The Auburn Tigers made a statement over the weekend by taking two of three games from the Mississippi State Bulldogs on the road to improve their SEC record to 16-10 with one series remaining.
There was zero doubt that Auburn would be a regional host for the upcoming NCAA Baseball tournament entering last weekend; however, they needed a strong showing in Starkville to increase their chances of becoming a national seed and to lock down home-field advantage in both the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Super Regionals for the second-straight season. So, did they accomplish their goal? Regional announcements are still two weeks away from being revealed, but the Tigers are in a great spot to lock down a national seed by checking in at No. 3 in the RPI rankings ahead of the final week of regular-season play.
Auburn holds the nation’s toughest schedule, with its non-conference strength-of-schedule ranking No. 20, according to the latest RPI breakdown by D1Baseball. Auburn is a combined 13-0 against Quad 3 and Quad 4 teams, and is 7-3 against Quad 2 teams. However, their most impressive feat thus far is their success against Quad 1 teams. Auburn has 13 wins against the nation’s toughest teams, a higher total than several teams joining Auburn in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll top 10, including UCLA, Georgia, Texas A&M, Oregon State, Kansas, and Coastal Carolina.
The final week of games will give Auburn four more chances to earn another Quad 1 win beginning Tuesday at Jax State. The Gamecocks check in at No. 31 in the latest RPI with 40 wins and coming off a series win at home against Kennesaw State, and an 18-6 mark against nonconference opponents. The Tigers will then welcome No. 5 Georgia to Plainsman Park for the final three-game series of the season. The Bulldogs wrapped up the SEC regular-season crown over the weekend after building a 4 1/2 game lead over Texas and Texas A&M, and hold a five-game lead over Auburn and Alabama heading into the weekend series on the Plains.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn baseball climbs to No. 3 in RPI ahead of regular season finale
