Auburn Tabs Andreas Alvarez for Super Regional Opener Against Ole Miss

The Auburn Tigers have named their starter for game one of the Super Regionals against Ole Miss on Friday. 

The two SEC schools will face off in a best-of-3 game series at Plainsman Park over the weekend. Auburn has announced that pitcher Andreas Alvarez will get the nod as the first game starter in what could be a pivotal game to begin the series. 

Alvarez is coming off a 105-pitch outing in the win against NC State over the weekend at Regionals. He allowed four earned runs off eight hits across 5.2 innings of work. His pitching was much better than the box score and was the first pitcher to start the impressive comeback over the weekend. 

Ole Miss has responded by also naming Hunter Elliott as their opening game pitcher. The left-hander is 5-3 with a 5.21 ERA on the season. He pitched against Arizona State in the regionals, where he picked up the win after going five innings and allowing four earned runs off six hits. He allowed two home runs in the contest. 

This will be the first time Auburn and Ole Miss face each other this season, as they were among the few teams not scheduled to meet during SEC play. 

The two teams' paths to Super Regionals were extremely different this past weekend, and one might give Auburn an advantage if the series stays tight. Ole Miss won their games outright, taking care of business against Arizona State and Nebraska, and then the Sun Devils once more in the regional final.

As for Auburn, after the young team faced adversity and was defeated in the first game of the regional against the 4th seeded Milwaukee at Plainsman Park, they faced adversity and came all the way back to advance. For a team loaded with freshmen and sophomores, they now have a battle-tested pedigree that can't be said for the Ole Miss squad. 

Auburn's head coach, Butch Thompson, continues to believe in his squad, one that had the toughest schedule in all of college baseball this season, and they prepare for another big series. "I told them two weeks ago I thought they were good enough to win the whole thing... I think they could hook it up and win the national championship, said Thompson. 

This is where the season ended last year for the Tigers, falling to Coastal Carolina in the Super Regionals. Something, Thompson, and the rest of the team are making sure it doesn't happen again. We've hopefully tried to learn from last year and put in place this year how important it is to be present. You can never look ahead or really behind, just be in this moment."

First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7 PM CT at Plainsman Park. They will also play at 5 PM CT Saturday for game two. If a three-game series is necessary, a time will be announced for Sunday.