How to Watch Auburn Baseball's Must-Win NCAA Tournament Game vs. NC State

The uphill battle begins for Auburn baseball on Saturday, taking on NC State in the loser’s bracket of the Auburn Regional.

The Tigers now have to win four games in a row if they want to keep their season alive. It comes after a 13-8 loss to Milwaukee on the opening day of the regional, where Auburn trailed by as much as 10 before a long comebacker fell short at Plainsman Park.

“I think that was a difference in the game, and they swung their bats,” head coach Butch Thompson said after the game. “I think they had four runs on the first 16 pitches of the ball game. Their bats were threatening for the entire day.”

Auburn faces NC State, which concluded its opening game this afternoon against UCF after a rain delay suspended play the previous night. The Wolfpack fell 9-3 while going 6-for-25 with runners in scoring position. They would strand 13 runners in the loss.

In what could be his final game as the NC State head coach, Elliott Avent will finish up his 30-year Wolfpack tenure with hopes of turning around the current form. Auburn’s opponent has lost five of its last seven games.

NC State is 25th in the country in batting average, .307, averaging 8.2 runs per game. The Wolfpack brings the power to use the bats in their favor, and Auburn will have to match that if it wants to keep its season alive.

Fortunately, the Tigers have just the guy on the mound to help limit that.

Starting Pitcher

Andreas Alvarez, RHP, 3.30 ERA

Happy Dre Day!

We’ll take on NC State at 2 pm on ESPN.#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/EvpM5baxwD
— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) May 30, 2026

Alvarez was the pitcher last season for the Tigers’ regional-clinching win over the Wolfpack. He threw a scoreless five innings and struck out five batters while picking up the win in an 11-1 victory.

Thompson will need that command out of his starter later as well, especially with using eight different pitchers throughout the loss to Milwaukee on Friday.

In his last outing, the sophomore struck out nine batters against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. He also did not allow a run while earning the win in Hoover, Alabama.

Batting Lineup

1. Mason McCraine, right field, .307

2. Eric Guevara, third base, .333

3. Chase Fralick, catcher, .309

4. Chris Rembert, second base, .343

5. Bub Terrell, left field, .302

6. Ethin Bingaman, first base, .321

7. Cade Belyeu, center field, .225

8. Brandon McCraine, shortstop, .340

9. Taylor Belza, designated hitter, .235

Weather

Auburn had a rain delay on Friday, while NC State and UCF had to suspend their respective game following that due to going late into the night.

However, the Tigers shouldn’t have to worry about that on Saturday. Cloudy skies are expected on the Plains, but no rain is expected until later tonight.

How to Watch

Viewers can watch Auburn look to keep its season alive at 2 p.m. CST on ESPN.

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