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Butch Thompson, Auburn coach, not making excuses about Tigers’ long commute to Oregon State’s ballpark
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Butch Thompson and the Auburn Tigers are already facing some late nights during the super-regional round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament, having traveled to Corvallis, Oregon, to take on Oregon State.
But, they also face an additional challenge, as they’re being forced to stay in a hotel 90 minutes (and 69 miles) away from the Beavers’ ballpark (allegedly due to a track event and some graduations in the area).
Still, after the Tigers beat the host Beavers to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 super-regional series, Auburn’s coach wasn’t complaining about the long bus ride (via AL.com):
“We don’t make excuses or complain, but we’d sure like to get done pretty quickly here,” Thompson said after the win. “We have a long bus ride back to the hotel, and we want to be rested up for tomorrow. We know this is one step, and it was hard; it’s going to be hard, and it should be hard. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
Thompson is still excited to be in Corvallis playing a storied Beaver program with a trip to Omaha on the line:
Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said playing in Corvallis was a "bucket list" item for him and that he has a "man crush" on Oregon State outfielder Jacob Melton.
His Tigers are now hopping on a bus to Wilsonville for an hour-long commute back to the team hotel.
— Carter Bahns (@carterbahns) June 12, 2022
Can Auburn pick up another win in Game 2 and sweep the Beavers while earning a trip to the College World Series? Sunday night’s game is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. Eastern time and can be seen on ESPN2.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.