slot canyon 1,332 Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Full schedule AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn softball team will take part in the 19th edition of the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association (NFCA) Division I Lead-Off Classic presented by Rawlings at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida. . The NFCA Division I Lead-Off Classic will span Feb. 7 through Feb. 9, 2020. "I'm excited that the NFCA has decided to bring back the NFCA Lead-Off Classic, because it brings teams together from all over the country," said Auburn softball head coach Mickey Dean. "It gives our players an opportunity to play against that competition and see different styles of play. It's good field, it's a strong field and we are looking forward to the challenge." Auburn will play a five-game schedule against a 14-team field that is made up of 10 teams which reached the postseason a season ago. Of those 10 teams, nine were NCAA Regional participants in 2019. Auburn's slate of games will begin on Friday, Feb. 7 when the Tigers face Big 12 opponent Baylor, before turning around to face Notre Dame. The following day, Auburn will start the morning against Liberty, then play Texas State. Auburn's stay in Clearwater, Fla., will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 9 when the Tigers square off against Illinois. "Everybody has been at the top of their conference and some are conference champions, so they have postseason play experience," Dean said. "We are going to be young, but we are going to have a group that has some postseason experience play. It's going to be a great experience to kick off the season against teams which have postseason experience play." Auburn's new assistant coach Eugene Lenti — then the head coach at DePaul — helped guide the Blue Devils to the 2012 NFCA Division I Lead-Off Classic championship. Additional details for the tournament, including ticket prices and broadcast information, will be announced at a later date. 2020 NFCA Lead-Off Classic Field Auburn Baylor Kentucky Liberty Louisville Minnesota Mississippi State Missouri Missouri State NC State Notre Dame Ole Miss South Alabama Texas State *USA National Team Auburn's schedule Friday, Feb. 7 vs. Baylor Field No. 8 Noon ET / 11:00 a.m. CT Friday, Feb. 7 vs. Notre Dame Field No. 2 2:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. CT Saturday, Feb. 8 vs. Liberty Field No. 4 10:00 a.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. CT Saturday, Feb. 8 vs. Texas State Field No. 4 12:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. CT Sunday, Feb. 9 vs. Illinois Field No. 1 Noon ET / 11:00 a.m. CT Print Friendly Version Update 11/26/2019 2020 season schedule released. https://auburntigers.com/sports/softball/schedule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellitor 33,076 Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 When the full schedule comes out it will be added to the OP & thread Pinned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderWhiskey 953 Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 That should be a good level of competition for us to take on early in the season. In past years, we would have expected to defeat all or most of these teams. With the youth and pitching we're going to have in 2020, it's way more iffy. I think this is the oorrect tournament for us to be in, as opposed to the other February tournament in that area that features top-level teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slot canyon 1,332 Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 In addition to the Lead off Classic listed above Feb. 7-9, I noticed we are listed as participants in the Mary Nutter Classic in California Feb. 20-23. During that time we are scheduled to play games vs Arizona State, Northwestern, Cal Berkeley, Arizona and UCLA. BAMA has released their schedule and we play at their place April 25-27. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warladytigers 172 Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 The Lead Off Classic is Feb. 7-9.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slot canyon 1,332 Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 55 minutes ago, warladytigers said: The Lead Off Classic is Feb. 7-9.... Thanks, I corrected the date in my entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slot canyon 1,332 Posted November 26, 2019 Author Share Posted November 26, 2019 2020 schedule released: https://auburntigers.com/sports/softball/schedule article from AU Softball site: AUBURN, Ala. – Head coach Mickey Dean has released the schedule for the upcoming 2020 campaign. The Tigers are slated to play 55 regular-season contests, including 30 at Jane B. Moore Field. "We look forward to a challenging 2020 schedule, which will feature half of the 2019 Women's College World Series field," Dean said. "We are excited to host several home tournaments for our fans with new upper-deck seating." Auburn is set to face one of its toughest schedules to date with 36 games against teams that made the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The 2020 slate features nine dates against 2019 Women's College World Series participants, including an early February test against reigning national champion UCLA. The Tigers open the season on the road, participating in the 2020 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. Auburn will face a loaded field of Baylor, Notre Dame, Liberty, Texas State and Illinois over Feb. 7-9. Auburn opens its home slate the following week with a non-conference contest against Kennesaw State on Feb. 13 before hosting the annual Plainsman Invitational over Feb. 14-16. In the round-robin tournament, Auburn will face UNC-Wilmington three times and Alabama State twice. The Tigers embark on a cross-country trip to California as Auburn returns to Palm Springs to compete in the prestigious Mary Nutter Classic over Feb. 20-23. Four of Auburn's five contests will be against 2019 NCAA Tournament teams in Arizona State, Northwestern, Arizona and UCLA. Auburn will also face Cal as part of the tournament. A trip back to The Plains for the Tiger Invitational rounds out the month. Auburn will host Georgia Southern, Binghamton and Minnesota over Feb 28-March 1. In the final tune-up before jumping into the Southeastern Conference slate, Auburn will travel to Macon, Ga., for a doubleheader against Mercer on March 4. The Tigers then open conference play in Gainesville against Florida (March 6-8). Rounding out the road trip, Auburn will make a midweek stop at Jacksonville on March 10 before hosting Georgia State at Jane B. Moore Field on March 11. The Tigers jump into the heart of its schedule with three straight SEC series to round out March. After opening the home conference slate with a Saturday through Monday series with Missouri (March 14-16), Auburn treks to Athens to face Georgia over March 20-22. Auburn will take on its second set of Bulldogs over March 27-29, welcoming Mississippi State to The Plains. Auburn opens April on the road at South Carolina for a three-game series over April 3-5 before returning to non-conference play on April 7 by hosting Alabama State. Continuing the homestand, the Tigers will face Ole Miss on April 9-11 for a Thursday-Saturday series. Taking a break from conference play, Auburn will compete in four straight non-conference contests. The Tigers will host Chattanooga on April 15 and Charlotte for single games on April 18 and 19 before traveling to Troy on April 22. Closing out April, Auburn will face its final SEC road test against in-state rival Alabama. The three-game series is set for April 25-27 and will be Auburn's second Saturday-Monday series of the season. Auburn closes out the regular-season on May-1-3, hosting LSU. The 2020 SEC Tournament is set for May 6-9 and will be hosted by Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Auburn will learn its postseason fate on "Selection Sunday" set for May 10. The NCAA Regionals are slated for May 14-17 with the Super Regional round set for May 21-24. The 2020 Women's College World Series is set for May 28-June 3 in Oklahoma City, Okla. All game dates and times are subject to change. The 2020 television schedule will be released by the SEC at a later date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderWhiskey 953 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 This looks like an interesting, challenging, and exciting schedule. We have a few cupcakes, but also some really good competition in the early tournaments. The SEC schedule will be even tougher than last year. We'll have Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and uat on the road. Somewhat easier at home with OM, MSU, Mizzou and LSU. Was hoping we might play UT a nonconference game up here in mid-Tennessee, like we scheduled in 2017, but not to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
around4ever 4,139 Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Just throwing this in here because We don’t need another thread for it. Mike Smith, Ole Miss Head Softball Coach has resigned. Don’t know the reason yet. Asst Coach will coach the 2020 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augolf1716 21,101 Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 1 hour ago, around4ever said: Just throwing this in here because We don’t need another thread for it. Mike Smith, Ole Miss Head Softball Coach has resigned. Don’t know the reason yet. Asst Coach will coach the 2020 season. Wow hell of a time to do it. Somethings up either personal or health I would guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slot canyon 1,332 Posted December 9, 2019 Author Share Posted December 9, 2019 2 hours ago, augolf1716 said: Wow hell of a time to do it. Somethings up either personal or health I would guess He had been placed on paid administrative leave in mid-November while they conducted an "external audit". Additionally from Justin's World of Softball: At the start of the 2019 season, Smith was suspended for the Rebels’ season-opening tournament, but returned to coach the team for the remainder of the year. At the time, a university release described that suspension as being, “for not meeting the university's expectations for operating the program” The following comment from the new Ole Miss AD would imply to me that some players complained they were being mistreated or something along those lines. "We are committed to a healthy culture and overall experience for our student-athletes," said Carter. "Our primary focus is to foster success for everyone involved with our program, on and off the field, while continuing our rise as one of the premier softball programs in the nation. Coach Smith helped establish our softball program as a national contender and we wish him all the best." I suppose we could have a thread something on the order of " Softball Coaching Changes." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderWhiskey 953 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Would the assistant be Ruben Felix? I think that is the name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Freak 2,526 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 On 12/8/2019 at 5:33 PM, around4ever said: Just throwing this in here because We don’t need another thread for it. Mike Smith, Ole Miss Head Softball Coach has resigned. Don’t know the reason yet. Asst Coach will coach the 2020 season. That guy is a real piece of... work. Nothing would surprise me about why he resigned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hspoprn 199 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Just took a look at the schedule for 2020. We have some difficult away games. I'm wondering who will be at the top of the pitching rotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slot canyon 1,332 Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Hspoprn said: Just took a look at the schedule for 2020. We have some difficult away games. I'm wondering who will be at the top of the pitching rotation. I believe this has been hashed in some of the other softball topics but my summary would be something like this. At this point does not appear we have a shut down pitcher of the Carlson/Martin equivalent. We may do a lot of pitching by committee with 6 pitchers on staff at end of fall ball. Our most experienced are Swindle (senior) and Handley (junior). I would say the wild card would be KK Dismukes who was held out of fall ball in order to "rest her arm". She had an impressive high school career albeit at a smaller school. Also was good hitter. Others include Yarbrough, Dempsey and Cavanaugh all of whom pitched some in the fall. Can't say I have a good read on what the pecking order might be at this point. Guess we will get a better read on things in slightly more than 5 weeks. Want to give Swindle a tip of the hat for getting back in the circle after taking that line drive in the face last season. Something like that could easily get into your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saminbama 740 Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 100% agree Slot. Swindle is our top gun and unless she has developed another pitch, which I sure hope she has, I don't see her going through an order 3 times. 3 or 4 innings at the most. Which means having relievers ready. Hopefully, Handley has better control this year and a new pitch as well. I have high hopes for Dismukes. Using multple pitchers would give teams different looks and preserve arms for the post-season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeleagle 2,945 Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 1 hour ago, saminbama said: 100% agree Slot. Swindle is our top gun and unless she has developed another pitch, which I sure hope she has, I don't see her going through an order 3 times. 3 or 4 innings at the most. Which means having relievers ready. Hopefully, Handley has better control this year and a new pitch as well. I have high hopes for Dismukes. Using multple pitchers would give teams different looks and preserve arms for the post-season. with Swindle we better have good defense, cause she is not going to blow it by batters. She's not a shut down pitcher but if we can do things offensively and score runs, she can hold teams to 4 runs or less... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hspoprn 199 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Thanks to all for the insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleEye67 1,938 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 22 hours ago, steeleagle said: with Swindle we better have good defense, cause she is not going to blow it by batters. She's not a shut down pitcher but if we can do things offensively and score runs, she can hold teams to 4 runs or less... Yep, def a "pitch to contact" pitcher. Our defense will have to be top-notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slot canyon 1,332 Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 54 minutes ago, EagleEye67 said: Yep, def a "pitch to contact" pitcher. Our defense will have to be top-notch. From some of the games I have seen I have always enjoyed seeing batters miss on Swindle's change up and thought she might have fair number of strike outs. When I compared last season it was revealing. M. Martin only pitched to roughly mid March (prior to injury) and pitched 80 innings compiling 86 strike outs. Swindle (missed some of season with injury) pitched 132 innings with 76 strike outs. We have been successful in the past with the pitch to contact philosophy which will likely be in play this season but I get the impression that CMD would prefer to have "strike out" pitchers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wareagle1969 5 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Based on the last few outings from the 2019 season, I would not count out Handley. She pitched well against Florida in the SECs coming in relief and turned around and pitched well against Arizona in the first game. IMO well enough to win but lost 2-1. I think her and Swindle have improved and will have a good year. KK is a wild card since she hasn't thrown since coming to Auburn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slot canyon 1,332 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Just noticed that Bailey Dempsey no longer appears on the roster. Yarbrough and Cavanaugh still listed and hopefully can provide some support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jad0003 405 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I was able to attend the fall game against Georgia Tech and watched pitching closely. All the pitchers made appearances except for KK Dismukes. Following the game I thought there would be a four player rotation between Handley, Swindle, Yarbrough, and Dismukes. Dismukes being the wildcard based on not pitching in the fall and adjusting to the college game. Dempsey has problems with illegal pitches due to stepping off the rubber, and Cavanaugh was noticeably slower in speed than the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slot canyon 1,332 Posted August 27, 2020 Author Share Posted August 27, 2020 No mention of any fall ball this year (2020) https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/SEC-announces-new-schedules-for-fall-sports-outside-of-football-150757257/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderWhiskey 953 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 The article states that no baseball or softball exhibition games will be allowed this fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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