Auburn’s Judd Ward (1) celebrates with Ryan Bliss (9) and teammates after hitting a home run during an NCAA super-regional baseball game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Monday, June 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Auburn started so fast Monday that it all but secured a trip to the College World Series before North Carolina ever sent a batter to the plate.
Judd Ward hit a three-run homer to highlight the Tigers’ 13-run first inning that stunned the host Tar Heels on the way to a 14-7 victory, securing Auburn’s first trip to Omaha since 1997.
Edouard Julien and Matt Scheffler both had two-run singles in the Tigers’ overwhelming opening act, which turned the rest of the deciding game in the best-of-three NCAA super-regional series into a formality.
“They usually have different June plans,” coach Butch Thompson said of Auburn fans. “I hope we have wrecked that for them and they have to find their way to Omaha, Nebraska.”
The Tigers (38-26) finished with the second most runs in an inning of an NCAA tournament game, which was more than enough to earn the program’s fifth trip to the College World Series. It took almost three more hours before Auburn could finally celebrate, though, with the Tigers sprinting from the dugout at the final out and flinging water in the air before a meet-in-the-infield pileup.