Auburn stunned by Milwaukee in NCAA Regional opener

The NCAA Tournament delivered its first major surprise of the weekend on Friday. Milwaukee stunned Auburn 13-8 in the opening game of the Auburn Regional.

Entering the postseason as a No. 4 seed with a 25-31 record, Milwaukee raced out to an early lead and never looked back, scoring 10 runs before Auburn managed to get on the board. Despite a brief rally attempt from the Tigers in the latter innings, the damage had already been done as Milwaukee pulled off one of the biggest upsets of regional opening day.

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The result comes just days after Auburn head coach Butch Thompson warned against overlooking the Horizon League champions: “They have our full attention,” Thompson said before the game. “We’ve got to play, try to get the same standard effort that we’ve been putting out there that will be required in this first game of the regional.”

Milwaukee entered the tournament riding a seven-game winning streak after winning the Horizon League Tournament and securing its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010. The Panthers carried that momentum directly into Friday’s matchup, overwhelming Auburn with a relentless offensive attack.

Over their previous seven games, Milwaukee averaged nearly 10 runs per contest. That production continued against the Tigers as the Panthers built a commanding lead before Auburn could settle into the game.

Auburn catcher Chase Fralick acknowledged before the regional that Milwaukee’s offense demanded respect: “They’ve had a bunch of big swings and a bunch of big games as of late, and they’re running high,” Fralick said. “We’re gonna scout our best and we’re gonna pitch our best to hopefully get a W.”

Instead, Milwaukee’s bats stayed hot while Auburn struggled to respond early. The loss is a significant setback for an Auburn team that entered the postseason hoping to make another deep run under Thompson. 

The Tigers have experienced both ends of the NCAA Tournament spectrum in recent years, reaching the College World Series while also suffering painful regional exits on their home field.

Thompson spent much of the week preaching the importance of handling adversity, a message that now becomes even more critical: “I want our focus to be like, ‘Hey, when adversity hits, we’re not laughing at it, but at the same time, we welcome it,’” Thompson said. “We’re ready for it, because that’s what it’s going to take to get out of this regional.”

Now Auburn faces exactly that challenge. Instead of advancing into the winner’s bracket, the Tigers will be forced to navigate the much more difficult elimination side of the regional. 

Any hopes of reaching a Super Regional remain alive, but Auburn no longer has any margin for error after Milwaukee delivered one of the tournament’s earliest and most surprising results. We’ll see what they can do with where they stand now.