The Chris Hart era of NC State baseball will have to wait just a little bit longer.

NC State baseball (32-22, 14-16 ACC) found itself sitting on the bubble, eagerly waiting to see if and where it would be heading for the regional rounds of the NCAA tournament.

The Wolfpack wouldn’t have to wait long as it was announced that it would be headed to Auburn, Alabama for the second straight year, matching up with the No. 4 national seed Tigers.

Joining the 3-seed Wolfpack in Auburn are of course the 1-seed Tigers, along with the 4-seed Milwaukee Panthers and the 2-seed UCF Knights.

The season hasn’t been easy for NC State. Losing star junior pitchers Jacob Dudan and Ryan Marohn to injury for most of the season, the Wolfpack stumbled after a relatively strong start. Combined with uncharacteristic losses to teams such as Lafayette, Elon and Princeton, the Wolfpack’s spot in the NCAA tournament quickly became uncertain.

But nonetheless, a chance is still a chance and NC State has the opportunity to send retiring head coach Elliott Avent into the sunset the right way.

The Wolfpack will open up its time in the Auburn regional against the UCF Knights on Friday, May 29. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. with the game being broadcast on ESPNU.