchup. While their pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts, they have also struggled with control issues, ranking first in walks and wild pitches allowed. Auburn arrives with the distinct advantage of fresh arms, as LSU was forced to burn through three pitchers just to survive their Tuesday win.

The Plan on the Mound

Thompson has set a clear path for his rotation, leaning on ace Jake Marciano to take the ball against LSU. Marciano, who sports a 2.74 ERA and 96 strikeouts, is coming off a 102-pitch outing against Georgia last Thursday. "I’m excited to stay on schedule and give us the best chance possible to give us our first one in the SEC tourney," Marciano said.

Jackson Sanders, recently named to the All-SEC Second Team, is expected to follow Marciano. Sanders has been a revelation out of the bullpen this year, boasting a 2.79 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 58 innings of work.

Looking ahead, Thompson intends to start Andreas Alvarez for Friday’s quarterfinal if the Tigers advance, with Alex Petrovic slated for the semifinals. Wednesday's action is set to begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Arkansas vs. Tennessee game, which is scheduled for approximately 4:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.