Auburn upend Oregon State

With a shaky end to their season, and going out of the SEC tournament in a single game, the Auburn Tigers were perhaps fortunate to get a spot in the NCAA tournament. But with a low ranking, not many thought that they might get beyond the regionals.

The late, must-win situations seem to favor the Tigers though, and they put up convincing wins over Florida State and a solid UCLA side to get to the super regional, where Oregon State split wins with them and forced a decisive third game.

The Tigers entered into a pitching duel with Oregon State and made the most of only three hits to win the game 4-3. Sonny DiChiara’s two-run homer in the top of the third inning was the highlight of the batting and Tigers relievers forced the Beavers to strand nine runners on base.

A fielding error in the sixth followed by a bunt and a play at the plate turned out to be the clutch plays that put the Tigers over the top in the end, and when Oregon State’s Justin Boyd cracked off a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh the Tigers were clutching to a one-run lead at 4-3.

With this win, the Auburn Tigers now join Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Texas A&M as the fourth team representing the SEC at the College World Series.