Streaming the end of Monday's game, I could sense both the tension when UCLA scored a couple of runs and then overall exhilaration once Blake Burkhalter struck out the final Bruins player to send Plainsman Park into a frenzy. Of course, this was from 4,000-plus miles away, but I felt the joy emanating from Butch Thompson.
If there is ever someone who deserves NCAA Coach of the Year, take a look at the man wearing No. 30 for the Tigers. But first, let's go back a few months.
The media didn't think too much of what the Tigers would put on the field this season after a rough 2021. Picked last in the SEC West and only ahead of Missouri in the overall conference standings, Thompson's team was an afterthought, a club just serving up fodder for the Volunteers, Razorbacks and other powerful teams in the conference. There was no talk of the top 25, hosting a regional or discussion of players of the year. This was a team that was just supposed to go through the season, maybe make the SEC Tournament and pack up their bats and head home before the calendar hit June.
Thompson, a slew of veterans and newcomers like Sonny DiChiara, had a different itinerary in mind.
Sure, there were times during the slate – and especially how the Tigers ended the regular season and were one-and-done in Hoover – that the feeling was this team was full of overachievers that peaked a little too soon. Some thought they didn't deserve to host a regional, with schools like Notre Dame being held higher in the press' view than Thompson's squad. Even when given a host site, the committee put powers Florida State and UCLA along with a sneaky good Southeastern Louisiana team in the bracket. Would Auburn go 0-2 in its friendly confines?
"Phooey," the Tigers said in unison through their play. Nineteen runs against the Lions. Then, a pounding of the rival Seminoles after plating 21. And, finally, a rousing performance against the Bruins over two days, putting up a nine-spot before the weather delay and then closing the door in dominating fashion.
Is this the most talented team Auburn has had recently? Certainly not, but there is one thing I've noticed throughout the season: they never give up. No matter what the situation, these Tigers never thought they were out of a game nor gave less than their all. That's a reflection of their coach, a man who's put so much time, energy and money into this program that often goes unnoticed.
Changing how the Tigers scheduled following heartache in 2018 when they thought they deserved to be a host site? That was an idea that the director of operations, Greg Drye, brought to Thompson, and the coach agreed to wholeheartedly. That paid off handsomely this past weekend as Plainsman Park was packed to the brim as Auburn crossed home plate so often the scoreboard operator could barely keep up.
Yet, as he always does, Thompson will give all the credit to the players on his squad and distract away any attention thrown toward him as he should. Blake Rambusch, Cole Foster and others knocked the ball all over the park. It was Joseph Gonzalez and Mason Barnett coming out and mowing down opposing batters.
Maybe only the players and coaches in the locker room back during fall and winter workouts thought Monday's events were possible. Those who voted definitely didn't think so, and, let's be honest, many of us didn't either.
Auburn is off to Corvallis to take on No. 3 seed Oregon State. Two wins there and the program's sixth trip to Omaha and the College World Series (not to mention second in four years) is secured. As Thompson said after the clinching game against UCLA, "it's national championship or bust."
I have a feeling that's been the motto the entire season, even when the Tigers were counted out. That's who these Tigers, and their coach, are.
