Five positives for Auburn baseball as we prepare for Omaha

Auburn baseball is in a good place preparing for Omaha.

After beating Oregon State to punch their ticket to Omaha, the Auburn baseball team has their focus entirely on the College World Series. 

The Tigers are heading to Omaha for the sixth time in program history. 

This trip to Omaha means that the Tigers have appeared in the College World Series in two of the last three tournaments. 

Since 2015, under the wing of Coach Thompson the Tigers have made five NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Thompson has brought the Auburn baseball program a long way and is by no means done yet. 

The coaching staff has made it clear that the goal is to win a National Championship. They don't just want to make it to Omaha; they are there on business. 

Coach Thompson was even quoted saying, "it's National Championship or bust" which tells you exactly what he thinks about his ball club. 

Now let's look at five positives for Auburn as they head to the College World Series. 

The Tigers are hot at the right time

Grayson Belanger/Auburn Athletics

In baseball, one thing that helps a team win championships is hitting your stride at the right time. That is a reality for this Auburn team that blew through the regional at their ballpark and then went and beat one of the best teams in the country on the road. Pitching and hitting are both strengths of this team right now, which is a recipe for winning baseball games.

Some of the best teams didn't make it to Omaha

© Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

One thing that Auburn will benefit from is that only two of the top eight national seeds are in Omaha. Stanford and Texas A&M remain from the top eight national seeds. This means that powerhouse teams like Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Oregon State will not be in attendance for the College World Series. This is a clear positive for Auburn as they set their focus on Omaha. 

The pitching staff is in a really good place

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn's entire pitching staff looked sharp this weekend aside from starter Trace Bright who struggled a bit. A few guys you might not expect, like John Armstrong and Chase Isbell, came up big out of the bullpen for the Tigers. Then you have your horses like Joseph Gonzalez, Blake Burkhalter, and Carson Skipper. The Tiger pitching staff is in a perfect spot preparing for a trip to Nebraska. 

The Tigers are a very experienced team

Sarah Caputi/Kentucky Athletics

This Tiger ball club is full of experienced older players. The only starting freshman is Mike Bello. Players like Carson Skipper, Brody Moore, and Kason Howell were all on the team that went to Omaha in 2019. Having this experience will help the Tigers hopefully make a deep run in Omaha. 

Auburn proved they handle pressure well

Grayson Belanger/Auburn Athletics

The situation the Tigers found themselves in the super regional round shows they can overcome two things: a loud crowd and a big moment. Not one player seemed like the moment was too big for them in the super regional round. Having a team that is as confident as this Auburn ball club will be helpful when dealing with the pressures that come with playing in the College World Series.

Auburn will open up the College World Series playing a familiar foe in Ole Miss. Auburn dropped the series to Ole Miss in March. At that time, Ole Miss was the number one team in the country. These two teams going head to head are much different than when they met in March. This looks like a pretty evenly matched ballgame, as both clubs are hitting their stride at the right time. 

The game between Ole Miss and Auburn will take place on June 18th at 6 p.m. CT. We will have a live blog for you right here at Auburn Daily. 

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