Auburn baseball selected to host second straight NCAA Tournament regional

AUBURN — Auburn baseball has made history.

The Tigers were announced Sunday as a top-16 national seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, meaning they'll host a regional for the second consecutive year, something the program had previously never accomplished. Auburn (34-21-1) has hosted regionals in 1978, 1999, 2003, 2010, 2022 and now 2023; the Tigers beat Florida State, Southeastern Louisiana and UCLA last season to advance to the Corvallis Super Regional.

Only the top 16 seeds for this year have been announced. The full 64-team bracket will drop Monday (11 a.m. CT, ESPN) and include the three other teams that'll be competing with coach Butch Thompson's squad at Plainsman Park from June 2-5.

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Auburn began the season 23-17-1 before ending the regular season with four straight series wins, highlighted by a couple of big-time victories over South Carolina and LSU. The Tigers won nine straight games during that stretch, including one over Missouri to open their play in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday.

It was Auburn's first win in Hoover since 2019, but the momentum was halted by Vanderbilt the next day as the Commodores handed the Tigers a 6-4 loss, sending Auburn into the loser's bracket with an elimination game versus Alabama.

The Crimson Tide topped the Tigers on Thursday, 7-4. With the exit, Auburn will have over a week's rest between getting knocked out of the SEC Tournament and beginning play in the NCAA Tournament.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn baseball: Tigers picked to host NCAA Tournament regional