NCAA Tallahassee Regional Bracket | Game Notes

May 30, 2005

Auburn Baseball

AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn baseball team has been selected to participate in the 2005 NCAA Baseball Championship, the NCAA announced on Monday morning. The Tigers, who are seeded second in the Tallahassee, Fla., regional, will face South Alabama in the opening game. Also playing in Tallahassee is the host Florida State Seminoles and the Army Black Knights.

 "Our guys did a tremendous job all year," AU Coach Tom Slater said. "Our guys had a lot of confidence that things were really going to work out. To see our name on the board gave us a great feeling. I am so happy and proud for these players to get rewarded for the schedule we played this year."

Auburn finished the season 32-24 and will face South Alabama (30-28) at noon CT on Friday afternoon. Auburn and the Jaguars met earlier this season with USA taking a 3-0 victory over the Tigers at Plainsman Park on March 1.

South Alabama is making a return to the national tournament as the Jaguars earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid with a 9-2 victory over Middle Tennessee in the conference championship game. The title was the 11th for the Jags.

"One thing you know about South (Alabama) is that they are going to come out prepared and play you hard," Slater said.

This is the sixth time that Auburn heads to Tallahassee for a regional as the Tigers also played there in 1976, 1989, 1997, 1998 and 2001 with the Tigers winning the 1997 regional.

Florida State, from the Atlantic Coast Conference, finished the season 50-18 and is the top seed in the Tallahassee regional. This will be the 28th consecutive year FSU has been to the NCAA Tournament. This is also the ninth straight year and the 22nd time in the last 23 years that Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium has been selected as an NCAA Regional host site.

"We played South Alabama here and we traveled to Florida State this year, so we are very familiar with both of those teams," Slater said. "We are not going to have to scramble that much this week to find tape of them because we have played those teams."

Army (38-12), which won the Patriot League with a 17-3 conference mark, is making its second consecutive appearance in the tournament. After beginning the season with four consecutive losses, Army has won 38 of 46 outings overall. The Black Knights have captured 20 of their last 23 games.

Tickets are on sale through the Florida State box office and can be ordered online at www.seminoles.com.

2005 Tallahassee, Fla. Regional Schedule for Friday, June 3 (All Times Central)
South Alabama vs. Auburn Noon
Florida State vs. Army 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 4
Noon  - Game 3 : Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
6 p.m. - Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Sunday, June 5
Noon - Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
6 p.m. - Game 6: Winnner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5

Monday, June 6
6 p.m. - Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)

Head Coach Tom Slater

On hearing Auburn's name called for a NCAA Regional berth *
"Our guys have done a tremendous job all week at practice. They got after it hard. We had two intersquads on Thursday and Friday. I'm impressed with their focus and hard work. They've done a great job all week. They had a lot of confidence that things were going to work out. To see our name come up on the board there during the show and to see them react and get excited and cheer, it's a neat feeling."

On some players appearing in a regional for the first time *
"Particularly with this group not making the postseason a year, some young players who have never experienced it. To have played the scheduled this group has played this year, to get rewarded by being in the postseason, I'm so happy for these players."

On being a No. 2 seed in Tallahassee *
"I think it reflects our schedule. Our RPI anywhere from 17-18, depending on which one you read. I don't think a two seed is a surprise. Getting in was probably the part that was shakiest. I think once we determined that we're in, our RPI was going to determine we were going to be a high seed. Quite honestly, I'm not surprised with being a No. 2 seed."

On making the postseason in his first year at head coach *
"What's been great about this team this year is the work ethic and focus day in and day out at practice. Through the years, you're associated with teams, some very talented, some championship type teams. But as a coach, the thing you strive for is the daily work ethic and competitiveness in your kids to bring it out every single day. In baseball, when you play a 56-game regular season, that can be harder than sports that play once or twice a week. What's been special about this group is their focus, work ethic and just their composure and resiliency all season long. Auburn people ought to be excited about the way this group plays.

Karl Amonite
On playing in Tallahassee for an NCAA Regional *
"It's great that we're going to have another chance to go play at Florida State and prove ourselves to them. Hopefully we can go out and pull out a victory from them. South Alabama is a tough team as well. They came up here this year and got a win. It should be a dogfight. Regionals are regionals. You don't know what to expect. You go in there and play your guts out and hope to get a regional win."

On what to say to players who have yet to participate in an NCAA Regional *
"It's exciting. It's a great opportunity. Missing the SEC Tournament was a letdown, obviously, but the regional is the next step and it's the road we have to take to get to Omaha. All the guys are excited and some of the guys who haven't been here don't know what to expect but we'll clue them in later."

John Madden
On getting into an NCAA Regional *
"I'm very excited. It's fun sitting there and watching everyone get in. I'm glad we made it."

On being nervous about being selected *
"A little bit. When it came to the Georgia Tech Regional and we didn't get in, I was a little nervous. But glad it came up next."

On practicing before the regional selection *
"We still came out here everyday and worked hard. That's one of the coaches' main goals and every day we came out and worked hard even if we didn't know we were in."

Arnold Hughey
On waiting to be selected *
"It was a pretty stressful week until about 10:30 today. It was a big relief to see us pop up on the screen."

On the series and playing Florida State and South Alabama again *
"I think it will be a great series down there. We know a little about each of them. We just have to get after them."

On his hot pitching on Fridays and potentially getting the start against South Alabama *
"I just hope to continue it. I've had a nice two week break to give my arm a little rest. I'll just have to get after it on Friday."