The Southeastern Conference’s “surprise team” from the 2022 season wrote their final chapter on Tuesday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
Auburn, who had just won their first game in the College World Series since 1997 a day prior, could not overcome the experience of fellow SEC squad, Arkansas on Tuesday, dropping the game 11-1, thus closing the book on a magical run.
“It was a great experience for every one of us. We found a ton of positives out of this season,” said head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] following the game. “Our people stepped up to the plate for this team before we ever played a game and I’ll never forget that. I thought we returned the favor at the end of the postseason.”
Arkansas jumped ahead early in the first inning on two quick hits. Braydon Webb would lead off the game by reaching base on a double to left center field, then would score one at-bat later on a single by Peyton Stovall, giving the Razorbacks the 1-0 lead. After a meeting with pitching coach [autotag]Tim Hudson[/autotag], Auburn starting pitcher [autotag]Mason Barnett[/autotag] would sit down the next three batters in order, earning two strikeouts.
Auburn kept Arkansas off of the scoreboard in the 2nd inning, but the Razorbacks would catch wind again over the next two innings. Arkansas scored seven runs over the 3rd and 4th innings to gain control of the game with an 8-0 lead. The Razorbacks scored a run in the 6th, and two more in the 9th to cap scoring.
Auburn’s lone run came in the 7th inning, when [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] led off the inning with a line drive home run off of the left field foul pole.
Despite ending the season with a lop-sided loss, Auburn Baseball defied the odds that were given to them during the preseason. The Tigers went from being picked to finish 7th in the SEC West, to ending the season as one of the final five teams left standing at the College World Series.
Head coach Butch Thompson feels that the foundation has been laid, and he expects to see this program continue to grow.
“You can look at pen to paper from the time we’ve been here to this second and see some growth,” said Thompson. “I absolutely think we are on the cusp of doing amazing things consistently. That’ll be the driving force, trying to leave this program in a better place.”
Auburn ends the 2022 season with a 43-22 record. Some of the accomplishments that the Tigers were able to claim this season include posting a winning record in the SEC, hosting an NCAA regional for the first time since 2010, win a regional at home for the first time since 1999, winning the Corvallis Super Regional to set up their second trip to Omaha in three NCAA Tournaments, and winning a College World Series game for the first time in 25 years.
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