Butch Thompson: Ole Miss is ‘absolutely trending upward’
The Auburn Tigers have played their best baseball of late, which sets them up to be in Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series that begins Friday.
After dominating their opponents at the Auburn Regional, the Tigers traveled across the country to Corvallis, Oregon to face Pac-12 power Oregon State. Auburn would go on to win two of three over the Beavers, handing them their first-ever Super Regional loss at home in their program’s history.
Auburn will open their sixth trip to the College World Series with a familiar foe, the Ole Miss Rebels. The Tigers hosted the Rebels for the opening series in SEC play during the weekend of March 17-19, with Ole Miss winning the series.
Since then, both teams have changed completely. Ole Miss, who was the top-ranked team in the country during their visit to the Plains, would go on to drop four of their next five SEC series en route to a 14-16 conference record. Auburn remained consistent by not losing more than two games in a row throughout the year.
Head coach Butch Thompson joined the Voice of the Auburn Tigers, Andy Burcham, for the latest edition of “This Week in Auburn Baseball” on Tuesday. In the episode that was recorded during Auburn’s flight home from Corvallis, Thompson shared his early thoughts on the first opponent that the Tigers will face at the College World Series.
“When we played Ole Miss, they were the No. 1 team in America. They have gone through the peaks and valleys, and they are absolutely trending upward, said Thompson. “They beat a great Southern Miss team that was absolutely a national seed and had an amazing year. (Ole Miss) went to Miami for that regional and got through there, so their journey was just as tough and is just as impressive in some regards.”
The Tigers will have a quick turnaround from their trip to Oregon. Auburn returned to campus around 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday night and will depart again at 1 p.m. CT on Wednesday for Omaha. The first pitch against Ole Miss at Charles Schwab Field is set for Saturday evening at 6 p.m. CT.
List
A look at Auburn's history in the College World Series
