Why Auburn baseball will – and won't – win 2022 College World Series championship

AUBURN — The 2022 College World Series is an octagon of of oddities and underdogs.

Among the eight teams remaining in the bracket, only one is a top-eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Four are unseeded entirely.

Then there's Auburn, the No. 14 overall seed that was picked to finish at the bottom of the SEC West. The Tigers (41-20) start in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN2) against Ole Miss (37-22), which barely made the tournament.

Here's why Auburn will - and won't - win a championship.

Good luck beating Auburn twice

Auburn is a gritty team built for a double-elimination format. Only two teams have managed to beat Auburn in consecutive games (Mississippi State and Kentucky).

The Tigers are 16-4 in games after a loss. They are 18-8 in games decided by one or two runs. They haven't lost three games in a row.

Their 4-3 win against No. 3 Oregon State on Monday to reach the College World Series was a perfect microcosm of the season. Auburn had lost by the same score 24 hours earlier. The Tigers got out-hit 8-3, but they managed a pair of two-run rallies with only one hit both times. They held the Beavers to 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Once again, Auburn avoided consecutive losses by willing itself to a win. Good luck beating this team twice in Omaha.

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SEC army vs. Pac-12 super-team

Auburn is in a College World Series quartet with Stanford, Ole Miss and Arkansas (not quite the expected SEC teams).

Auburn played the Razorbacks and Rebels at home this year. It lost both series 2-1, with a combined minus-10 run differential.

But neither Arkansas nor Ole Miss is the most threatening team among the four.

It's Stanford. The No. 2 overall seed in the tournament is loaded.

Pac-12 pitcher of the year? Alex Williams (8-3, 2.88 ERA), a work horse with 90 strikeouts and 23 walks in his 17 starts. The title could have just as easily belonged to Quinn Mathews (9-1, 2.62), who made nine starts before changing roles. Now he has nine saves. Mathews combines with Ryan Bruno (6-1, 2.61) to form one of the country's most intimidating bullpen duos.

Pac-12 batting champion? Second baseman Brett Barrera (.355), one of seven .300 hitters in Stanford's lineup. The two slackers below .300 are Drew Bowser and Braden Montgomery, both of whom have 18 homers and a .297 average.

Auburn can win in variety of ways

In the regional, Auburn won with offense, becoming the first SEC team to score 50 runs in its first three games of an NCAA Tournament.

First baseman Sonny DiChiara has led that charge with four tournament home runs, bringing his season total to 22. He leads the nation in walks (68), on-base (.560) and OPS (1.369).

Then in the super regional, Auburn won with timely relief pitching. Blake Burkhalter picked up his 14th and 15th saves. One was an eight-out save. Lefty Carson Skipper mowed through the middle innings.

The shift from scoring bonanzas to nail-biters reflected Auburn's potential in every phase of the game.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Why Auburn baseball will – and won't – win College World Series 2022