How to Watch Auburn Baseball's SEC Tournament Semifinal Game Vs. Arkansas

Auburn baseball is one of the final four teams remaining in Hoover, Alabama, facing the No. 7-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks in the second semifinal matchup of the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers’ pitching has taken them this far, only allowing one run in two games played this postseason. On Friday night, it was an elite outing from starter Andreas Alvarez, who struck out nine batters in five innings while only allowing one hit from their quarterfinal opponent, Texas A&M. Auburn won 7-0 to continue play into the weekend.

Not only did head coach Butch Thompson get a stellar outing from his starter, but he also only used one reliever for the second straight game. Now, Auburn has plenty of arms rested for the next two games, if the Tigers can pull off their third straight win in Hoover on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s been huge,” Thompson said after the win. “I don’t know why it’s our recipe, but it’s been good.”

Redshirt sophomore Alex Petrovic is expected to get the ball for War Eagle in the semifinal, and, similar to the previous two starters, Jake Marciano and Alvarez, he can shut down opposing offenses by himself. He has a 3.38 ERA in his third season, averaging over five strikeouts per game while allowing an earned run or less in eight of his 14 starts.

In his last outing against the Razorbacks, he struck out four while allowing three hits and three earned runs. However, it was enough for an 8-3 victory over Arkansas back in early April.

Auburn took two of the three games against its opponent during that series at Plainsman Park, winning 10-2 and 8-3 on April 2 and 4. Arkansas took the second game, 3-2.

However, Thompson said that this Razorback team is getting hot at the right time. They have won their last four games in SEC play, including postseason wins over Tennessee and No. 2-seeded Texas on Friday, dominating the Longhorns in an 8-1 victory.

“When a team’s in that flow state, it looks like they’re on autopilot right now,” the Auburn head coach said. “They’re just overcoming a lot of things. . .we got our hands full tomorrow, for sure.”

Head coach Dave Van Horn’s team will pitch righty Cooper Dossett, who holds a 7.90 ERA across 13 games played for the program this season. However, expect a bullpen game from the Razorbacks, as Dossett only pitches about an inning a game.

The rest of Arkansas’s pitching can shut down opposing offenses, similar to Auburn's. The Razorbacks are inside the top 50 of ERA with 4.64, and average 10.33 strikeouts per nine innings, which is 23rd.

They are prone to blowing games open against SEC opponents; however, holding a 5.99 ERA against conference opponents, which is ninth in the conference.

The Razorbacks also strike out at the plate at a 28% rate, one of the worst in the country. Their .276 batting average is outside the top 150 in college baseball, meaning that if Petrovic can give his best stuff, Auburn has a great chance of getting to the SEC Championship on Sunday.

Thompson will also look to use the local Hoover crowd to his advantage, one that heard Auburn chants throughout the tournament. Being under a 100-mile distance between campus and the venue, the Tigers will have plenty of people cheering them on Saturday.

“I think it’s been phenomenal,” he said. “The other night I was like, ‘It’s probably because of LSU’, they do such a great job. Then, tonight, I had a different feeling, like it was Auburn people, and I thought that was pretty neat.”

No. 6 Auburn Tigers Baseball (38-18, 17-13, SEC) vs. No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks (38-19, 17-13, SEC): What You Need to Know:

Where: The Hoover Met, Hoover, Alabama

When: 4:00 p.m. CDT

Watch: SEC Network

Pitching Matchup: Alex Petrovic (9-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. Cooper Dossett (0-0, 7.90 ERA)

Series History: The Hogs hold a 58-53 advantage over the Tigers all-time. However, this season, Auburn took two of the three games that the teams played on April 2-4 at Plainsman Park.

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