Penn baseball are small underdogs against Southern Miss in Auburn Regional final

The Quakers will face Southern Miss, who had the second best odds to win the Auburn Regional entering tournament play.

Penn's Jackson Appel (3) celebrates a two run home run during an NCAA baseball game against Auburn on Friday, June 2, 2023, in Auburn, Ala.Read moreStew Milne / AP

Published June 4, 2023, 8:52 p.m. ET

Penn baseball’s incredible regional run continued on Saturday night when the Quakers held off the Samford Bulldogs to come within one win of making it to their first NCAA Super Regional in school history with a 5-4 win.

A strong outing from starter Cole Zaffiro helped pace the Quakers pitching staff, allowing just two runs in eight innings of work. Although Samford made a late push and came within one run of sending the game to extra innings, Penn was able to close it out.

Early today in the elimination game between Southern Mississippi and Samford, a rematch of Friday’s opening game, the Golden Eagles prevailed, 9-4, and will face the Quakers in the Auburn Regional final on Sunday night.

After entering Saturday’s game as a small favorite, the Quakers are underdogs for the second time in three games against Southern Miss at Caesars Sportsbook.

Odds updated as of 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Penn vs Southern Miss odds (via Caesars)

Money line: Penn: +170 ; Southern Miss: -210
Run line: Southern Miss: -1.5
Run total: 11.5

Penn theoretically has two chances to beat Southern Miss — the Quakers are undefeated so far in the region, so the Golden Eagles would have to win two games in a row to win the regional.

Entering the Auburn Regional, Southern Miss were valued with the second best odds to win the region at +145, behind Auburn’s +120, while Penn was tied for the longest odds at 8/1.

The Golden Eagles also entered NCAA Regionals with 60/1 odds to win the College World Series, while the Quakers were an astounding 1,500/1 to win the national championship.