Auburn to face NC State in Saturday elimination game

Auburn will play NC State in the first elimination game of the Auburn Regional Saturday.

It’s the second straight season the two programs have met in a regional, with Auburn getting the better of NC State in the regional championship last season, 11-1. This time, it’s win or go home for both teams.

Auburn was one of four national seeds to drop its regional opener Friday, falling 13-8 to Milwaukee. NC State lost 9-3 to UCF Saturday after play was suspended Friday night.

BREAKING DOWN NC STATE

NC State started right-hander Anderson Nance against UCF, just his second start of the season. UCF tagged Nance for eight earned runs across six innings, erasing what was an early 3-0 lead for NC State in the top of the first.

Saturday, Auburn could see either Cooper Consiglio (3-4, 5.73 ERA), Heath Andrews (3-4, 7.24 ERA) or Sam Harris (2-1, 4.74 ERA) take the mound for NC State.

Offensively, the Wolfpack entered the regional as one of the top 25 teams in team batting average (.307) and scoring offense (8.2 runs per game). Four batters in the lineup earned All-ACC honors this season — Rett Johnson, Luke Nixon, Sherman Johnson and Ty Head.

Rett Johnson entered the regional with the nation’s best batting average by a freshman (.392). He took a 28-game hitting streak into Game 1, but went 0-for-3 against UCF to end the streak.

Nixon is batting .362 on the year with nine home runs and 44 RBIs, while leading the team in extra-base hits. Sherman Johnson has nine home runs and 48 RBIs this season and holds a batting average of .328.

Meanwhile, Ty Head is a versatile force in the lineup for NC State. He bats .288, but leads the team with 14 home runs and 26 stolen bases. Another name worth noting is Chris McHugh, who typically bats in the three-spot and leads the team with 49 RBIs while batting .321.

First pitch between Auburn and NC State is set for 2 p.m. CST. The game airs on ESPN.