USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
May 28, 2026 8:25 PM
Auburn is turning to ace Jake Marciano to open its NCAA Regional run Friday against Milwaukee at Plainsman Park. The left-hander has been one of the Tigers’ most reliable arms all season and gives Auburn a strong start as the program begins its push toward Omaha.
The Auburn Tigers are not taking any chances as their path to Omaha begins on Friday.
Head coach Butch Thompson has confirmed that left-handed pitcher Jake Marciano will indeed get the first start of the weekend for the Tigers to begin regionals.
Marciano has posted a 2.64 ERA and is 5-5 on the season on 15 appearances. He has 100 strikeouts in 81.2 innings and has been one of the most reliable arms inside the best pitching staff of all college baseball.
This shouldn’t be much of a surprise if you’ve kept up with Auburn Baseball this season, as Marciano was the Tigers' starter for the first game inside the SEC Tournament, and normally the Friday night starter to begin SEC series during the regular season.
In his last start against LSU, the sophomore put up six solid innings of work, only allowing one earned run off four hits, and struck out four batters in the process over 86 pitches.
As for games 2 and 3, Butch Thompson has left the decision open for discussion and could wait to make a decision until they find out who they will actually play.
Auburn will play in the first game at Plainsman Park on Friday against Milwaukee and be followed by UCF and NC State. The winner of that matchup will take on the Tigers on Saturday. If Thompson believes one of his starters is better suited to that opponent, then maybe he goes in a different direction than normal weekends have looked for the squad during SEC play. If he decides to go chalk, however, Andreas Alvarez would be the Saturday projected starter.
Milwaukee will play in its first NCAA regionals in 16 years on Friday. They won the Auto bid in the Horizon League and will appear at Plainsman Park after posting a losing season record of 25-31. They have an RPI of 238 and a strength of schedule of 278 out of the 308 eligible teams.
First pitch for Auburn and Milwaukee will be Friday at noon Central Time. The Tigers will need to pick up three wins over the weekend to move on to Super Regionals.
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