Auburn rises in the rankings yet again, topping out at No. 2

AUBURN — It was yet another highly successful weekend for Auburn baseball.

The Tigers swept struggling South Carolina, scoring 46 runs in the process, moving to 36-15 overall and 16-11 in SEC play. It was Auburn’s ninth-straight home series win dating back to last season.

With the three wins, Auburn finished 12-3 in conference play at home this season, tying the 1999 club for the most single-season home league wins in program history.

All this has led to another jump in the rankings. Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, here is where Auburn stands in four major rankings:

RPI: No. 2
Perfect Game: No. 2
D1 Baseball: No. 6
Baseball America: No. 2

The Tigers are tied for fourth in the SEC standings with Georgia and Vanderbilt, sitting one game back of LSU, two games back of Arkansas and four games back of Texas. Alabama and Tennessee sit one game behind Auburn, with Ole Miss sitting two games behind, and Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky sitting three games behind the Tigers.

Up next is a midweek game against Jacksonville State and then a three-game series at No. 22 Ole Miss (14-13) before heading to Hoover for the SEC Tournament.

Most reputable projections place Auburn as a Top 8 national seed as of right now. That would mean the Tigers would be in line to not only host a Regional, but also a Super Regional, if they advance.

Of note: Auburn’s two College World Series’ appearances (2019 and 2022) both came when the Tigers won a Super Regional on the road. In 2019, Auburn won on the road, Regional (Georgia Tech) and Super Regional (North Carolina), to advance to Omaha. In 2022, Auburn won their own Regional followed by winning a Super Regional at Oregon State.

The series sweep of South Carolina was Auburn’s second SEC sweep of the season and marked the team’s ninth straight home series win dating back to last season. And the nine straight series wins at Plainsman Park are the most since also winning nine straight home series from 2002-03.

The Tigers have won seven of nine league series this season and is the only team in the league to win nine of the last 11 SEC series dating back to last season. Auburn’s 16 SEC wins guarantee a winning record in league play for the fourth time under head coach Butch Thompson. Prior to Thompson’s arrival, Auburn turned in a winning record in SEC play twice from 2001-15.

How dominating was Auburn’s three-game destruction of South Carolina?

Eric Guevara was great, racking up 12 hits (12-for-15) in two days against the Gamecocks. He finished with 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB in three games. He became the first player in the league to record 12 hits in a series since Tanner Allen (Mississippi State) did so against South Carolina in 2019. Guevara also is the first Auburn player to record three or more four-plus hit games in a SEC season since Gabe Gross in 2000.

Lucas Steele was equally fantastic. He finished 7-for-10 with 7 R, 1 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 1 HBP in the series. Steele homered in all three games of the sweep against South Carolina.

Chris Rembert continues his tear, going 8-for-13 with 7 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HBP. His six RBI were the most by an Auburn player in a SEC game since 2011 and the most by an Auburn freshman in a league game since Todd Faulkner in 1998.

The Tigers’ .451 batting average for the series was the highest in the league by .111 points and the 46 runs were 18 more than any other team. Auburn also led the league in hits (51), home runs (11) and tied for the lead in double (nine).

Auburn’s 46 runs in the series were the most the program has ever scored in a three-game SEC series, surpassing 44-run efforts at Alabama in 2018 and vs. Georgia in 1994.

The 51 hits were the most in a SEC series since recording 61 hits vs. Georgia from Mar. 25-27, 1994. The 11 home runs and 21 extra-base hits were the most since collecting 12 homers and 22 extra-base hits vs. Mississippi State from May 7-9, 2010.

The Tigers’ 24 runs in the series opener were tied for the third most in a SEC game in program history, including the most since 1965. Auburn’s five home runs in the series opener were the most in a game since also hitting five in the series finale at South Carolina in 2023.

And the Tigers totaled 16 multi-hit efforts and 12 multi-RBI performances in the three games.

Auburn enters the final weekend of the regular season with the No. 1 strength of schedule in college baseball.