The pitching matchup is set for Game 1 of the Auburn Super Regional. It will be Andreas Alvarez and Hunter Elliott starting on Friday night in Auburn.
Alvarez is in his sophomore season at Auburn. He has made 15 starts in the 2026 campaign, posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 103-30 over 79.1 innings, with a 3.52 ERA and 10-3 record.
Last time out, Alvarez pitched 5.2 innings against NC State as No. 4 national seed Auburn fought its way out of the loser’s bracket. He allowed 9 runs, but only 4 were earned, giving up 8 hits and walking 2 while striking out one.
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Alvarez is excited for the matchup with Ole Miss and the big bats in the Rebel lineup.
“They’re a good offense, they have a lot of power,” Alvarez said, via the team website. “They do strike out a lot. They do walk a lot. We’re going to attack them with our best stuff. We’ve faced a lot of the best offenses in the country this year so far so we’re just going to attack them.”
Mike Bianco is countering with Hunter Elliott. The redshirt junior is also a 15-game starter.
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Elliott has logged 76 IP in 2026. His K-BB ratio is 100-38 and he has a 5.21 ERA with a 5-3 record.
Last time out, Elliott pitched 5 innings against Arizona State. He gave up 4 earned runs on 6 hits and 4 walks, logging 97 pitches.
Over his last 5 starts, Elliott has seen his ERA go from 3.78 to 5.21. Bianco, though, is sticking with the routine for a Friday night game.
“Hunter is starting tomorrow for all the reasons I think everybody knows,” Bianco said Thursday, per the Clarion Ledger. “He’s thrown just about all the Fridays here. Most rested and ready to go.”
The best-of-3 series is for a spot in the College World Series. Game 1 of the Auburn Super Regional is set for 8 p.m. ET on Friday, airing on ESPN.
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Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
