1997 Auburn Tigers baseball team

1997 Auburn Tigers baseball
1997 Auburn Tigers baseball
NCAA East Regional champions
College World Series, 1–2
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
CB	No. 5
Record	50–17 (17–12 SEC)
Head coach	Hal Baird (13th season);
Home stadium	Plainsman Park

1997 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Eastern
No. 16 Florida ^x‍‍‍	17	–	13	.567	40	–	24	.625
No. 25 Tennessee ^x‍‍‍	17	–	13	.567	42	–	19	.689
Vanderbilt ‍‍‍	14	–	16	.467	31	–	24	.564
South Carolina ‍‍‍	13	–	17	.433	33	–	24	.579
Kentucky ‍‍‍	10	–	20	.333	20	–	34	.370
Georgia ‍‍‍	8	–	22	.267	28	–	27	.509
Western
No. 1 LSU ^x‍†‍‍	22	–	7	.759	57	–	13	.814
No. 2 Alabama ‍‍‡‍	20	–	9	.690	56	–	14	.800
No. 7 Mississippi State ‍‍‍	19	–	11	.633	47	–	21	.691
No. 6 Auburn ‍‍‍	17	–	12	.586	50	–	17	.746
Arkansas ‍‍‍	15	–	14	.517	36	–	20	.643
Ole Miss ‍‍‍	6	–	24	.200	22	–	31	.415

x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion Rankings from Baseball America

The 1997 Auburn Tigers baseball team represented Auburn University in the 1997 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Tigers played their home games at Plainsman Park. They were led by head coach Hal Baird, in his thirteenth season as head coach of the program.

The Tigers reached the College World Series, where they finished tied for 5th after a loss to Stanford, a win against Rice, and another loss to Stanford.

Personnel

Roster

1997 Auburn Tigers roster^[1]

Pitchers

13 - Eric Wood
15 - Tim Hudson
16 - George Jones
18 - Ryan Reese
29 - Josh Hancock
30 - Finley Woodward
32 - Alex Merriott
34 - Patrick Dunham
41 - Jeremiah Smith
44 - Brent Schoening
45 - Colter Bean
46 - Bryan Hebson
47 - Kevin Knorst

Catchers

17 - Patrick Wooton
20 - Casey Dunn
21 - David Ross

Outfielders

3 - Adam Sullivan
5 - Josh Davis
12 - Jason Gregory
24 - Tucker Dearth
26 - Hank Stepleton

Infielders

2 - Rob Macrory
4 - Derek Reif
7 - Harrel Hill
8 - Heath Kelly
10 - Jamie Kersh
11 - Chad Wandall
22 - Nate Hare
25 - Brian Davidson
27 - Josh Etheredge
37 - Stephen Chambless

Schedule and results

1997 Auburn Tigers baseball game log

Regular season

February (12–0)
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	SEC record
February 7	Morehead State*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 15–5	1–0	–
February 8	Morehead State*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 17–2	2–0	–
February 9	Morehead State*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 4–2	3–0	–
February 11	Mercer*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 18–3	4–0	–
Coca-Cola Classic
February 15	vs. Southern Miss*	Eddie Stanky Field • Mobile, AL	W 4–3	5–0	–
February 16	vs. South Alabama*	Eddie Stanky Field • Mobile, AL	W 17–3	6–0	–

February 20	Troy State*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 10–7	7–0	–
February 22	Middle Tennessee*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 4–1	8–0	–
February 22	Middle Tennessee*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 11–7	9–0	–
February 23	Middle Tennessee*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 9–3	10–0	–
February 25	Winthrop*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 13–7	11–0	–
February 26	Winthrop*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 5–3	12–0	–

March (16–3)
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	SEC record
March 1	Duquesne*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 11–2	13–0	–
March 2	Duquesne*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 11–0	14–0	–
March 3	Duquesne*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 11–5	15–0	–
March 4	at Samford*	Joe Lee Griffin Stadium • Homewood, AL	W 7–0	16–0	–
March 5	Davidson*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 14–3	17–0	–
March 7	at South Carolina	Sarge Frye Field • Columbia, SC	L 3–17	17–1	0–1
March 8	at South Carolina	Sarge Frye Field • Columbia, SC	W 10–6	18–1	1–1
March 9	at South Carolina	Sarge Frye Field • Columbia, SC	W 21–6	19–1	2–1
March 12	William & Mary*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 10–8	20–1	2–1
March 14	Tennessee	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	L 4–5 (10)	20–2	2–2
March 15	Tennessee	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 16–4	21–2	3–2
March 16	Tennessee	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 5–3	22–2	4–2
March 21	Georgia	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 14–1	23–2	5–2
March 22	Georgia	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 9–2	24–2	6–2
March 23	Georgia	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 13–6	25–2	7–2
March 25	at UAB*	Jerry D. Young Memorial Field • Birmingham, AL	W 9–7	26–2	7–2
March 28	at Kentucky	Cliff Hagan Stadium • Lexington, KY	W 5–0 (7)	27–2	8–2
March 29	at Kentucky	Cliff Hagan Stadium • Lexington, KY	L 5–6 (12)	27–3	8–3
March 30	at Kentucky	Cliff Hagan Stadium • Lexington, KY	W 18–3	28–3	9–3

April (11–6)
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	SEC record
April 2	Samford*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 9–3	29–3	9–3
April 4	at Florida	Alfred A. McKethan Stadium • Gainesville, FL	L 3–5	29–4	9–4
April 5	at Florida	Alfred A. McKethan Stadium • Gainesville, FL	W 9–4	30–4	10–4
April 6	at Florida	Alfred A. McKethan Stadium • Gainesville, FL	W 15–7	31–4	11–4
April 8	VMI*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 14–2	32–4	11–4
April 9	VMI*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 17–3	33–4	11–4
April 12	Alabama	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 13–8	34–4	12–4
April 12	Alabama	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	L 7–22	34–5	12–5
April 13	Alabama	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	L 11–12 (11)	34–6	12–6
April 15	Mercer*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 10–3	35–6	12–6
April 16	UAB*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 9–8	36–6	12–6
April 18	Arkansas	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 11–4	37–6	13–6
April 19	Arkansas	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	L 5–9	37–7	13–7
April 20	Arkansas	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 12–3	38–7	14–7
April 22	Marshall*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 11–4 (5)	39–7	14–7
April 25	at LSU	Alex Box Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	L 1–7	39–8	14–8
April 26	at LSU	Alex Box Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	L 0–8	39–9	14–9

May (4–3)
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	SEC record
May 3	at Mississippi State	Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS	W 12–4	40–9	15–9
May 3	at Mississippi State	Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS	W 6–4	41–9	16–9
May 4	at Mississippi State	Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS	L 6–8	41–10	16–10
May 6	Columbus State*	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 9–2	42–10	16–10
May 9	Ole Miss	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	L 6–11	42–11	16–11
May 10	Ole Miss	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	W 13–6	43–11	17–11
May 11	Ole Miss	Plainsman Park • Auburn, AL	L 5–7 (11)	43–12	17–12

Postseason

SEC Tournament (2–2)
Date	Opponent	Seed	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	SECT record
May 14	(7) Arkansas	(6)	Golden Park • Columbus, GA	W 7–3	44–12	1–0
May 15	(1) LSU	(6)	Golden Park • Columbus, GA	L 2–5	44–13	1–1
May 16	(5) Mississippi State	(6)	Golden Park • Columbus, GA	W 5–4	45–13	2–1
May 17	(3) Florida	(6)	Golden Park • Columbus, GA	L 5–17	45–14	2–2

NCAA East Regional (4–1)
Date	Opponent	Seed	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Reg record
May 22	(5) Western Carolina	(2)	Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	W 11–3	46–14	1–0
May 23	(4) South Florida	(2)	Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	W 9–0	47–14	2–0
May 24	(1) Florida State	(2)	Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	W 8–7	48–14	3–0
May 25	(1) Florida State	(2)	Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	L 7–9	48–15	3–1
May 25	(1) Florida State	(2)	Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	W 5–2	49–15	4–1

College World Series (1–2)
Date	Opponent	Seed	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	CWS record
May 30	(3) Stanford	(6)	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, NE	L 3–8	49–16	0–1
June 1	(7) Rice	(6)	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, NE	W 10–1	50–16	1–1
June 3	(3) Stanford	(6)	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, NE	L 4–11	50–17	1–2

Win
Loss
Reference:^[2]

(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

↑ "Baseball Roster 1997". Auburn Tigers - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
↑ "Baseball Schedule 1997". Auburn Tigers - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved August 10, 2026.

[1] "Baseball Roster 1997". Auburn Tigers - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved August 10, 2026.

[2] "Baseball Schedule 1997". Auburn Tigers - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved August 10, 2026.

[1]

[2]

Auburn Tigers baseball
Venues	Auburn Athletic Field (?–1910) Drake Field (1911–1949) Plainsman Park (1950–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
College World Series appearances in italics