AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) – Auburn’s season came to a close Saturday as the Tigers dropped Game 2 of the Auburn Super Regional to Coastal Carolina, 4-1.
The Chanticleers' pitching staff was as advertised, silencing Auburn's offense. Coastal pitchers allowed just one run and struck out 11 Tigers. The Chanticleers came into the game with the second-lowest ERA in D1 baseball, with starter Jacob Morrison having the seventh-lowest. Morrison went six innings and gave up their only run, an RBI single from Chase Fralick in the second.
Coastal took the lead in the seventh inning off of Auburn's Cade Fisher. Sebastian Alexander opened the inning with a double for the Chanticleers, and was later driven in by Walker Mitchell. The go-ahead run for Coastal came three batters later after Cooper McMurray muffed a throw from Fisher on a swinging bunt by Ty Dooley, allowing Mitchell to cross the dish and give the Chanticleers thier first lead. Coastal would add one more run in the inning via a hit batter by Auburn pitcher Cam Tilly.
Auburn’s pitching staff held its own against Coastal, however. Utilizing five arms, the Tigers allowed just four runs, and only two earned. Andreas Alvarez started on the hill for the Tigers and went four scoreless. Fisher was called in relief for the next 2.2 innings and worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam after three consecutive singles in the fifth.
The Tigers had chances to add to their lead, but failed to capitalize, stranding 11 baserunners. The most notable of these chances was in the fifth with runners on first and second and one of college baseball's most dynamic duos, Ike Irish and McMurray, due up. Irish popped out to the third baseman, and McMurray struck out looking to close the frame and sway the momentum in the Chanticleers' favor.
The top of the Auburn lineup struggled to get started and wound up 2-16 with seven strikeouts. McMurray ended his Auburn career in unfortunate fashion, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and a costly error in the field. Despite the rough series, McMurray’s and Irish’s impact on The Plains will be remembered for years.
“They were kinda like the glue, where there's two sides and not a bridge,” said Auburn Head Coach Butch Thompson. “They built a bridge that will hold this thing together.
With this win, the Chanticleers raise their D1 leading win-streak to 23 games and Head Coach Kevin Schnall advances his team to the College World Series in Omaha in his first year. This is their second appearance all-time in Omaha, thier first resulting in a National Championship in 2016.
“This is no Cinderella,” said Schnall. “I wanna make sure that's known. This is no Cinderella. Coastal Carolina in the past century, only eight teams have made the regionals more than us. During that same time period we have the sixth-best win percentage and the ninth-most wins...This is not a Cinderella story. We’re one of the premier, most successful college baseball programs in the entire country.”
Auburn finished the season 41-20 after the fifth Super Regional appearance in program history, a return to the highs that Coach Thompson and staff have frequently experienced in their time on The Plains. The Tigers will look to regroup and learn over the offseason in order to make another postseason run in 2026.
