Auburn baseball head coach T.J. Gamba demands a lot from his players.

But the players demand even more.

That's why the Maroons are enjoying a resurgence, claiming the CNYCL division title and on Sunday, the top seed in the Section III Class AA tournament.

Auburn (15-7 overall, 11-1 in league) has a first-round bye and will play the winner of No. 8 Baldwinsville (8-11-2, 5-6-1) and No. 9 Corcoran (10-13, 5-7) at Falcon Park Thursday.

With the No. 1 seed, Auburn has home-field advantage until the finals, which will be played June 3 in Rome.

The Maroons had equal success against Corcoran and Baldwinsville this season, beating the Cougars twice by a combined margin of 20-5 and taking down the Bees 5-2 in their only meeting.

“We played well against both teams,” Gamba said. “But this is the second season. Hopefully we keep improving on the things we've been working on.”

And the Maroons have been improving a lot lately.

After a seven-error game in its only league loss against West Genesee, Auburn has committed just two errors in three games.

And their season total of 31 looks pristine when compared to the 68 the Maroons committed last season.

“When we field the ball, with our pitching and a little bit of hitting - that's why I like our chances,” Gamba said.

Eric Conway is expected to get the nod Thursday. The senior has been the team's ace all season and is coming off a complete game win over state-ranked Liverpool.

At the plate, Auburn has been just as hot. In their final regular season game, the Maroons pounded out 20 hits to cruise by Oswego.

Ed Charles is leading Auburn at the plate with a batting average around .425. Brian Brazee, Steve Komanecky, Matt Wild and Bob Buckley have also been doing some work with the wood.

“It's really been a team effort,” Gamba said. “We're really excited to be in this position, but the kids know there's still a lot of work to be done.

Since they won't take the field until Thursday, Gamba has scheduled plenty of workouts and intrasquad scrimmages to keep the Maroons fresh and in the correct mindset.

While they're only scrimmaging teammates, the games tend to get quite competitive.

“It's a game within a game,” Gamba said. “The kids get into it - that drive is self-created. It's competitive and loose at the same time. It's a good combination.”

Two other local squads earned sectional bids Sunday. In Class C-1, Port Byron (9-10, 4-8) will travel to play eighth-seeded Little Falls (11-12, 4-8) at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will have a date Thursday with top-ranked Cooperstown (17-4, 10-8).

In C-2, Weedsport (7-9, 5-8) earned the ninth seed and will travel to No. 8 Waterville (7-16, 4-6) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will play at No. 1 Fabius -Pompey Thursday.